The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1899-1900, 1899-06-07

and immensity. So you see when God
planned the universe He diagrammed
it into islands, and He will look after
the interest of each of those islands,
howeversmall, and England and France
and Germany and America must not
treat the smallest and weakest island
that comes under their sway any differ
ent from the way they treat the strong
est nation of all the earth. God may
chiefly deal with individuals in = e next
world, but He deals with nations only
in this world, and when persistently a
nation practices injustice against other
people it is only question of time when
the offender will find his doom. The
path of time is strewn with the car
casses of nations that because of their
mkltreatment of other nations perished
The higher such offending empires rise
the harder will be their fall.
l believe the United States govern
ment will last as long as the world lasts.
] believe the fires of the judgment day
will leap on the domes of our state and
national capitols while yet they are in
their full power. l believe the last
earthquake will put in its explosion un-
der our national foundations while yet
they stand firm. believe the republic
an and democratic form of government
will be the universal form of govern
ment for all nations when they have
been evangelical, for then the nations
will be capable of self-government and
will have demanded and secured that
right. 1t will be either that or a theoc-
racy, which will be the direct govern
ment of Christ in His personal reign
on earth, as many Bible students be-
lieve. Yet that jubilant expectation is
founded not on the skill of human
craftsmanship or human legislation,
but upon the belief that this nation will
submit to Divine guidance, and obey
the Divine law, and carry out its divine
ly imposed mission. But if we defy the
God of nations our doom is fixed.
If our nation forgets its duty to 9TH
er nations and practices injustice
against other people, however insignif-
cant, it will not take another Edward
Gibbon 20 years and through four
great volumes to tell the story of the de-
cline and fall of American institutions.
By so much as our opportunities have
been greater than any nation that ever
lived, and the mission to which she has
been ordained is more stupendous than
any bestowed by the Almighty upon
any people, if we forget our God and
enact wickedness our overthrow will
be quicker and more tremendous, and
yondcr capitolne hill, with its archi-
tectural magnificence, will become
heap of gigantic ruins, to be visited by
the people of other times and other ma
tions, who will read in letters of
crushed and crumbled marble that
which David wrote many hundred
years ago upon parchment: "The way
of the wicked He turneth upside down."
We concluded few days ago the an
nual decoration of northern and south
ern graves. Three years ago, at this
season, in memorial sermon proposed
the twisting of two garlands, one TO be
put upon the grave of the northern SOL
dier and the other to be put on the grave
of the southern soldier, but this year
we need three garlands, the third to be
put upon the graves of those who fell
in this Americo-Hispanic conflict. The
third garland needs to be quite as fra
grant and as radiant as the other two.
These last heroes braved more than
bayonets; they braved the pestiferous
breath of the tropics, whole battalions,
whole regiments, whole brigades,
whole armies of deathful malaria. They
confronted those oppositions of the
torrid climes which no sword can pierce.
no agility climb, no stratagem flank, no
torpedo explode, no courage conquer.
Under the awful charge of visible and
invisible hosts about 6,O00 men went
down, some to instant death and others
through lingering pangs in hospital
II in this third wreath you twist the
crimson rose, suggestive Of sanguinary
sacrifice, and the white Gala lily, sug-
gestive of glorious resurrection, put in
also few forgetmenots, suggestive OF
remembrance, and few passion flow.
ers, suggestive of the love that mourns
the slain, and few heliotropes, sug-
gestive of the fragrance of their mem
dry. Then let the nights dew put the
tears into the blue eyes of the violets
and all the soldiers cemeteries be SC
many censers burning incense before
the throne of that God who has been
the friend of this nation from the time
of Lexington to the time of San Juan
hill, from the guns of the United States
warships Constitution and Constella
ton, at the beginning of the century
to the guns of the United States war
ships Olympia, Oregon, Brooklyn ant
other loaded thunders, at the close Of
this century.
Remember here and now that thos,
brave boys opened up the way for kint
Of expansion we all believe in. They
swung open the gates for the speedy
gospelization of islands stupid with tht
superstition of ages. They cleared thu
way for missionaries and Bibles. They
set those islands free. Leaving to thu
United States government to decide
what shall be the political destiny o
those peoples, let us all join in cam
paign of religious expansion, expan
sion of affection that can take all thu
world in, expansion of our theologiei
until none shall reject their broad III
vitation, expansion of hope that EN-
braces eternity as well as time, expan
sion of effort that will not cease til
the whole earth is saved and the tint
arrives when the prophecy shall be full
filled and they shall come from thu
north and the south and the east ant
the west and sit down in the kingdom
of God, and the last shall be first anC
the first last"
Week before last, in this capital of th'
nation we SET three NIGHTS on fire il