Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-04-11
Stop The War.

memory OF the deeds OF valor OF those
patriots struggling for their liberty
and self-government; indeed one of
the proudest legacies of the writer is
the gratifying knowledge of a grand
father serving at Lexington, Mon
mouth, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge,
Cowpens, Red Bank and at Yorkto wn
where the proud but Inundated
CORVALLIS surrendered, and as we
mediate upon the glorious results of
that struggle for freedom and self.
government, who is not proud of be-
ing an American?
This seemed to be in the Provi-
dence of God, the experiment to
settle the problem of the possibility
of self-government by man as we'll as
the divorcing of church and state and
the guarantee of religious tolerance
with the right and privilege of
serving God according to the dictates
of conscious without fear or favor of
the middle man."
With joyful hearts we give all due
praise to our forefathers, to God the
glory, and point the world to our
record of advance as unequalled in
the annals of history of other nations
and to.dynasties and monarchies Of
restricted political and religious
liberties, we point with gratitude to
our neighboring republics Of South
America, Mexico and France as
following in our footsteps and as our
hearts swell with gratitude at what
we enjoy, we fain would forget some
of the sad features OF the purchase
price.
The advance of the British army
end their allies, the Indians was
marked by the glow of fire by night
of the burning houses and villages of
the colonists and by the clouds of
smoke by day." This, and the de-
moralization of the masses, is the
saddest feature of war and not the
slain on battle field or the burden of
the Indebtedness that follows.
During the later (and thank God
the last war with Spain and Cuba)
whose heart was not shocked at the
cruel policy of Spain a boosted
nation ranking first in the history of
the world for hundreds of years in
the arts of war and her army and
navy at her cruel and monstrous
dealing with those uncultured and
semi-civilized patriots struggling for
liberty and self-government as our
forefathers had done, and all
christian nations applauded their
valor and the patriotism of their
heroes MAGIC, Gomez, and Garcia,
and when after 400 years of persecu-
ton and when the historian told the
world that the march of Weyler's
army was known by fire at night and
cloud of smoke. by day of the burning
homes and villages of the patriots, I"
then England, France and Germany
said it's enough and as America is
the natural guardian let her interfere
and stop this waste of life and prop.
erty, and the butcher Weyler, was
driven out of Cuba; and thank God,
Cuba is free, and the streams no
longer run red with human blood,
and the sky is no longer lighted by
the burning of homes by Weyler's
murderous bands.
The sad memory of the purchase
price makes the heart sick. The
unknown number that fell at the front,
the 100000 of Weyler's starved re-
concentrates; these are gone and
are not the worst, they are in the
hands of a nerciful God who surely
will avenge their cause, but the
thousands of suffering widows and
fatherless children who are left as a
legacy of war and they most fully
appreciate the purchase price of
liberty.
When Dewey reduced Manila and
destroyed the Spanish feet without
the loss of man or damage to boat,
none applauded him more than did
the writer and we believe the will
aud power of God directed and sus.
tanned hin, but when the army re-
porters tell us that the glorious
march of McArthur's and Otis armies
"are marked by the fires by night
and clouds of smoke by day of the
burning huts and villages of the
natives" our blood runs cold and we
ask in the name of humanity and
christianity let US call a halt before
this charge goes into history against
us; is this less cruel in the Philippines
OF us, than 1t was in Cuba of Weyler
or in our colonies of the Hessians and
Indians?
/ If our thesis is good that Onnipo.
tence stood by Dewey and his men
and boats, and Sampson at Santiago,
and we believe it is. true, surely ii
looks as though He had forsakeu
Macarthur and Otis and their gallant
men for truly lamentable fatality
attends them; and IN the name of
humanity and the cause of patriots
fighting foreign foe Gas they see it,
| fighting for liberty and self-govern-
ment we offer protest against this un.
holy war so like that of Weyler being
waged upon the principle of extermi.
nation and we are sure this is the
voice and septimopt +oao- 80