The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-15

hrb academy of Music, New York,
sunday morning, February 18th, 1SoS.
Trxt-.As for YOU, ye meant cfil
against me. but God meant 1T for good
Gen 1:2O.
It is no time for captiouS criticisms
of the President The Chief Executive
of any civilized nation must stand hre'
for peace, and only for war when l,'c
stcrnest duty calls for it. Thus far the
,orree of the President in the Maine
.atastrophc has been one of becoming
dignity. He has given Spain the benefit
,f th., doubt, and quietly proceeded to
prepare for the worst.
Spain is on trial for her life. She is
weak, ignorant and bankrupt we are
the mightieSt nation on the earth. We
have all the resources at home Win
which to fight as long as there Is Il man
10 shoulder a musket We have ten mil
lion men to put into the field and we
have wealth enough to buy hemisphere
The President ought TO be dlSnlhed. But
dignity is not enough. There are no
accidents Whatever caused the destruc-
ton of our beautiful ship in Havana
harbor. the Handicapped of that eXplo-
sion was Gods trumpet call to this ma
tion. If Cleveland had done his duty Gu
ha would have been free more than
wear ago without a drop Of blood beng
shed hv this nation. If Mckinley had
immediately carried out the platform OF
AiS 1artv the war would have ended and
Cuba would have Won her freedom. ne
death of Canovas and change of minis
try and policy in Spain gave him how
ever some ground for Il short delay.
But the delay is Ovcrlong. The helllsh
nature of the destruction of the Maine
has put an end to the patience OF our
people No man of good sense belleV2S
if was AN accident 1t was a horror
without Il parallel in human history.
The mcn had been pipcd below. in Il
moment two hundred and fifty brave
sailors were torn and man@led into
shrcds Of flesh and cotted blood, five
hundred HELPLESS hands clutching for
their weapons found only the flames II
hell. the blackncss of the night. TIE
roaring of foul waters.
But the fash of that explosion was
the gleam of Gods torch with which
he j. searching for the foundation Of
Justice on Spanish soil ''Shall the axe
boast itself against him that heweth
thcrewith:''
Great good will come to our nation
and to humanity from this unparallel-
cd horror.
1. Its hot breath has kindled the fires
Of patriotism in millions of souls. For
This VIC thank God. To-day there Is no
North South East or West. Our peo-
pie are on"-onc i'll sorrow. one III 10y
atty. one in faith, one in the spirit of
glorious sacrifice. We were beginning
to forget our past in the fever Of II pu-
trl atmosphere of modern greed. Men
who wear purple and fine linen and 81
in high places have been schooling Us
in cowardcc. brutality and diShonor III
the name Of peace and industry. These
rud-blOodcd bruteS who call themselves
the ''comScrvatorS' Of society have been
preaching non-intercfDrcno. i'll the face
Of the most helliSh cruclties practiScd 1T
our very doors by u race Of blood-thirsty
eavageS. They have assured us that we
are not our brothers keeper; that onr
sole end in life is to look out for number
one. and bet the rest of the world go t"
held. The thrOb Of patriot hearts has
drowned for II time their Internal noise.
=. Out of it viii come the certainty
of adequate national defense and tn"
safe development OF our future. Our
coast Will be made secure. Little, GIN
let-hcadcd men i'll Washington liave
hitherto prevented this Our navy viii
now be built. We need thirty more
battlc-shpS and a $1O0,O0O.OOO feet Of
smaller craft in cruisers. monitors an
torpedo boats If we had a navy equal
10 our strength and responsibility no ma
tl"n in this world would dare attack lIs.
!he lnad"quacy of our navy Is the only
danger of war to-day with Spain. Th"
lest guarantee of peace is perfect ma
'''''al defense
.. The freedom Of Cuba is now as
sUred. No indemnity or apology. how
ever fnII or abyrct. can satisfy the people
"t America. Spain paid and apologized
Tor the Nlrginiu~. We have passed the
stag Of apology and indemnity. The
honor of the great Republic is not for
sale. Martyrdom means progress. Th"
roar Of the lost Maine was Gods answer
to q murdcrer's cry-Am I my brothers
keeper: Justice is worth more than III
our stocks and bonds. The civil war
cost the nation untold billions Of dollars
ana the blood of half Il million men. 1t
was good Investment. We are richer
nober. stronger to-day for this sacrifice.
National conscience is worth more than
national commerce. National honor i
more precious than gold. God pity the
puny official who in this crisis seeks 10
betray them. He will be ground to DOW
dor.
u" cause of Cuba has become our
cause. We refuse to allow any Other
''''h !" ihl'ftcrc: we must shoulder
the responsibility Of this savage war.
ne murder Of non-combatants the
burning of hospitals filed with wounded
soldiers. the starving of hundreds If
thousands Of innocent women and CHI
dren. 1t is no use to talk longer. Spa n
must get off this part Of the earth.
1t Is useless for legal uIlihhers anl
diplomats to lie about the Maine Thee
are no precedents. This colossal crime i
without a parallel in the history Of mod
"rn civilization. There never w,c
cas-" like it, and there never viii he an
other "''