The Red Cloud chief., 1898-06-24
PRESENT DAY THOUGHTS.
BY MEMO"
copyrighted by Dave & Tabor)


Shall we continue along the line Of
the closing thought Of last weeks let.
ter? II was that the end of the war
will leave us with a very much ex-
tended horizon Of duty and opportun
ity and temptation. II is with us, rs
with the mountain climber, that the
upward step shows us what we had.not
seen before. As | pointed out some
weeks ago, the unselfish motive that
impelled us to interfere with Spain,
was in advance Of anything we had yet
attempted in exemplifying the Golden
Rule; and il would have been strange
indeed, if ii had failed to return with
interest to the great, kindly national
heart.
But we are hereafter to be more
closely watched by the great nations OF
the earth; no longer with mere curl
osity and idle surmisings as to the dur
ability Of our experiment in self gov
eminent. The future will have in it
for them a lingering fear as to what
the years TO come conceal of impulsive
action on our part, and of real danger
TO the nations that have hitherto known
us only in distant fashion. From be-
ing a remote and .unarmed nation
whose governmental vagaries could be
smiled at, and whose boastful yapor.
ings could be despised, we are trans.
formed into an essential instrument in
the great cOncert Of nations.
*.*
Our temptation will be to play our
part in that concert, guided by the ac-
tions of those to u right or to Il
left, instead of by the motions of the
great conductor before whom the great.
est nations are merely,
valiant dust thatlbuilds on dust"
Our temptation will be to plume our
selves on fighting ability, and interpret
1t into a guarantee of ~permanency;
measuring ourselves foolishly by the
standards of other nations that have
risen by material things, lived by them
and persisted by them. Higher thought
is needed now than for our beloved ma.
tion to,
put her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard."
Our temptation will be to lean on
armies and navies and call them safety.
Yet, gui ling ourselves by our opponent
we see that Spain shows these things
TO be OF little moment unless backed by
a high purpose. History is proof that
the least Of all things for a nation to
trust in is force that is physical instead
of moral and mental. To make nation
al power as vanishing as a sand ram.
part in the rising tide, let US put u
whole trust in rifles that repeat, and in
iron castles that float.
Our temptation will be to descend to
the aggrandising methods of less com
pact nations-to take a hand in the
game Of ::grab-and call it statesman.
ship; unmindful that a "far.fung bat.
tle-line" thins out energy and makes
wounding easy. This will be III
strongest temptation; but to yield to it
will make us untrue to the motive that
first impelled US, and will justify the
doubts Of some Of the European nations
regarding the nobility Of our aim.
These are some Of thy temptations;
., nation that hast been led up into an
exceedingly high place! The world
with all its glory lies beneath. II hun.
CRY, thou hast it in thy power to stoop
and eat the bread of pride that salts
tieth not. Or there is for thee devotion
TO the sublime consciousness of
being set for moral leadership in a
world that is still too material and too
selfish for full appreciation of the de-
mands of a century yet to come.
-
Our new opportunities will be re.
versals of u temptations. 1t is ours
TO refuse imitation of the untrue, tri.
vial evil doings of neighbors whose
moral education has been less than our
own We are neither new England,
Germany, o new Ireland, nor new
Russia, nor new France, and none of
these can expect to find counterpart in
US. Though they all go to tie making
Of us, we are not copies of them any
more than the child reproduces in his
appearance the bread, and milk, and
potatoes, etc, that he has devoured.
W. are old.fashioned enough to be.
lieve that we are what we are, by the
grace of God, a nation with an individ.
uality peculiar to itself, made so by the
experiences it has encountered. From
the homes of our ~tollers, in field and in
factory; from the patient hearts of
mothers and the strong efforts of our
men may 60 up a harmony that will be
our contribution to the concert of the
Lord Of Hosts, righteousness ex.
alteth a nation"
Our opportunity is to show that we