The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-07-19

| men who are seemingly in the front ana sure to win are relegated to the rear and a dark horse" becomes the win ner!
 Then while the political campaign | progresses, how suddenly the scene shifts, new issues claiming public at | tention requiring reconstruction of ar- | guments and appeals,
 l It is never safe for any man to say ! that he Is sure of this or that until he l has it In his hand; never safe for one to say that he IS there unil he gets there; and getting there is often missed by him who can not change his tactics, and even his ! opinions,as occasion may demand. Talk 1 ing it therefore all in all our text con- mands assent. No man knows what is before him in the near future. He may be prince or president, statesman or general, preacher or private citizen, physician, teacher or common toiler in the public eye or in secluslon, the un- expected is sure to happen. He who assumes to know even his near future only betrays his ignorance. It becomes us therefore to beware of one who is over-wise in his own conceit. The sciences of later years repudiate many a so-called science of the former years. Geology and archaeology have forced many modification of thelogy. The uncovering of ancient Babylon and l Ninevah has filled us with surprises regarding ancient civilizations.
 Thebes and Carthage on the Nile have reconstructed Biblical chronolo- gy. A shovel full of gravel taken from an Alaska river-bed has made man marvel at the untold and undreamed of riches of that frozen region, sending thousands there in the crazy search for | gold, each one of whom expects to be- come a millionaire. Some will be amaz- ed at their success, but more at their | failure.
 Surprises are everywhere for all. Lincoln becoming president wisely marked out no plan, only somehow to crush the rebellion. He had no thought of his Emancipation procla- nation" at the start of his magnificent career. But the emergency came and was heroically met.
 Grant in his campaigns before giving lis orders to the army waited the de- | velopments of each day, and proved 1 IllillSSIl IllS pillGc Ul SSuCl III tllet l. he took advantage of the unexpected. l We march on to victory for ourselves and others in any line of effort, only when we watch for surprises, and have the genius of adaptation. The unfor- seen is always springing out of ambush on us. The engine has to be slowed down, halt called, and scouts sent forth to reconnoitre, then often the whole plan of procedure has to be changed. See how these facts obtain in our recent national history.
 Scarce three months have passed since war was declared with Spain, but what months they have been for l America and for the world.
 In the midst of these stirring and
 unexpected scenes it becomes us to pause in review and outlook; for many an opinion is changing in reference to
 the mission of this republic.
 The past four months have been full of surprises. Almost daily the unex- pected has happened. Unforeseen emer-
 gencies have sprung up, calling for the bravest heart and the highest wis.,
 dom. That has been demanded of us of which we had no thought-and that l accomplished-of which the most san- guine had no dream, while as the weeks have passed, it has become more and more apparent that we have work
 to do that cannot be done in a single summer.
 In March last the clouds were dense
 above us; congress grew impatient of delay and unwisely forced issues upon
 us. There was no plan at first but for i inc tihaFI tif1T, ;1f "a ;,,
 that Pearl of the Antilles
 | DeWey's war fleet was on the China
 coast. Our first great surprise was his
 marvellous and matchless victory at
 Manila, without the disabling of sim
 gle ship, or the loss of single life;
 this to be followed by an illustration of
 masterly management of affairs per-
 taining to the Philippine Islands Who
 ever dreamed that such a victory could possible be gained, and such a seige
 maintained with almost an invincible
 army of insurgents pressing up to the
 very walls of that beleaguered city? Seven thousand miles of ocean stretch between America and those mis-ruled
 millions, but over these miles un- thought of thousands have been sent
 on protecting and civilizing errand
 The new emergency necessitated new
 measures and new men. Our warships : must be hurried home from far seas
 New marships must be built and : bought. Havana must be blockaded our eastern harbors mined, and the wide ocean watched; an army muster
 ed, equipped; drilled and provisioned then transported to the scenes of &C., : tion, the unexpected occurring every , day, but met to the worlds amazement with an energy and wisdom which com-
 mands our admiration. There have been
 croakers and evil prophecies, but prep 7 arations for war and our successes thus far have been without a parallel } in human history! For which this na- 1 tion should VOW in humble and pro.
 found thanksgiving to Almighty God The seemingly insurmountable have 5 been surmounted, the seemingly inpos. sible accomplished. What may be call. : ed modern miracles" have beer wrought! r
 Hobson's handling of the ship tha } was to bottle up Severa's fleet, while h. } and his brave helpers escaped un ] harmed; Captain Wainright's victor,
 over great iron-c with his little re - constructed yacht; the complete ami 7 hilation of the enenly's battle cruisers 5 and, most marvellous of all, the landins
 of arms and ordinance, and the bravery = of our troops in Storming forts so Una