The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-31

a.
Neloement." When the future bisto-
ran snail chronicle the closing events
~ TINS century conspicuous among
eiiose eVehts-because Of the moment
Jus issues involyed-Will be the war
1 TsLWeen the United States and Spain
MS war, thank God, is ended with
Itehteoushess and victory on our side
~ Was a Drlef war On the mornina of
Ite 1@u Oh last April, the blockade Of
orr % p,t anq other Cuban ports was be-
sun On July Sd Cervera's naval snnad
ron was annihilated. ,TuIv fetb So
slaeo ana the eastern end of Cuba s,,,,-
; sli,el August 18th the president
tssueu proclamation suspendine boeN
ttiltles' IN less than four months tinne
t slIe naval fleet Of Spain was destroI,aJ
iieI army conquered and she strinnegl ~
IL ei entlre colonial Possessions Amer
f oaH ana Asiatic, Confronting such
,"S.s as Ihese, which have seldom been
~ ' Ia,,I1 IN history, what are some of
tben1 , sG Tl Whlch we may learn from
Snell rms war with Spain hns ac-
SCUllllplshed six things for which we as
Ill selah people should be pcotoundlv
sI1teIul to Almighty God.
~ o. II mas revealed afreSh the
Nra oI God In the affairs of nations
NO NO one who believes the Bible. doubte
e ePat GOO often interposed in behalf
,,-,.a,,, ilepIeW people, and at times
tbat NJ miracles to save ard help
c,,sta iiaeloh. why? Because It was the
CUSTODIAN of that truth bv which tbie
world is to be saved. When fbe rac-
orus OF sacred history closed. did God
WllIluraW from all intervention in tha
aIalfs OF this world? To overlook his
presence IN human affairs is to throw
away the only key that will unlock
thousand mysteries in the histories Of
I'd tiohs. Take SPAN at the moment
VI Ref supreme power. "The empire
=" ., rnlllp the Second" says Macauley.
was Undoubtedly one of the rnnst
powerful and splendid that ever existed
IN the world. 1t is no exaggeration ia
say lhat during several years his
power over Europe was greater than
even that of Napoleon In America hie
uomlnlons extended on both sides Of
me equator into the temperate zone
ne had standing army of Sd. 600 ex
cement troops when England had NOT
q single battalion in constant pay. He
Held what no other Prince in modern
times has held, the dominion bofh of
the land and the sea. During the
greater part of his reign he was su-
preme in both. Spain had what Ma
poleon desired in Vain--ships, colonies
and commerce.
England was at that. time the home
OF clVH liberty, and the defender of the
cause OF the reformation. Philip,
cruel tyrant VINO is said never to have
smiled but once and that was when
ne heard of the massacre of ST. Bar
lholomews at which he laughed OUT
right hating the principles Of the ref
ormation, fitted out a fleet for the pur-
pose OF dealing a death blow to Eng
land. This fleet. the greatest naval
armament the world has ever witt
messed, was proudly styled the Invinci-
bic Armada England, then weak by
sea and utterly incapable Of coping
with so powerful a foe, to che most
sanguine and intrepid of her people
stood on the brink of ruin. But if
she should fall at such a time, what
would become of Professionalism. of the
rising hopes Of civil liberty ana Of a
renovated and disenthralled church
Like Israel Of old, England had little
else to do than to stand still and see
the salvation of the Lord" God let
loose his winds Ipon the deep, and
those ships were dashed one against
another, hurled against the rocky coast, I
and sunk in the sea, a few only escap-
ing to tell the terrible story. Was this
the Lords doing? So England thought,
for medal was struck commemora-
tive Of this event, bearing the slsnifi-
cant inscription "A6lavit Deus ct dis
sipanter." God blew with his winds
and they We're scattered.
Take the war just closed For
months our ships, under the
heat of tropical sun, block
AIDED Cuban ports, bombarded Spans
ish forts, destroyed ner naval fleet, ana
vet lost only one or two lives. Our
soldiers swept the enemy before them,
without their ever gaining. the SEM
blance of a victory, 1t hasN been said
that the speedy issue of this war was
determined by the character Of the
men who stood behind the guns. No
doubt that is true. But behind the men
who stood behind the guns was God
Himself This fact, to our mind, throws
additional glory over the scientific skill
of our commanders the courage Nand
daring Of our soldiers and sailors and
the grandeur and brilliancy of their
victories.
This war has lifted up before the ma
ton and accumulated spiritual ideals.
1t has been customary for the news
papers to speak of some shrewd, and,
it may be, INSCRIPTIONS Spectator, as
a railroad king, or a Napoleon of the
wheat pit or a baron of the cattle
market, and chronicle all his move
ments, regardless Of their ethical char
acter. as if they We're matters Of ma
tional interest. If this purely material
success is the thing constantly help up
before the public mind and talked of,
it would not be strange if men in time
began TO think that it was the sum
mum bonum of life. A war suddenly
breaks out which involves the defense
of the weak the amelioration of the
trodden, the education of the ig-
norant the securing to men, women
and children their inalienable rights of
life, liberty and the pursuit of happi-
Mess. Men step to the front who will
ingly ieopardize all the prospects of the
enjoyments Of this world to secure
these things for them. Nobody asked
whether the hero whose brilliant VIC
tory at Manila opened this war, and
the cool and daring youth who sunk
the Merrimac and showed the stuff of
which our army and navy was made,
were rich or poor. It was ther deeds
which revealed the splendid ideas
which dominated them. that touched
the public heart, won popular admira-
ton and makes them the heroes of the
hour. Who can estimate the value of
a good man to a nation, both in the
ennobling influence of his example and
in the inspiring character of his deeds?
Pause a moment, glance back over the
past and look at few of the splendid
illustrations scattered through the
pages of history which show the power
of a good man when he represents a
great cause to change the face of So
cietv and lift the very stream of his
tory out of its old channels and turn
il Into new ones. There is that great
En,,lishman scholar, philosopher,
statesman, reformer, preacher, John
Wycliffe, standing in the perilous van
of those who contend for liberated
church and a scriptural faith giving
his life to the supreme task Of tram
stating the Scriptures into the mother
tongue of the people. That work has
been pronounced not only the greatest
work attempted in his age and the most