The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1899-07-07
THE FOURTH OF JULY.
A Reverie by One of Our kinsIey
Citizens.

Citizens.
The glorious Fourth has come. Too
wet to hoe and harvest and not patri-
otic enough to celebrate in our neigh
boring towns, we've settled down in the
sweet solace of rest and reverie, dis
turbed only by occasional explosions
that have grown from the infant fire
cracker to the dangerous torpedo
keeping pace with our national ex-
pansion. To the small boy the Fourth
of July means much, not only of fun,
but often sorrow-lacerated hands, the
loss of an eye, and even more serious
facturer and dealer in dangerous pyr-
Otechnics. But we are trying to think
what significance it has to many of our
American people to-day. To the true
patriot it has heretofore meant inde-
pendence, liberty and freed ON, but the
bird of liberty is now lowering over
us with broken wing. Once it meant
to honor the flag that makes us free:
now We seek to dishonor it by trailing
it in the path of conquest and subju-
cation of other nations struggling to
be free. To the American patriot it
meant to govern by the consent of the
governed; to-day it means to govern
against the will of the people. To-day
we have an entire suoversion of the
found att on principles of our govern
ment, and he who tries. to reconcile,
sugar coat or justify those conflicting
ideas and endorse expansion and i'm
perialism at the cost of bloody war.
broken hearts and loss of honor, must
be in the lowest depths of Hypocrisy.
But perhaps we are forgetting the hope
full results that are to follow in open
ing the way for missionary work among
the savage and naked Filipinos, of
whom SO many of our good people
stand in awe. But the mission of the
Great Master was peace on earth, good
will to men. He deprecated war and
said: DO not evil that good may
come" There are thousands of negro
children in our southern country who
go naked-or nearly ,o-during the
hot months. Thousands OF ladies in
our land dress ecollette-de-nu 1t
is said that our revolutionary soldiers
were shOeless and at Valley Forge left
trail of blood in the snow. Yet we
never think of calling them savage or
barbarous. Garb is not always an
Indication of character Or civilization,
and such comparisons and conclusions
are unjust. A people who have built
many fine cities and beautiful homes,
who have helped to feed the world,
and furnished us with "matting and
binding twine,'' anc who are imbued
with the lofty principles of liberty and
freedom. and are seeking t" work out
their own destiny along these lines.
are worthy of better title than that
of Savage" or "barbarOus. They
were once our friends and allies
and rejoiced in their rescue by us
from Spanish rule. Our mission
aries could then have gone amongst
them with the gospel of peace and love,
but this nation lost it's golden oppor-
tunity by its lack of reason and en-
couragement, and its red tape and i'm
perial methods of dealing with them,
and when it covenanted with Spain
Tor. more truly. conspired with hell
for the exercise eff sovereignty over
the Philippines, and when this nation
conveyed the fact to them with the
command for them to bay their custom
house duties to this nation, it was but
the natural instict of humanity that
prompted them to resent our encroach-
ments and commercial piracy and to
act in defense of their homes and coun-
try, and the same principles for which
this nation fought.
Twenty-six thousand dollars is said
to be the cost of every Filipino that
we have killed, exclusive of naval ex-
penses. Where and when will this
folly end of trying to subjugate, or,
as some OF our good people would have
it. to civilize aud christianize them
with. bayonet, sword and bullet, and
the collection Of duties on cargoes of
American beer and rum.
Why invite retribntive justice upon !
as did The psfixes d he an
q. n -