Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-10-20
CLOUDS IN OUR NATIONAL SKY.

CLOUDS IN oUl; NATIONAL SKY.
Senior Grafton Delivered In College Chapel
by Henry G. APpenzeiler, of
SoudertOw1, Ia.
Americans, like Englishmen, are apt to
boast Of the excellence Of their govern
ment, and many, like them, are unable to
say wherein its superiority lies. Unac-
quainted with the principles Of free gov
ernment they cannot give 4 reason for
their faith. neither do they see when dan
gers threaten the peace and safety Of their
country. Every man who has the exalted
privilege Of casting ballot must know
not only the strong, but also the weak
points of his government, in order to vote
intel!igently and for her best interests. 1t
is only i'll this way that he can be truly
loyal.
He who sees the evils that endanger the
welfare OF the land of his birth and does
not oppose them by word and deed, but
remains silent until the sOrms Of WAY
burst forth, is not Il loyal man. Loyalty
consists more in warding off evils than in
heroic devotion in the hour when they are
at hand. An ounce Of prevention is al
ways worth more than pound of cure.
The great Paciticator displayed as much.
ii not more, patriotism, when by his un-
tiring zeal and wonderful eloquence, he
avertcd civil war, than did those, who 4
decade later, lost their lives upon the field
of battle.
Standing i'll the ''City of magnificent
distances and casting vigilant eye
over " this lovely land of ours" one can
not help but see that there are clouds in
Our national sky, which, if not stayed,
will endanSer the safety Of our free insti-
tuticns. Some of these clouds at present
are small-not much larger than 4 mans
hand-and none have rs yet 4 warlike ap-
pearance. But as clouds in the natural
sky are easily drawn to each other, and as
their danger is proportiOnate to their num-
Der and character, so the evils that threaten
our national existence, small and seeming
ly unimpOrtant in themselves, are patent
for our destruction as a people i'll proper
tion to their number and character. And
it showsa weak, not to say unpatriotic
spirit to close our eyes on them, and con
hope that these clouds will pass away
without our interference.
Looking toward the East, rather
immense number of foreigners who come
to our shores annually. They come from
the wilds of Siberia and the vinc-clad
hills of sunny France from the land Of
Erin and the borders of the Black Sea
while the proud Chinaman seeks the hos
pitable shores Of the Pacific America
proudly and justly bears the repu
tatiOn of being an asylum for the
oppressed Of all nations. Here in
her extensive plains and fertile valleys !:
in her inexhaustible mines and rich agri
cultural districts, in these tiourishiDS
towns and cities, and on her noble rivers,
there is room and employment for all.
The danger in this emigration is that,
with many good men who seek their
homes with us, we get much of the filth
and scum of other lands. In five
years they can be naturalized and raised
to the dignity of citizenship. They retain
most, if not all, of their principles, many
of which are hostile to our form of govern
ment. They arc not Americanized in SO
short time. Many can neither read nor
write and thus become an easy prey for
the demagogue. A higher standard for
citizenship and a longer residence in the
country should be required :; but if this
were insufficient they sh ould not be natur-
allied at all While it would be injudiciOus
to close our ports to emigrants. to deprive
them of the use of the ballot would insure
safety to the republic.
America truly is the Land of the free
and the home Of tho brave" but VIC trust
she never will be the home Of the Com
munist of France, the Socialist of Ger
many, or the N:hil;st Of Russia For such
We have no room.
Again, in tho far West among the Rocky
Mountains where dwell the so called
Latter Day Saints" there rises :: cloud
that is fraught with evil and that sooner
or later will bring trouble to the United
States government. Already the Nor
mons are assuming a defiant attitude
towards the laws of the country, and are
making secret preparations to resist their
enforcement. The hirelings of this church
are seeking to forward her interests in
various parts of the union and to our
shame be it said that here in our own
state there are organizations that are
in sympathy with the hierarchy
Of Utsh. To say that the Mormon
church is confined to single
territory that it is weak numeri-
cally; that it is not spreading rapidly to
and taking possession Of other territories,
shows an ignorance OF which no voter
should be guilty. The Mormon Bible is
printed not only in English. but in Welsh,
Polyncsian, Italian, Danish, French and
German. They hold the balance of power
in idaho and Arizona and menace Cola
RADIO, New Mexico, Wyoming and Montana
They have their missionaries in different
parts of the world, and during the last
summer over 1900 Mormon converts
left the port of Liverpool for Salt Lake
City. These belong mostly to the poor
and ignorant classes, and are more attach
ed to the Bishops" and "Apostles' q" of
the church than to the government under
which they propose to live.
The United States can no lOngcr be III
different to this foul spot on her fair rec
ord. Utah is clamoring for admission into
tho Union. This gained, she will enact
statutes to advance the cause Of the Nor
mon church. To say that these "Saints,
are an Industrious people; that they
have made the barren soil of Ctai, to BIOS
SOM like the rose, does not excuse their
crimes and immoralities, nor vindicate the
nOastrCus doctrine of plurality of
wives" Says 4 recent writer "There
are but two alternatives before the Amer
ican people; a new rebellion, or the intro
ductiOn of Christian schools and Christian
Churches" Let the latter course be chosen
because it is the safer and better way to
settle this vexed question.
Again, the cloud of internal discussion,
having its origin i'll party strife, greed for
Office and the growing doubt and irrever-
enca of the times is ASSUMING 4 thrcatap