The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-12-06

I rendered, then the warshfps Iowa and
Indiana and Brooklyn and Texas and
Vesuvius and Oregon must be sent
back to southern waters or across to
] the coast of Spain to silence the inso-
1ence as decidedly as last summer they
| silenced the Cristobal Colon and
OQuendo and Maria Teresa and Viz
| caya- When we get those islands thor
oughly under u protectorate, for the
first time our missionaries in China
will be safe. h atrocities imposed
on those good men and women in the
so-called F1owery Kingdom will never
be resumed, for ~dr guns will be too
| near Hongkong to allow the massacre
of missionary settlements.
On that map must be put the 18TH
milan canal, begun il not completed.
No long voyages around Cape Horn for
the worlds merchandise, but short and
cheap communication by water instead
of expensive communication by rail
train, and more millions will be added
to our national wealth and the worlds
betterment than 1 have capacity to cal
culate.
CONNECTING LINKS.
On the map 1t must be made evil
: dent that America is to be the worlds
civilizer and evangelizer. Free from
the national religious of Europe on the
one side and from the superstitious of
. ASA on the OIneT sue, II Will nave IA
/ cilities for the work that no other
continent can possibly possess. AS near
as / can tell by the laying on of the
hands of the Lord Almighty, this con-
tinent has been ordained for that work.
This is the only country in the world
where all religions are on the same
platform, and the people have free Sc
lection for themselves without any det-
riment. When we present to the other
continents this assortment of religions
and give them unhindered choice, we
have no doubt of their selecting this
religion Of mercy n kindness and
good will and temporal and eternal
rescue. Hear it! America is to a
this world for God!
On the map which we will put on the
cradle of the new century we must
have very soon a railroad bridge across
Boring strait, those thirty-six miles of
water, not deep, and they are spotted
with islands capable of holding the
piers of a great bridge. And what with
America and Asia thus connected and
Siberian railway, and a railroad now
projected for the length Of Africa, and
Palestine and Persia and indian and
China and Burmah intersected with
railroad tracks, all of which will be
done before the new century is grown
up, the way will be open to the quick
civilization and evangelization of the
whole world. The old map we used to
study in our boyhood days is dusty,
and or the top shelf or amid the rub
Dish of the garnet, and so Will the pres
ent map of the world, however gilded
and beautifully bound, be treated, and
an entirely new map will be put into
the %infantile hand of the coming GEN.
fury.
The work of this century has been to
get ready. All the earth is now free to
the gospel except two little spots, one
in Asia and one in Africa, while at the
beginning of the century there stood
the Chinese wall n there famed the
fires and there glittered the swords
that forbade entrance to many stands
and large reaches of continent. BOr-
nesian cruelties and Fiji island Gamma
balism have given way, and all the
gates Of all the continents are swung
open with a clam that has been a pos
tive and glorious invitation for Chris
tianity to enter. Telegraph, telephone
and photograph are to be cOnsecrated
to gospel dissemination, and instead Of
the voice that gains the attention of
a few hundre or a few thousand peo-
pie within the church walls the tele-
graph will thrill the glad tidings and
the telephone will utter them to many
millions. Oh, the infinite advantage
that the twentieth century has over
what the nineteenth century had at
the starting!
THE EVILS OF THE WORLD.
In preparation for this coming CEN
tury we have time in the intervening
years to give some decisive strokes at
the seven or eight great evils that
curse the world. 1t would be an as
sault and battery upon the coming
century by this century if we allowed
the full blow of present evils to fall
upon the future. We ought somehow
to cripple or minify some Of these
denominations. Alcoholism is today tri-
umphant, and are we to let the all de-
vOuring monster that has thrOttled this
century seize upon the next without
first having filled his %accursed hide
with singing arrows enough to weaker
and stagger him? We have wastes
about % years. How so? While we
have been waiting for the law Of the
land to prohibit intoxicants we have
done little to quench the thirst of ap-
petite in the palate n tongue of G
whole generation. Where are the pub
l lie and enthusiastic meeting hat useC
to be held 80 years ago for the one
| purpose of persuading the young AM
; middle aged and old tina strong drink
!; is poisonous and damning? When will
l We learn that we must educate public
: opinion up to a prohibitory law, o,
. such a law will not be passed or i
l passed will not be executed? GOD gran
that all state and national legislature:
! may build up against this evil a wal
which will be an impossible wall, shut
ing out the alcoholic abomination. Blu
while we wait for hat. let us. in oul
;. homes, in. our schools and u churche:
. and on our platforms and in our news
papers, persuade the people to StOl
taking alcoholic stimulant unless pre-
. scribed by physicians, and then per
= suade physicians not to prescribe it i
:, in all the dominions of therapeutic
: there may be found SOM other RENE
. DIV.
Seven or eight years ago on the ami
versary platform of the National Tenn
perance Society in New York I deplore'
J, the fact that we had left politics to d
. that which moral suasion only cOul'
do and said on that occasion, Il
some poor drunkard wandering alon:
: this street tonight should see tn
L lights kindled by this brilliant assem-
blage and should come in. and gfindini
{ the character of the meeting, shout,