The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-06-21

faith. But here In these 1elanoS OF p1osoIS
controversy We can farm out the WorE
among the churches and in FIVE years, unoer
the blessing OF God, not only TT the Peo'
pie for the right Of suffrage, put pre-;
pare them for usefulness and heaven;
The difference between the generaI
idea OF the worlds evangeiiza.
tion and some particularized field OF
evangelzation Is the difference between
the Improvement OF agriculture monR oil
nations and the improvement OF seventy
five acres put under ones especial care
and industry. BY all means let the gen
eral work 60 On. But here Is the specinc
field for religious concentration and de-
velopment. This Is not chimerical or Inn
practical. read this morning that the
American Missionary Association Of the
Congregational Church has already begun
the work at San Juan, .Utuado and Aibon-
ito, and all denominations OF Christians In
Six months will be In those islandy fields,
and we all need with our prayers and
contributions to cheer them on to take for
God and righteousness those regions
which our American navy has captured
from Spanish perAdy.
It has been estimated that this America
Spanish war cost US $500 900 900. Itwould
not cost half OF that to proclaim and carry
on and consummate holy war that will
rescue those archipelagoes from satanic
domination. Who will volunteer beat
the drum Of a recruiting station. Who Will
enlist under the one spared, blood striped
banner OF Immanuel2 Cuba and Porto 4
Rico and the Philippines are steppingS
stones for our American Christianity toy
cross over and take the round world for
God. We need q new evangelical alliance
organized for this one purpose. In all de-
nominations there are those with large
enough hearts and who have been thor
oughly enough converted to join In
such an advanced movement-men who,
putting aside all the minor differences OF
opinion, "beIleve In God the Father
Almighty, Maker OF heaven and earth,
and In Jesus Christ His only begotten
Son" and who would march shoulder S to
shoulder in such Gospel campaign. The
result would be that those islands, after
such scene Of gospelization, would assort
themselves into denominations to suit
themselves, and some would be sprinkled
In holy baptism and others would be I'M
mersed in those warm rivers and some
would worship In religious assemblage
silent as the Quaker meeting house, and
others would have as many jubllant ejacu.
lations as backwoods camp meeting, and
some Of those who preached would be
gowned and surpliced for the work, and
others would stand In citizens apparel OF
which Is to save the world. ..
Mark you we'll that craftsmanship, how
ever grand 1t Is, and wise men OF the world,
however noble, cannot do this work. Mere
secular education does not moralize. Some
OF the most thoroughly educated men in
all the world have been the worst men.
Quickena mans intellect, while at thesame
time you do not make his morals good, and
you only augment his power for svil. Geo.
4 nd az nh Iyoio
and philosophy will never qualify people
to govern themselves. corrupt printing
press is worse than no printing press at
all, but let loose an open Bible upon those
isluuds and let the apocalyptic angel once
fly over them, and you will prepare them
to become either colonies OF the United
States government, or, as I hope will be
the case, independent republics. ...
God did not exhaust Himself when He
built this nation. The islands will yet have
their Thomos Jeffersons, qualified to write
for them declarations OF ofindependence; and
George Washlngtons, capable OF achieving
their liberties; and Abraham Ltoc coins.
strong enough to emanctpate their serf-
doms, and Longfellows and Bryants, cap
able OF putting their hills and their rivers
and their landscapes into poems; and the
,Bancrofts and Prescotts, to make their his.
tories; and their Irvings, to write theiI
Sketch Books; and their Charles OConorf
and Rufus Choates. to plead In their court.
rooms; and their Daniel Websters and John
J. Crittendens, to move their Senates.
The day cometh-hear It all ye who nave
no hope for those islands Of be-dwarfed
and diseased il,iterates-the day cometh
when those regions will have a Christian
civilization equal to that which this coun'
try now enjoys, while hope by that time
this country will be rs superior to what 1t
now Is as to-day Washington and New
York ars better than Manila and Santiago.
DO You see in this process OF gospeltzed
intelligence those archipelagoes will az
q nation be protected from the two woes
prophecised in regard to this Countrywide
one woe propnecised by the eIpansionists
and the other woe prophecised by the
anti.expansIonists It Is said by those who
would have US take all we can lay our
hands on as q nation that, unless we enter
the door now open for the enlargement OF
our national domain, We will decline the
mission which God In His providence has
assigned US. But surely no woe Will
come upon US or upon them II We
Christiapize them as we now have tho
opportunity OF doing. The political tech
nlcaIities are nothing as compared with
the importance OF this movement. l I'm.
plore all political expansionists to aug
rnent us in this work Of moral and relig.
ious expansion, for unless those islands
are moraliaed and elevated in intelligence
and habits we do not want them, and their
annexation would be political damnation.
On the other hand, implore oil anti
expansionists to take a hand In the gos-
peiization OF Cuba, Porto Rico and the
Philippine Islands. The only way to pre-
pare them to take care OF themselves is to
give them the Ten Commandments that
were published on Mount Sinai and let
them hear the groan Of sacrifice that was
breuthed out Oh the heights Of Golgotha.
What they most want is the Gospel, the
pure Gospel, the omnipotent Gospel, the
Gospel that helps heal the wounds OF the
body and irradiates the darkness OF the
mind and achieves the ransom OF the soul.
But on this platform the so called ex.
pansionists and 80 called anti-expansionists
will yet stand side by side. Though am
not q prophet or the son OF propnet,
within five years, II this eliglo-educationat
work is properly attended to, there will be
a Cuban republic, q Porto Rican republic
and Philippine republic, one Of them oD
n large scale, but they will all have their
schools and printing presses and evangell-
cal churches, their Presidents, their Senates
and House OF Representatives. their Mayors
and their constabulories, and as good Or
der will be observed in their cities as now
reigns on Pennsylvania avenue, Washing
ton, or Brc .dway, New York.
Christ has started for the conquest OF the
natious, and nothing on earth or In hell can
stop 1t. The continents arc rapidly rolling
into His dominion, and why not these ISL
ands, which for the most part are only
fragments broken of from continents, the
interval lands having been sunk by earth
ouakes, allowing the ocean to take mas
tery over them. Each mother continent
has around It a whole family oflittle CONT
pents. II the continents are being SO
rapidly evangelical, why not the islands?
II America, why not Cuba and the BAHIA.
mas? II Asia. why not the Philippines and
the Noluccas? II Europe, why not the