The Progress., 1898-10-01

Qur5,
That part which kings or laws can cause or
cure"
DR.. Johnson never wrote sadder
truth than that. 1t comes home to
every man and woman and family.
Neither kings nor presidents nor laws
can give us peace Of mind, good health
or happiness at home, nor can they pre-
ventit. They cannot bring the rain Or
the drought OF the pestilence nor stop it
when it comes. There are some things
in this life so much bigger than pres
idents and governors and laws that
we cease to regard all human oppres-
sion. When family is broken up by
discord or sin or shame, it is greater
calamity to them than war is to d
nation.
Glow very sad and weary is the room
Where loye--domestic love-no Longer
ncstles;
But smitten by the cruel stroke of doom
Its corpse lies on the trestles."
What an awful picture is that! The
corpse of love shrouded and cofined
in the family room, but never buried
nor removed. was Illuminating about
this because have letter from dis
consulate man who upbraids me for
telling the girls not to marry until
they are sure of good husband. He
says: "Why not extend your caution
to the young men, for my sad expert
ence is that the girls are more caprici-
Gus and uncertain than the boys? +
thought that ! had made a happy
choice, but my wife has gone away
and left me and the children that she
bore to me and our home is desolate. "
Well, that is bad and sad, but it is
one case among thousand. In fact,
it is the only one / ever heard OF.
The contrast to it is another letter,
from distressed mother who begs me
to help her find her boy--her darling
boy--who enlisted in company B.
Twelfth United States infantry, and
was sent to Santiago and she has heard
nothing from him since the oath of
July, when he was lying sick in the
hospital. She has written him often
since then, but never line nor O mes
sage from him. "He was always
good to write to me" she says, "and
loves me dearly. and now am almost
heartbroken. / saw in the papers
that his regiment has been sent to
Camp Wikof, but where is my boy?"
l wonder how. many of those cases
there are and who is responsible for
it. The darling boy is dead, I reckon,
INT have written to a friend in New
York to visit the camp and to learn
what he can. There is nothing left
for these bereaved mothers now but to
weep aud wait-wait for death and the.
resurrection. The. glad reunion of
mother and child in heaven is enough
to make anybody get religion.
There is trouble at our house, too,
just nova trouble that man,did not
cause, and we fear that man cannot
cure. I do not like to write q sad
letter, but trouble loves sympathy, and
most everybody loves to give it. Sym
pathy costs nothing, and is worth more
than money to those whose hearts are
aching. For four long, anxious weeks
our little orphan girl has been wasting
and burning with fever that seems
impossible to break, and the dear little
patient child grows weaker every day,
and never complains. For three vim
' tiers VIC nursed her in Florida, and she
was getting strong and growing in
stature and in girlish beauty-the Joy
and comfort of her widowed mother
the light of orr house, and all who
know her love her. What can we do
but pray and plead and hope? Already
We are trying to see the silver lining
to this coud-the welcome that she
will give uswhen we cross the river if
she should die and Join the angels. .
But enough OF this. Now what les
sons shall we learn from all the hor-
rors Of this four months war? One
occurs to me; whenever a soldier is
sick in the hospital the officer in charge
should be required to acquaint his
family by letter or card every day of
his condition, and if he dies to make
known the manner and place Of his
burial. Every hospital should keep a
register of the name and residence
and nearest Of kin of every soldier re-
ceived. Why should this mother have
to hunt in helpless ignorance for her
son? Ii he is too sick to write, why
should not somebody be detailed to
write for him? 1 am not now arraign-
ing those who virtually murdered
hundreds of our boys, but there should
be some new army regulations for the