The record-union., 1899-05-30

he hesitated, and then went on:
WELL l hope am a religious man. Yes.
am a religious. man. but mean IL
were as good a Presbyterian as some
persons have said / am, ] should GER
tainly say that the Lord meant to pun
ish Spain for her years of wickedness
and nlisrule in these islands. Why,
lock at it.' he exclaimed. with a sweep
of his hand that took in Manila and
the beautiful country surrounding Il,
we have taken an empire, and have
scarcely lost a man. 1t was the jddg-
ment of God-the judgment of God!'
he said half to himself. The Stars and
Stripes We're waving over the city. and
he waved his hand toward. the flag and
said, Il hope it floats there forever!"
And lately he has said I'VE must
never part with the Philippines! I am
sure that in future years the idea that
any one should have seriously suggest
ed it will be one of the curiosities Of
history"
Do you not believe. friends, that it IS
part of Gods greas plan to set our
nation like city on a hill that cannot
be hid and to plant the banner Of the
cross in the Pearl of the Antilles" and
the sinking of the Maine was a mere
circumstance? All, mol Just as surely
as the guns blazing throat from Fort
Sumter sounded the knell of secession
and slavery, just SO surely the rever-
beration of the sunken mine that de-
stroyed the Maine vas the death knell
Of Spanish misrule and superstition in
these islands of the sea. and the words
g T-a I, L, fs.Nl f~:-
tion: Even the captives of the mighty
shall be taken away, and the prey of
the terrible shall he delivered; for /
will contend with him thats contandeth
with thee and all flesh shall
know that I am thy Savior and thy
Redeemer, the mighty one of jacob"
Again I am reminded that all doubts
as to the unity of sentiment in the
North and South have been forever
set at rest during this Spanish-Ameri-
can War. 1t has been truthfully said
this war has done more to soothe and
Danish lingering animosities between
two sections than could have been ac-
complished in any other way. For
time the Spaniards flattered themselves
that the Confederacy would join the
Spanish troops in annihilating the
American pigs" but the hope quickly
vanished when the Southern troops
stepped into line with the Northern
There was a regiment of Southern vol
unteers expected to pass through the
city of New Orleans, and it seemed as
if the whole population-men, women
and children-had turned out to see
them go through In a way it was a
pretty sad experience to the old-timers
who remembered the war, because it
brought back 50 viyidly the memories Of
the privations, terrors and heartaeheS
of those days. When the first company
appeared in their bright United States
army uniform it might have been the
signal for wave of bitterness, but it
wasn't. The crowd cheered the Off
GERS cheered the flag, and cheered the
ranks. That wasn't the strangest part
of the scene, though. Most of the men,
as 1 say, wore the regular army uni
form. but a few who had been ordered
out in a hurry hadn't been able to get
any regular army uniforms before they
started so they begged and Borrowed
a lot of old Confederate ones, and went
right along.
They didn't mean to be going back
to old prejudiees in doing that. don't
know that I can explain it, but instead,
of going back they seemed to be bring
ing the past forward. They meant to
make it plain that the old rebel uni
form was as loyal as the blue. At
first sight of that company the crowd
seemed struck dumb, but as they saw
"Cld Glory, floating over them the
crowd broke into deafening cheers that
made the buildings rock. It was a
sight that brought the tears to many
eyes-the boys in blue and the boys
in gray-not simply fraternizing in re-
unions to say that the past is past,
but tramping side by side, shoulder to
shoulder and under the same flag ito
help set Cuba free!''
1t was a lesson to the world that II
our Spartan hosts are united we can
defy all the Rersians of the world A
Mississippian said: 81 don't think
ever realized that the war of 81 was
over as I did the day the Seventy-first
left Camp Black. I stood on the ridge
waiting for the troops to go by, and
when the band passed, what do sup
pose it was playing? Dixie as sure
as you're born! Well, siri it made a
thrill run through me. To have
Northern regiment starting off to a
real war to the tune that used to be
the war-cry of their enemies-well. say,
you know you couldn't talk much about
prejudice in the face of thing like
that"
Was there ever anything in history
like it? There never was a time when
our country was welded together as it
is to-day, and it is safe to say that
Such a Memorial Day as next TlleSdaV
will be has never been known in all
our history. Though as the years go
on the familiar forms of our old heroes
may fade from our sight away, and the
personal acts which have won a peo-
pies plaudits may become dim in
the memory of future generations, their
results will remain in the worlds civ
ilization, wherein will be chronicled the
story of two wars, the like of which
the world never saw before. 1t is
through atonement = the blood-red
struggle-that we get anything worth
having In the war of 81, as the i'm
mortal Whittier expressed it:
We waited meath the furnace blast,
The pangs of transformation.
Not DainlesSly, doth God recast
And mold anew the nation;
Hot burns the fire
Where wrongs expire,
Nor spares the hand
That from the land
UprootS the ancient evil.
But we came out of the furnace a
purified nation Then, from among all
the nations of the earth, God has called
us to loosen the chains of torturing
oppression which have bound another
people, unhappy and helpless. In our
war with Snain persecution has been