Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1891-06-18
EROM PRALRLEKLEK


I read very carefully Mr.. @. A.
Lewis Decoration Day address; and
must be allowed to dissent from some
of his conclusions, particularly the
one wherein he holds that war IS one
of the agencies and instrumentalities
whereby God cIvilizes and elevates
the human race. The idea that God
would approve what he has specially
and absolutely forbidden, seems to
me absurd and ridiculous, to say the
least. ''Thou shalt not kill" Thou
shalt not return evil for evil, and rail
ing for railing, but overcome evil with
good" "God Is love" VIII he VIC
late his own law? 1 think not. We
are assured that the same fountain
doth not send forth waters, both bit
ter and sweet. Which would be true
from Mr.. Lewis stand point. The
fact is, war is demoralizing and de-
grading In every respect. And I'M
tenable and indefeusible from a christ
ian stand point. The gentleman's
philosophy from a physical point of
view in nature may be approximately
true; but from a moral and christian
point of view am satisfied 1t is abb
solutely false. And it is almost in
credible that a man of Mr.. Lewis in
telligence and information, should
give utterance to such ideas. 1 re-
member of hearing a minister during
the war, preach a soldiers funeral
who had been brought home for bur-
ial; in the sermon he referred to a
northern Indiana regiment, which he
said, event out with seven hundred
praying men, and in less than year
there was not more than two or three
left but would drink whiskey, play
cards and swear" ''Such my
friends" said the minister, ''are the
demoralizing influences of war; it is
undoubtedly a great school or vice
and corruption" Evidently this MN
ister's view of the civilizlng and ele-
vatlng influences of war was not very
fattering. And 1 think he was cor
rect I think the gentleman unfor-
tunate in his references to history IN
support of his views. That God ap-
proved Cortez and his band of brig
ands, taking the cross in one hand
and the dagger in the other, and muir
derIng the poor, ignorant, supersti-
tious heather Aztecs; a people to
whom he had never made himself
known. Please excuse me for not be-
lieving such an absurdity. The fact
is Cortez and his brigands were great
er heathens and sinners than the ''Az-
tees" As they claimed to be christ
ians, and to have knowledge of the
true God, and therefore sinned
against greater light than the poor
Aztecs did. His reference to the
French revolution, is scarcely more
in point, than Cortez and his opera
tons with the Aztecs. AS the French
people were a civilized nation at that
time. But from centuries of oppres-
sion and tyranny; from the few who
had ruled with a rod of iron as it
were, when the revolution came, it
was characterized by atrocities and
barbarities greatly to be regretted, but
could scarcely have been otherwise,
without miracle or special interposi-
ton of divine providence, which does
not seem to have taken place. They
seemed to have been animated by a !
spirit of revenge and hatred of their
oppressors. His reference to Napol- |
cons wars with the allied powers in |
support of his theory. is not in point. |
AS all the parties to that transaction |
were christians. And Just how God |
could ciYilize and elevate a part of |
them by setting them to killing one
another, is beyond nay powers of con-
ception. The theory of destroying |
one part of the human race for the
benefit of the other, would better COM
port with heathenism than christian
ity from my point of view. You will |
please excuse me from not believing
in God that employees the agencies,
r,cks~r oil 1g
Lewis does to civllize, elevate and re-
fine the human race. From my way
of thinking such being wouldn't be
entitled to the respect of Hottentott.
I can agree with the gentleman when
he says, ''the millennium is a long
way Off" And so long as his theory
of ciVilizing and elevating and rein
ing obtains with the majority, it will |
remain in the future world without
end. can also agree with Mr. Lewis |
in his arraignment of the greed and |
avarice of those who are depressing
the people. But it strikes me that |
some of his views are new from that
side of the house; and has been called |
cranky, and bordering on anarchy, !
when INDUCED in by others. I CON
fess am at a loss to see how what is
virtue in one, becomes anarchy IN an
other I might have extended this
notice Of the address through col
umns, but it would be a work of SUI
pererogation as a simple statement
of the facts pro and con, seems all
that is necessary. And L challenge
any one to cite me to a single line,
word or syllable In the New Tesla
meDt, in support of the theory of the
address, that is, that part of It, that
regards war as civilizing element in
the economy OF Gcd. To tie law and
to the testimony, if they speak not
accordingly, it is because there Is no
light In them. A. DAWSON.