The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1898-05-12
NO CREEDS IN II.
ONLY 10 RELIEVE THE SUFFER
ING.
Present Day Thoughts.
copyrighted by Daw. 4 Tabor.)
BY "NEMo."

I EssSo o~eNOOoSA 49,
psriences and cannot possibly go back
to the time when those experiences
were unmet the thing that happens
cannot be rendered non-existent. The
! whole life OF child and afterwards OF
the adult is ono of sweeping onward !;
| away from Innocence to knowledge /;
away from peacefulness to trouble away
again perehance from trouble onward
to quiet Of heart each varied expert
ence, however. leaving its impress.
There is only one certain and sure rule
to follow,-make the best ofthe evil
that befalls; from mistakes learn wis
dom; from righteous deeds gain
strength for futher doing.
*+*
Like man, like nation. The war is /;
| and that is an end to all controversy.
Many thousands, like dlscontented
children would gladly travel backward
on the pathway of Time to the days
when Peace rested in the hamlets OF
our industrious nation. There may
even be some who regard the show Of
force as uncalled for. But there is no
way back to previous conditions. The
only way is onward. Neither is there
time nor place for saying 81 would
have perferred this or that" The war
being waged by the Nation-that in
cludes all of us, fighters OR friends of
fighters, men of peace or peace at any
price men-all are part of the nation !:
so that anything short or absolute uni
ty of purpose is seriously wrong. Par
ty feelings suppressed, party lines more
invisible than ever; individual preju-
dlces subordinated, individual desires
nodded into one great purpose this
is where we stand to-day. One great
duty is before US; to so vigorously en-
courage our government with our
hands and our hearts; to SO cheerfuliy
support it With our taxes direct and in
direct that a war undertaken without
frenzy for glory, without lust for con-
quest, shall be sharp and disastrous to
the enemies of feeble women and child
rem. That done, we shall again show
the world how a nation that believes In
peace, can by the devious path OF war
bring peace-lasting and glorious-to
pass. Our sons will then take up their
home work again, and move on to the
next dnty. But the war will not have
passing without leaving an impress on
our national life.
*x*
Let us consider one remarkable di-
rection in which this war has served to
show the progress the world is making.
During the days and months and years
that we have bitterly felt the wrong
that was being done to our poor neigh
bors, there has never been any serious
intrusion Of the religious aspect OF the
case, save for one or two sets of resolu-
tions by small bodies OF men. No
question has been asked as to the belief
of the poor creatures whose cruel SUI
ferings have forced us into the world s.
arena as champions of the defenceless.
II seems as though we had reached the
common sense attitude Of mind when
we believe that wrong is wrong,
and wound is pang even though in
aicted on man that has no belief at
all. It seems easy to say "What you
believe, dear suffering one is nothing
to me what you need Is my summons
to your side" Yet easy though this is
for us to say, it is not so many years
ago, since the purse-strings OF those who
now subscribe to Cuban relief funds, or
who surrender the darlings OF their fire.
side for righteousness sake would have
felt the kindly effort misplaced, per-
baps wasted because the Cubans are
staunch Catholics. These men, for
whom we pledge our wealth, our lives
and our honor, cling to a faith that as
far as possible unites church and state ;
they honor the Virgin and they have
plentiful calendar Of saints to-appeal
tn. But Americans, what have we to
do with condemning such things, freed
as we are from tyranny and from super
stitiony Infinitely less than nothing.
IF we measure mans need and our
responsibility by the extent to which
he agrees with us about hazy matters
in the spiritual realm, we live again
hack in the centuries when Spain
Aourished to the full, centuries OF rap
inc and of prejudice wherein we our
selves had share. But 1t, as we have
ldone. we clear our minds OF non-essent
lials and ,finicky differences, when
moor wretch lies before us implorlns
bodily pity, then are we children 0