The Portland daily press., 1898-05-09
WAR; ITS MORAL MEANING.
Rev. DIR. Fem at High st. Church Last
Evening.

Rev. DR.. Fem delivered an admirable
address on War; its Moral Meaning"
at High street church last evening be-
fore large congregation. The speaker
began by saying that God loves man.
He is interested in him. Whoever sails
on the broad bosom of the Mississippi
finds deep below the miuor eddies of the
surface. powerful current that sweeps
aside every obstacle until it reaches it's
outlet in the great ocean. Whoever looks
over the pages of history finds way below
the minor events tremendous current
that relates to the elevation of society and
the magnifying of God. The moral mean
ing of this war with Spain is that God
Is in it whether you think He is or not.
God is sometimes on the side of one no
tion and sometimes on that of the other.
A great general once said that He was
on the side of the heaviest battleships.
The speaker instanced several great bat.
ties to prove this, and again named other
contests where He was on the side of the
weaker. He referred to NapoJeon's fall
at Waterloo as one striking illustration.
Napoleon was wiped out and the world
took a long breath. a But throughout
nations career when that nation becomes
dumb with pride and avarioe wickedness
and cruelty, then God says or seems to
say, "Iniquity shall not go on forever;
there is an end" However long His judg-.
ment is delayed, 1t always oomes and
nation may well tremble when it does
come.
Some people think this Cuban matter
is not our affair and that we should not
intervene. Who caused it? From 1868,
a period of 80 years, Spain has made oil
sorts of promises to Cuba that she never
fulfilled, and in the meantime has op-
pressed her with taxes and cruelty, even
brutally treated her people. But God was
in it all. GOD ordered the Maine disaster,
the folly of autonomy as a means to His
own ends.
The moral meaning of this war is that
great act of justice is to be performed.
SPANS decline is due to her corruption
by the American gold found in her new
possessions centuries ago; to her debasing
of colonial rule; to The practical destruc-
ton of her house of commons. The men
she sends to her Cortes are completely
under control of the military. From the
timo of Philip IL, her decadence began,
until now almost all her possessions have
been stripped from her and her power is
nearly gone. Spain lacks knowledge Of
how to govern her colonies. Instead of
adopting plans to draw them to her ami
be assured of their loyalty, like Great
Britain, she pursues the opposite course.
The corruption that has permeated her
official life has not only turned her colon.
les against her, but even her own people
have been given burdens almost unsup-
portable. Her leaders seem lacking in
brains and an army of $50, 600 men has
been apparently paralyzed before 80, 600
poorly fed and poorly armed insurgents
No wonder that our government got
tired of a state of things that taxed
her patience to the utmost.
The speaker then refe rred to the fact
this war was forced upon us. We didn't
tian nation ready to step in in the cause
of humanity. The continental nations
failed to aid Armenia, not because it
wasn't right to do SO, but because it
wasn't polite. And SO we had to step in
to do Gods will. It seems wonderful,
said the speaker, that the first conflict,
with its marvellous results, should have
been fought in the western ocean, under
the lands of China, Japan, Singapore
and the isles of the sea, those nations of
the heather SO lately receiving the mis-.
sion of Gods word. There is one thing
we should remember that America has
faults enough and lacks much of her
boosted freedom, but she is America the
home of liberty still. If we do right, if
we fail to knuokle to party in all that
tends to good government, but carry it
out, because it is right that we should,
no matter for tho opinions of other ma
tions, we shall surely be wo rking out
Gods will and He will be on our side,
At the close of the address the audience
sang America.