The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-05-20


and you find godly soldiers like Moses,
and Joshua, and Caleb, aud Gideon, and
scoundrelly soldiers like Sennacherib,
and Shalmaneser, and Nebucadnez-
Ear The high priest would stand
at the head of the army and say:
Hear, Israel, we approach this
day unto battle against your enemies,
let not your hearts faint, fear not, and
do not tremble, neither be we terrified
because of thelnm And then the Of
ficers would give command to the
troops, saying: What man is there
that hath built new house and hath
not dedicated it? Let him go and re-
turn to his house, lest he die in the
battle and another man dedicate it,
And what man is he that hath planted
a vineyard and hath not eaten of it?
Let him also go and return into his
house lest he die in the battle and
another man eat of it, And what man
is there that hath bethrothed a wife
and hath not taken her? Let him go
and return unto his house, lest
he die in the battle and another man
take her." Great armies marched and
fought. In the time of Moses and
Joshua all the men were soldiers.
When Israel came out of Egypt they
were 900, 900 lighting men. Abijah
commanded AGO. 900. Jeroboam COM
manded 500, 900 men. of whom 500. 900
were slain in one battle. Some of
these wars God approved, for they
were for the rescue of oppressed ma
tions, and some of them he denounced,
but in all cases it was judgment up
on both victors and vanquished. David
knew just what war was when he
wrote in the text: Though war
should rise against me, in this will |
be confident"
David is encouraging himself in
stormy times and before approaching
battle administers to himself the con-
solatory. So to-day my theme is the
"Alleviations of War" War is organ
lied atrocity. 1t is the science of as
sassination. 1t is the convocatiou of
all horrors. 1t is butchery wholesale.
1t is murder glorified. 1t is death on
throne of human skeletons 1t is the
coffin in ascendency. 1t is diabolism
at game of skulls. But war is here,
and it is time now to preach of its al
leviations.
First, had an alienation in the fact
that it has consolidated the north and
the south after long-continued strained
relations. 1t is 33 years since our civil
war closed, and the violences are all
gone and the seventies have been
hushed. But ever and anon, in ora
ton, in sermon, in newspaper edito-
rial, in magazine article, on political
stump and in congressional hall the
old sectional difference has lifted it's
head; and for the first time within
my memory or the memory of any
one who hears or reads these words,
the north and the south are one.
BY marvellous providence the fam
lily that led in opposition to our
government 80 years ago is repre-
scented at the front in this present war
Nothing else could have done the work
of unification so suddenly or so com
pletely as this conflict. At Tampa, at
Chattanooga, at Richmond, and in
many other places, the regiments are
forming, and it will be side by side,
Massachusetts and Alabama, New
York and Georgia, Illinois and Louis
lana, Maine and South Carolina North
ern and southern men will together un-
timber the guns and rush upon the for
tificaJions and charge upon the enemy
and shout the triumph. The voices OF
military officers who were under Sid
ney johnson and Joseph Hooker will
give the command on the same side
The old sectional grudges forever dead,
The name of Grant on the northern
4 Il af N "a
will be exchanged for the names oil
Grant and Lee on the same side, The
veterans in northern and southern
homes and asylums are stretching
their rheumatic limbs to see whether
they can keep step in march, and are
testing their eyesight to find whether
they can again look along the gun bar
rel to successfully take aim and fire
The old war cry of "On TO Richmondv
and "On to Washington" has become
the war cry of "On to Havana son t.
Porto Rico!" "On the Philippine Is
landsw The two old rusty sword
that in other days FLASHED at Murfrees
boro and South Mountain and Atlantis
are now lifted to strike down Hispani
denominations.
AnOLneT dllCNldJlOh VI bhS war !
the fact that it is the most unsel6sl
war of the ages. While the CONNER
cial rights of our wronged citizen
will be indicated that is not tn
chief idea of this war. 1t is the res
cue of hundreds of thousands of pee
pie from starvation and multforr
maltreatment. A friend who went GU
under the flag of the Red Cross tw
years ago to assuage suffering in Al
menia, and who has been on the sam
mission, under the same flag, i
Cuba, says that the sufferings /
Armenia were a comedy and fare
compared with the greater suffering
of Cuba. AT least 300, 900 graves al
calling to us to come on and remembe
by what process their occupants diet