The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-02-26
Washington's Birthday and the Duty OF
this Country to Strugglin gCuba.

this Country to Srugglin gCupa.
Sermon delivered by Rev. j. @. Cromer
at the Congregational church. Owosso, Sun
day evening, Feb. 2lst:
sAnd he shall judge between many peo'
ples and shall reprove strong nations aIar
of Micah 4:3.
We are celebrating Washington's birth
day and instead of spending any time In
lauding 10 the skies the man who loved I'D
erty and led this great nation in the day of
its weakness In the path to victory and free-
dom. 1 wans this evening to note another
struggle for that same priceless boon and to
inquire for the path of duty for us VINO en-
ioy what Washington and his fellow pat
riots have won for us. l refer 10 the war
in Cuba. Let me say in the very outset
that am strong believer In peace; that
think the treaty between this nation ana
Great Britain should be approved as early
as possible by the Senate; that the very
last resort In every case should De 10 the
barbarism of war. But while saying this
let me also say that horrible as war Is there
are some things worse. A supine submis-
sion TO wrong and injustice Is worse. 10
sacrifice liberty to peace is base exchange
Cruelty and the inhumanity of man TO man
is worse than war. 1t is not certain but that
Just God looking down upon the atrocities
and nameess crimes committed in the past
couple of years by the Turk against tn'
Christians would himself have had the dogs
of war turned loose upon the Sultan and I'is
imps even at the expense of involving the
whole of Europe in the affray. All honor
to little Greece that she Of all the powers
has pluck enough to equip an arry ana
send forth a feet to snatch from the bloody
hand OF the Turk a few square miles or Ter
ritory in Crete and dedicate it to more hu'
name and just rule. 1t may yet prove to be
that the descendants of the heroes OF Mara
thon and Thermopyle are the oI,ly people In
these times of diplomacy and. shall say 1t,
ooyardice, who have the cJurage OF the
right and the bravery that IS born of free
dom. There is a great deal OF the peace
sentiment of our times which is born of the
base love of money. To go to war will be
to sacrifice some bonds and to disturb trade.
Therefore we must howl for peace at all
times and at the expense of honor. Ii mas
been this base god of gold which has kept
the peace of Europe ia the face of the afro
cities of the Turk. Quoting from an edito-
rial in the Inter Ocean at were we'll If one
could sing In praise of universal peace, but
at present there is peace that Is more cruel
than war. There is the peace that is not
peace, but that is the unwilling submission
of the good to the bad, that is the plunder of
the industrious by the indolent, that is the
defrauding OF the honest by the dishonest,
that is the oppression of the Christian by
the Mussulman; there is peace that Is not
repose, but lethargy that Is as st. Paul
said, earthly. sensual, deyilish.'
European war at present can originate
only in o spirit Of resistance to the most OBJ
stinately unprOgressi, e. the most wantoDly
cruel and the most ineffably british of all
surviving despotisms. Peace in Europe at
present can be maintained only by the ac-
quiescence of the Christian powers in the
continuance of iniquities and horrors that
would have been heid aoom'daoie III 'ne
middle ages. Ihere Is peace 'na' Is nea'-
enly and there Is peace so utterly 'gnoo'e'
so wholly viie' as 10 give cause TOT feprouuc'
tion OF Gray's terrific SATIRE:
hosannas rang 'hroush men '''"''N'''"'
.,o eo.an,a 1. .o,, had ,noro,,s q, bov orders "
Rnt now from this more general reflection
lat ns awav IN some considerations that
would lead ma "a a nation 70 different at
t;t,da 70 s,rrool;no Cnba. For two wears
tho borrors of war have prevailed in that
leland ond deduc,;no a reasonable amount
from all that vye read and hear about the
orne,,v NJ wevler as he imnrisons women
and sboots down belp,ess neople by the hun
dreds we mnst nevertbeless believe that the
Standards are prosecuting such warfare in
Cnha "a wonld make the stoutest hearts
o,. ,,,;,h n,.v picb.rd Harding Davis