Democratic messenger., 1892-11-26
AT THE TABERNACLE.
DR.. TALmAGE STARTLES THE COUN-
TRY BY HIS REPORT ON RUSSIA.


Night-RuGsia Our Friend in 1sGI-5.
SIany CaInmnics Refuted.
BRooKLYE. Nov 20.-Rev. DIR. Tai
mage today fulfilled his promise that he
would again speak of his visit To Rus
sia and correct many wrong impress
sions concerning that empire and its
ruler. After an exposition OF Scripture
and congregational singing he took for
his text ii Peter ii. 10. ''Presumptuous
are they, self willed; they are not afraid
to speak evil of dignities '
Amid most reprehcnsible crew Peter
here paints by one stroke the portrait of
those who delight to slash at people i'll
authority. Now We all have Il right To
criticise evil behavior, whether in high
places or low, but the fact that on,. is
high up is no proof that he ough, 10 he
brought down. 1t Is bad streak of hu-
man nature now, as il was III ihc time
of the text a bad streak of human ma
ture, that success Of any kind excitcs the
jealous antipathy of those who cannot
climb the same steep. There never was
a David on the throne that there was
not some Absalom who wanted to get it.
There never was "A Christ but the world
had saw and hammer ready To fashion
cut cross on which to assaSsinate him
Ont of this evil spirit grow not only in
dividual but national and inieraa pia.
defamation. Tono country has more in
justice been done than To our own in
days that ARE past.
Long before Martin ChuZzlewit" was
printed the literature of the world
scoffed at everything American. Victor
Hugo, as honest rs he was uncqualei IN
literary power. was 50 misinformed con
cerning America that he wrote: The
most singular thing Is the need of whit
Ting. with which all Americans are pos
sessed. 1t is such that ON Sunday they
give the sailors little bits of wood. he
cause if they did not they would whittle
the ship. In court, at the most critical
moment, the judge. whiting. says,
Prisoner. are You guilty: and the ac-
cused TRANQUILITY responds, whiting. i
am not guilty.
BILE bursting nationality" But our conn
try has at last recovered from such earl
cature, and there Is not street III any
city of Europe or Asia where the word
America will not win Difference But
there is n sister nation on the other side
of the sea now going through the process
of international defamation.
There is no country on earth 50 mis-
understood as Russia. and no monarch
more misrepresented than its emperor.
Will it not he in the cause Of justice if
try TO set right the minds of those who
compose this august asSemblage and the
minds of those To whom. ON both sides
of the ocean. these words shall come? If
the SANDER of one person is wicked. then
the slander of one hundred and twelve
million people is one hundred and twelve
million times more wicked. In the
name of righteousness and in behalf of
civilization, and for the encouragement
Of all those good people who have been
dishear,ened by the standardization of
Russia. now speak. But Russia IS SO
vast subject that To treat it in one dis
course is like attempting To run niagara
falls over one mill wheel
Do not think that the very marked
courtesies extended me last summer by
the emperor and empress and crown
prince of Russia have complimentcd me
into the advocacy os that empire. for
shall present you authenticated facts
that will reverse your opinions. If they
have been antagoni>tic. aS mine We're
reversed. went last summer to Russia
with as many balrful prejudices a
would make an avalanche from the
mountain of fabrication which has for
years bee, heaped Up against that EN-
pire.
You ask how is it possible that such
appalling misrepresentation of Russia
could stand? | account for it 10y the
fact that the Russian language Is to
most an impossible wall. Malign the
United States. or malign Great Britain
or Germany or France. and by the next
cablegram the falSehood is exposed, for
we all understand English. and many of
our people ar. familiar with German
and French But the Russian language
beautiful and easy to those born to speak
it, is to most vocal organs an unpro-
nounceable tongue, and if at 81. Peters
burg or Moscow any anti-RusSian cal
umny were denied the most of The world
outside Of Russia would never see or hear
of the denial.
What are the motives for misrepre-
4
ternational jealousy Russia is rs large
as all the rest Of Europe put together
Remember that nation is only man
or a woman on big scale. Go into any
neighborhood of America and ask the
physician who has a small practice what
he thinks of the physician who has II
large practice. Ask Il lawyer who has
no briefs what he thinks Of the lawyer
who has three rooms filled with clerks
trying in vain to transact the superabun-
dant business that comes TO him. Ask
the minister who has very limited
audience what he thinks of the minister
who has overflowing audiences.
Why does not Europe like Russia:
Because She has enough acreage to
swallow all Europe and feel she mad
only half a meal. Russia is as long rs
North and South America put together.
She has twenty-five thousand miles Of
seaboarl But" says some one, do
you mean to charge the authors and the
lecturers who have written or spoken
against Russia with falsehood:" BY no
means You can find in any city or ma
tion evils iunumerable il vou wish To
discourse about them.
| said at ST. Petersburg 10 the most
eminent lady of Russia outside of the
imperial family, Are those stories of
cruelty and outrage that have heard
and read about true:" She replied: No
doubt some of them are true, but do you
not in America ever have officers Of the
law cruel and outrageous in their treat
ment of offenders: Do Won not have IL
stances where the police have clubto'.
innocent persons: Have yuu no in,
stances wher" people in brief authority
act arroGanlly:' | replied. YES. we