The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-08
APPLAUSE FOR EXPANSION.
Continued from Eighth Page.

Continued from Eighth Page.
cannon are to be found in use along the
roadsides for every sort of purpose. Hav-
ing been born and bred in a state Of I'M
rest, it is not possible for che Cuban to
settle down az once 10 a state of settled
industry.
Religion and politics, Capt Mason said.
are al a low ebb in the island The mis-
cradle condition of the Cubans. he said,
is due almost entirely to the priests ana
politicians sent out from Spain Both
agents of the government and the repre-
sentatiyes of the church taxed the Cuban
to the uttermost The priests even re-
quired the peasants TO give them mort
cages on their lands TO insure the saliva
ton of their souls after death 1t was
estimated that every man. woman and
child in Cuba paid an average annual rev.
enue TO the Catholic Church Of $l5. The
queen Of Spain and her prime minister. Sa-
gasta, could not have known. Chaplain
Mason said, of the crimes committed upon
the Cuban people by their officials. 1t
was impossible that they should even
dream of the state of affairs there Cuba
was on the other side of the earth TO them
ana was looked upon simply as a prov
ince.
While he did not use the words mani
rest destiny in his concluding remarks
upon the results of the war Chaplain Ma
son implied as much in his discussion Of
the trend of events. When Dewey sailed
from Hong Kong. under orders for the
Phhppines, he was so greatly dissatisfied
with mis- mission, he said, that he went in
10 ms cabin and remained there for hours,
speaking to no one. His desire was to be
ordered to Cuban water to fight the Span
lards. He did not dream of the greatness
which awaited him as the result of his
entry to Manila bay and that it would
make him the most prominent figure of
the struggle He had no idea of the
great results which would follow the exc
cutlon OF his mission. Neither did the
president and his cabinet in Washington
dream of the consequences which were TO
follow this order. When war was declared
no one had the slightest idea that it would
result IN the acquisition of the Philippines
we cannot tell what the outcome will
be- said Chaplain Mason. 81 only know
| that We have started upon the high seas
of expansion and nope that it will so on
as long as duty points the way. The only
thing we can do rs 10 follow the lines of
events as that line is marked out. We
can rest assured that this country will not
long continue any policy which is disrep-
utable or which is opposed by the best
interests of the country. 1t is as useless
10 oppose the tide Of expansion as it was
with her broom We cannot say where
it will end. Events will control the spirit
which the Stars and Stripes represent
| to-day is the spirit which viii be recOg-
nized by the entire world. Little as We
| expected it the war has proven to be the
greatest move of the nineteenth century
| or any other century in the interest of
| humanity"
Chaplain Mason said that while he de-
| plored the shooting of Filipinos by Amer
lean soldiers in the Philippines and re-
| GREETED the necessity for shooting them,
their fate was simply that of all who OPP
posed the onward march of progress.
Every drop of American blood will be
shed and every dollar in the American
| treasury will be spent" he declared, "be-
fore the flag which now flies over the isles
of the sea will be hauled down"
| This remark was greeted with lively ap-
plause. 1t was the greatest thing Ameri-
ca ever did. he said when she stepped
| out of her hermit life and asserted her
| interest in the affairs of the world. She
is now respected by every nation on earth.
Mr.. Mason paid triiA0es in his final. re-
marks to the American soldier and the
| great work which he had done in Ameri-
ca and the Philippines. This was also
| greeted with applause.
| The unusual heat made the large con-
| gresaton in the church somewhat I'M
| comfortable, but the speaker was listened
| TO with the closest attention throughout.
! large number of people who could not
| gain seats or who did not care to enter
the church on account of the heat remain
| ed outside on the asphalt and listened "a
the fine music by the Forty-ninth Iowa
| band.