The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1896-05-20

PRAYERS OF all the cathedralS on DOtn
sides of Mason and Dixcn's linel Gods
country ali the way past, Gods country
now! Put his name in your pronuncia-
mentos. Put his name on your ensigrs!
Put his name on your city and state
and national enterprises! Put his name
in your hearts We cannot sleep we'll
the last sleep until we are assured that
the God of our American institutions i'll
the past will be the God Of our Arneri-
can institutions in the days that arc to
come. Oh, when all the rivers that emp
ty into Atlantic and Pacific seas shall
pull on factory bands; when all the
great mines Of gold and silver and iron
and coal shall be laid bare for the ma
tion; when the last swamp shall be re-
claimed, and the last jungle cleared,
and the last American desert Edenized,
and from sea to sea the continent shall
be occupied by more than 1900, 900, 900
souls, may it be found that moral and
religious influences were multiplied in
more rapid ratio than the population !
And then there shall be four doxologies
coming from north and south and east
and west, four doxologies rolling to-
ward each other and meeting midcon-
tinent with such dash Of hcly JOY that
they shall mount to the throne
And heavens high arch reso.nd again
With peace on earth, good will to mon.
take a step farther and say that
before the gavels Of our senate and
house of representatives and our politi-
cal conventions pound adjournment
there ought to be passed law or adopt
ed plank of intelligent helpfufness
for the great foreign populations which
are coming among us. 1t is too late now
to discuss whether we had better let
them come They are here. They are
coming this moment through tho Mar
rows. They are this moment taking the
first full inhalation Of the free air Of
America And they will continue to
come as long as this country is the best
place to live in.
You might as we'll pass law prohib-
ting summer bees from alighting on a
field of blcssoming buckwheat; You
might as we'll prohibit the stays Of the
mountains from coming down to the
deer lick, as to prohibit the hunger Bit
ten nations CT Europe from coming to
this lard Of hread-as to prohibit the
people of England, Ireland, Scotland,
Italy, Norway, Sweden and Germany
working themselves to death Oh small
wages on the other side the sea-from
coming to this land where there are the
largest oompensations under the sun.
Why did God spread out the prairies Of
the Dakotas and roll the precious ere
into Colorado? 1t was that all the
earth might come and plow, and come
and dig. Just as long as the centrifugal
force Of foreign despotisms throws them
off just so long will the centripetal
force of American institutions draw
them here. And that is what is going
to make this the mightiest nation on
the earth. Intermarriage of nationali-
ties, not circle intermarrying circle
and nation intermarrying nation. But
it is going to be Italian and Norwegian,
Russian and Celt, Scotch and French,
English and American.
Greatest Nations Of the Age.
The American of 100 years from now
is to be different from the American Of
today. German brain, Irish wit, French
civility, Scotch frmness, English loyal
ty, Italian aesthetics packed into one
man, and he an American! 1t is this
intermarriage Of nationalities that is
going to make the American nation the
greatest nation of the ages. But what
are we doing for the moral and intel
lectual culture Of the 500, GOO foreign
ers who came in one year, and the
600, 900 who came in another year, and
the 500, 900 who came in another year,
and the /, 900, 900 who are coming into
our various American ports? What are
we doing for them? Well, we are doing
a great deal for them. We steal their
baggage as soon as they get here. We
send them up to boarding house, where
the least they lose is their money. We
swindle them within ten minutes after
they get ashore We are doing great
deal for them. But what are we doing
to introduce them into the duties OF
good citizenship? Many Of them never
saw q ballet box. Many Of them never
heard of the constitution Of the United
States Many of them have no acquaint-
ance with our laws. Now, I say, let the
government CT the United States, so
commanded by one political party or
both political parties, give to every i'm
migrant who lands here volume, in
good type and we'll bound for lcrg usage
"a volume containing the Declaration
of Independence, the constitution of the
United States and a chapter Oh the spir-
it of our government. Let there be such
book OH the shelf Of every free library
in America. While the American Bible
society puts into the right hand OF every
immigrant a copy Of the Holy Scrip
lures, let the government CT the United
States, commanded by some political
party, put into the left hand OF every
Immigrant volume instructing him
in the duties of good citizenship. There
are thousands Of foreigners in this land
who need to learn that the ballet box Is
not footstool, but a thronc-not some
thing to put your foot Oh, but some
thing to bow before.
Christian Patriotism.
But whether members cf the national
legislature, or delegates TO one Of the ma
tional conventions, or private citizens,
let US cultivate Christian patriotism.
Oh, how good God has been to US as
nation! Just open the map of the CONT
nent and see how it is shaped fer i'm:
measurable properties. Navigable riv'
ers, mere in number and greater than o1
any other land, rolling down on all sides
into the sea, prophesying large manu-
factories and easy commerce. Look al
the great ranges of mountains, timbered
with wealth on the top and sides aid
metaled with wealth underneath. One
hundred and eighty thousand square
miles cf coal! One hundred and eighty
thousand square miles Of iron! The iron
to pry out the ccal. The ccal TO forge
1,,,I