The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-06-11

and saved her 100000 brave men? I
swear you by the graves of your
fathers and brothers, and sons to
new hatred for-the champion curse
OF the universe-war! o Lord, God,
with the hottest bolt of thine omni-
potent indignation, strike that mon.
ster down forever and forever. I'm
prison it in the deepest dungeon Of
the eternal penitcntiary. Bolt it in
with all the iron ever forged in can
non OF nodded into howitzers.
Cleave it with all the sabers that
ever gi:ttered in battle, and wiring it's
soul with all the pangs which it ever
caused. Let it feel all the conf1agra-
tons of the households it ever destroy
ed. Deeper down let It fall. and in
tiercer fame let it burn, till it. has
gathered into its heart all the suffering
of eternity as we'll as time. III the.
name of the millions Of graves Of it's
victims, l denounce it. The nations
need more of the spirit of treaty and
less of the spirit of war.
War is more CHASTITY now than once,
not only because destructiveness of it's
WeapoDry, but because now it takes
down the best men, whereas once it
chiefly took down the worst. Bruce,
in lit, in his Constitutions of Mill
tary Law" said OF the European
armies of his day: ''If all infamous
persons and such as have committed
capital crimes, heretics, atheists and
all dastardly feminine men were weed,
ed out Of the army, it would soon be
reduced to a pretty moderate num-
Der" Flogging and mean pay mad:.
them still more ignoble. Officers were
appointed to- see that each soldier
drank his ration of pint of spirits a
day. There were noble men in battle
but the moral character Of the army
then was 95 per cent lower that the.
mora. character Of an army to-day.
By, so much is war now the more de-
testable because it destroys the pick
ed men of the nations. p .~.
Again, by this national ceremony
we mean to honor courage. Many" of
these departed soldiers were volun-
teers, not conscripts, and many of
those who were drafted might have
provided a substitute or got off on
furlough or have deserted. The fact
that they lie in their graves is proof
of their bravery. Brave at the front
brave at the lannon's mouth, brave
on lonely picket duty, brave in cav
airy charge, brave before the surgeon,
brave in the dying message to the
home circle. We yesterday put gar
land on the brow OF courage. The
world wants more Of it.
The church Of God is in woeful need
of men who stand under fire. The lion
of worldly derision roars and the
sheep tremble. In great reformatory
NOV ements at the first shot how many
fall back! The great obstacle to the
chUrch's advancement is the inanity
the vacuity, the soft prettiness, the
namby-pambyism of professed Christ
ians. Great on a parade, towards in
battle. Afraid Of getting their plumes
rutHed, they carry parasol over their
helmet. They go into battle not with
warriors gauntlet, but with kid
gloves, not clutching the sword hilt
too tight lest the glove split at the
back.
In all our reformatory and Christian
work the great want is more back
bone, more mettle, more daring, more
prowess. We would in all our
churches like to trade off a hundred
do-nothing for one do-everything.
''Quit yourselves like men, be strong"
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
And seize it with their eye.
Again, we mean by this national
observance to honor self-sa criice for
others. TO all these departed men,
home and kindred were as dear as our
home and kindred are to us. Do you
know how they felt? Just as you and
l would feel starting out tomorrow
morning with nine chances oUt of ten
against our returning alive; for the
Intelligent soldier sees not only battle
ahead but malarial sickness and ex-
haustion. Had these men chosen,
they coud have spent last night in
their homes, and to-day have been
seated where you are. They chose
the camp, not because they liked it bet
tt than their own house, and followed
the drum and fife, not because they
were better music than the voices OF
the domestic circle. South Mountain
and Murfreesboro, and the swamps of
Chickahominy were not Fairgrounds.
These heroes risked and lost all for
others. There is no higher sublimity
than that. To keep three quarters for
ourselves and give one-quarter to
others is honorable. To divide even
with others is generous. To keep
nothing for ourselves and give all for
others is magnanimity, Christlike.
Put a girdle around your body and
then measure the girdle and see if
you are fifty or sixty inches round.
And that is the circle of your SYM
pathies- the size of yourself? Or, to
measure you around the heart, would
it take a girdle large enough to en-
Gil Gle the land and encircle the world :.
You want to know what we talk of
vicarious suffering Look at the soldi-
ers' grave and find out. Vicarious,
pangs for others; wounds for others:
inconsistencies for others; blood for
others: sepulchre for others.
Those who visited the national Gem
etery at Arlington Heights and at
Richmond and Gettysburg saw one in
scription on soldiers tombs oftener re-
peated than any other-"Unknown."
When. about twenty-one years ago, L
was called to deliver the grafton at
Arlington Heights, Washington, was
not so much impressed with the min
ute guns that shook the earth, or with
the attendance Of president or cabinet
and foreign ministers and generals Of
the army and commodores of the navy