The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1898-05-26

2
was so when, in 1776, the thirteen
colonies, with no war shipping and a
few undrilled and poorly-clad soldiers.
We're brought into a contest with the
mightiest navy of all the earth and an
army that commanded the admiration
of nations. 1t was so when Poland
was crushed. 1t was so when Hungary
went under. It has been SO during
all the struggles heretofore for Cuban
independence. But now it is our pow
erful navy against feeble group of
incompetent ships, crawling across the
Atlantic to meet our flotillas, which
have enough guns to send them as
completely under as when the Red
Sea submerged Pharaoh's army. It
is so in these times when only "a few
thousand Spaniards at most can reach
our hemisphere, and we go out to meet
them with one hundred and twenty
five thousand armed men, to be back
ed up speedily with five hundred thou
sand more if needed. We do not have
to ask for any miracle, but only fair
shot at the ships headed this way, and
time enough to demolish them. This
is one of the cases in the worlds his
tory where might and right are shout
der to shoulder 49,. .
Another alienation is in the fact
that such an atrocity as the destruc-
ton of two hundred and sixty six
lives in Havana harbor in time of
wit inn, hn
wrought in this age of the worlds
civilization. The question as to who
did that infernalism is too we'll settled
to need any further discussion. But
| What a small crime it was compared
with the systematic putting into their
graves of hundreds of thousands of
Cubans, or leaving them unburied for
| the buzzards to take care of! If Spain
| could destroy two hundred thousand
men, women and children, the slaugh-
ter of two hundred and sixty-six people
was not very great undertaking. But
this one last deed will result in the
liberation of Cuba, and the driving
of Spain from this hemisphere and
the overthrow of that government,
which will soon drop to pieces if it
does not go down under bonn bardment
| Of insulted nations.
ESere was danger that the 1ong-con-
| tiE1ed oppression of our neighbors in
Cuba might be continued from genera
| ton to generation without sufficient
| protest on our part and the pronounced
| execration of people on both sides of
the Atlantic, but that bursting vol
cano of destruction in the harbor of
Havana fired the nation and shocked
the whole civilized world. All nations
will learn that such an act cannot be
repeated without the anathema of all
Christendom. AS individual criminals
must be punished for the public good,
and we have for them courts of oyer
and terminer, and penitentiaries. and
electric chairs, and hangman's gallows,
so governments committing high
crimes against God and humanity must
be scourged and hung up for the
worlds indignation. When in Spanish
waters our battleship, looking after
our commercial interests and intend
ing nothing but quietude, was hurled
into demolition and the men on board
without time to utter one word OF
prayer, were dashed into the eternal
world, the doom Of the reigning house
of Spain was pronounced in tones
louder than the thunder which that
night rolled out over the sea.
Another alienation is the fact that
we have God to go to in behalf of
all those of our countrymen who may
be in especial exposure at the front,
for we must admit the perils. 1t is
no trif1ing thing for 100000 young men
to be put outside of home restraints
and sometimes into evil companion
ship Many of the brave of the earth
are not the good Of the earth. To be
in the same tent with those who have
no regard for God or home; to hear
at: to be placed under influences cal
culated to make one reckless; to have
no Sabbath, except such Sabbath as in
most encampments amounts to no Sab
bath at all; to go out from homes
where all sanitary laws are observed
into surroundings where questions of
health are never discussed; to invade
chimes where pestilence holds posses
sion; to make long marches under
blistering skies; to stand on deck and
in the fields under fire. at the mercy of
shot and shell-we must admit that
those thus exposed need especial care,
and to the Omnipresent God we have
a right to commend them, and will
/ commend them. Postal communica-
| ton may be interrupted, and letters
started from camps or homes may not
arrive at the right destination, but
however far away our loved ones may
be from us, and however wide and deep
the seas that separate us, we may hold
communication with them via the
| throne of God. -. +.
shipwrecked sailor was found
floating On a raft near the coast of
! California. While in hospital he told
his experience, and said that he had a
| companion on the same raft for some
time. While that companion was dy-
ing of thirst he said to him: George
where are you going?'' and the diving
]