The Portland daily press., 1898-04-29
UNION SERVICES.
Rev. DIR. Blanchard at First Parish
Church.

There was large congregation Fast day
at the First Parish church. Rev. DR..
Jenkins of the State Street chucrch had
charge Of the anion services in the alb
ssnce of the pastor. Rev. John Carroll
Perkins.
After singing by the choir the invoca-
ton was given by Rev. Mr.. Wright. fol-
lowed by responsive reading, conducted
by Rev. DR.. Worcester.
Rev. Mr.. Malvern read the scripture les
son for the day.
Prayer was offered by Rev. Luther
Freeman the new pastor of Chestnut
street church.
The Fast Day sermon was preached by
Rev. Henry Blanchard, D. d.
Dr. Blanchard spoke in substance as
follows;
| Whoever stands in the magnificent cap
| itol of Connecticut sees much to stir pa
triotic feeling. The battered flags of 1861
| 1865. the statue of Gov. Buckingha IN, the
great war executive; the statue of Nathan
| Hale, recall the days of the civil war, the
heroism of soldiers and leaders, the will
| ingness Of the young to die for their coun
| try. The passionate beat of the patriotic
heart, however, must not put too much
| blood into his brain. He ia to see the
heroism of the brave but he must also
see the horror, the. barbarism of war.
Believing in the universal fatherhood OF
God and the resulting brotherhood of
man he is to ponder on the story of strife
in the past in hope of the day CT univer-
sal peace one day to come. He will see
first, that war is incidental to the lower
stages of mans DEVELOPMENT ;lsecond, that
some wars are noble on the part of one
OF the mbatants and have greatly helped
the development of mind and soul; third,
that peace is the goal toward which all
movements ought to tend, and, fourth,
that national honor must have u new
meaning, accordant with, determined by,
the fatherhood of God and the brother
hood of man.
War is incidental to the lower stages
of mans development.
Too much honor has been given to war.
Poet and orator and historian have
made the soldier shine in glory. The
waving flag has hidden the blackened
corpse.
The student sees the genesis of war.
| 1t springs from the unchecked selfish
ness of man.
| erything for themselves. individuals,
nations, tribes seize what they desire.
| Self love easily passes into selfshness.
The warning tribe or nation is only show
| ing distorted self love in making war
upon it's neighbor. do not see, there
fore. how war could be avoided. 1t is in
cidental to mans progress from love OF
We can have patience with it but we
must not praise it.
u.-Some wars have been noble ON the
part of one of the com batants and have
helped the development of intellectual,
moral and spiritual powers. If we had
stood with Miltrades on the day he
pleaded with Callimachus, the war ruler
Of Athens, TO cast his deciding vote for
battle on the plain Of Marathon, we
should have listened to noble words
Il Persia was infamous. Greece was g)ori
GUS. Cromwell and Marston Moor. Wash
ington tand Yorktown, Grant and Apo.
mattox. all show that som wars were
noble.
III.-Peace is the goal towards which
all movements ought to tend. Henry of
Navarro dreamed of day of universal
peace Ulysses Grant prayed for it.
| Our education and our religion ought
| to secure it. Our schools and colleges
should teach the folly, the waste, the
barbarity of war. In 1913 Germany had
1 Thirty Years War -1649-she had only
four. 1t took q hundred years to raise
as many cattle as there were in the be-
| ginning of that awful war.
| Religion must utter Its solemn voice.
| The duel has gone out of fashion. Why
shall not war-the duel between nations
be as much condemned by those who say
I-"There is one Heavenly Father and one
family of mankind.
IV.-We are to put new meaning into
the words National Honor
1t is curious to study the escutcheons OF
the warriors of the past. We see the
image of the lion, the bear, the boar We
see how utterly unseen il the glory of SER
vice to the weak. The Tartars worshipped
their scimetars. For us today it is our
dury to say, National honor means
, service to the world. 1t means that
America wishes to help. 1t means that
she overlooks offence, conscious of
strength, eager to serve"
DR.. blanchard closed with an appeal
/ that our present war she Id he kept on
+ this high plane HE deplored the neces-
sity of Intervention in Cuba. he yielded
his own judgment to that of the Presi-
dent of the United States. Good will
come ont OF this brief strife. North and
, South will be more closely united.
Wars horrors will again be seen. Strenu-
GUS efforts will be made for an Anglo
American alliance-earnest pleading will
be heard for worlds tribunal to arbi-
trate all national disputes.
May America show the world that she
wars only for humanity May she know
that that nation Is greatest which best
serves the world