Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1897-04-16

So | wish success to all earnest and
competent men who appeal TO city or
state or nation for a place to work.
But how many men in high place in
CITY and state and nation are at their
wits end to know what to do, when for
some places there are ten applicants
and for others a hundred. Perplexities
arise from the fact that citizens sign pc
titions without reference TO the qualifi-
cations of the applicant for the places
applied for. You sign the application
because the applicant is your friend.
People sometimes want that for which
they have no qualification, as we hear
people sing II want TO be an angel"
when they offer the poorest material
possible for angelhood. Doors waiting
to be sent to foreign palaces as embas-
sadors, and men without any business
qualification wanting to be consuls to
foreign ports, and illiterates, capable
in one letter of wrecking all the laws
of orthography and syntax, desiring TO
be nut into positions where most Of the
work is done by correspondence. If di-
vine help is needed in any place in the
world, it is in those places where pat
ronage is distributed. In years gone by
awful mistakes have been made. Only
God. who made the world out Of chaos,
could out of the crowded pigeonholes
of public men develop symmetrical re-
suits. For this reason pray Almighty
God for all those in authority.
The Demand of the People.
Then there are the vaster perplexities
of our relations with foreign govern
ments. For directions in such affairs
the God Of nations should be implored
The demand Of the people is sometimes
so heated, so unwise, that it must not
be needed Hark to the boom Of that
gun which sends from the American
steamer San Jacinto a shot across the
bow Of the British merchant steamer
Trent Nov. S, 1861. Two distinguished
southerners, with their secretaries and
families, are ON the way to England
and France TO officially enlist them for
the southern Confederacy. After much
protest the commissioners, who had en-
barked for England and France, surren-
dered and were taken TO Fort Warren,
near Boston. The capture was plain
invasion Of the laws Of nations and an
tagonistic to principle for the estab-
lishment of which the United States
government had fought in other days.
However, so great was the excitement
that the secretary Of the United States
navy wrote an applauditory letter to
Captain Wilkes, commander Of the San
Jacinto, for his prompt and decisive
action" and the house Of representa-
tives passed a resolution Of thanks for
brave, adroit and patriotic conduct, "
and the millions Of the north went wild
with enthusiasm, and all the newspa-
pers and churches joined in the huZza.
England and France protested, the for
mer demanding that unless the distln-
guished prisoners should be surrendered
and apology made for insult to the
British flag within ten days Lord Ly-
ons must return to London, taking all
the archives Of the British legation.
War with England and France seemed
inevitable. and war with England and
France at that time would have made
q restored American nation impossible
for long while, if not forever Then
God came to the rescue and helped the
president and his secretary Of state.
Against the almost unanimous senti-
ment Of the people Of the north the dis
tinguished Confederates were surren'
dered. the law Of nations was kept in
violate. the lions paw was not lifted
TO strike the eagles beak, and perhaps
the worst disaster Of centuries wai
avoided.
Gods Guidance Needed.
There came another crisis within the
last two years when millions Of people
demanded that American war vessels
sail into Turkish waters and stop the
atrocities against the Armenians Ih'
people at large have no idea Of the pres
sure brought upon our government to az
this rash thing Missionaries and othel
prominent Americans in and AROUND
Constantinople assembled at the oiic'
of the American legation and demanded
that our minister plenipotentiary CABLE
TO Washington for United States snip
of war, and they suggested the words o
the cablegram. Had cur ships gone int
those waters the guns Of foreign na
tions, everlastingly jealous OF rs, woul'
have been turned against our shipping
and our navy, within few years be
come respectable in power, would nav
crawled backward in disgrace Tn
proposition to do what could not be don
was mercifully withdrawn.
There will not be year between nov
and the next 20 years when those wn
are in authority will not need the guld
ance of the God of nations. God onl
, can tell the right time TO nations to d
: the right thing. To do the right thin
l at the wrong time is as bad as TO do tn
wrong thing at any time. Cuba Will on
day tie free, but il will be after she ha
shown herself capable of free govern
3 ment. To acknowledge Cuban indepenC
ence now would be to acknowledge wha
does not exist The time may com
e when the Hawaiian Islands may be
! part of our government but 1t viii I
e when they have decidedly expressed tn
{ desire for annexation. In all nations
t affairs there is a clock. The hands
o that clock are not always seen by hI
4, man ewes. But God sees them, not onl
=, the hour hand, but the minute hant
l and when the hands announce that U
: light hour las come the clock WI
1 ;rike. and we ought TO be in listepin
G ,ttitude. 1.-THE Lord reigneth. Let Ii
earth rejoice; let the multitudes OF u
isles be glad thereof. "
speecLmakin,y Versus Fighting.
yon see. there are always in places
:, authority unbalanced men who wal
. war. because they do not realize WIN
war is, or they are designing men, wi
|, want war for the same reason fh
. wreckers like hurricanes, and founde
. ing ships, because o. what TGy 10
y ashore from the ruins. You We tn
men who start wars never themseiv