The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1899-01-18

I
,ther term than American ~gallantry
will be necessary to an adequate ex
planation to inqniring c~onsiderate
minds. The battle Of Manila was
The echo of a new revolution. It's
omens were continued on land and
sea without intermission till the
downfall of the Spanish flag. The
flags of America and Spain repre-
sented two very different powers.
In 1902 when Christopher Colum-
bus returned to Spain and reported
to the king and queen that he had
discovered a New Foundland, one Of
the first things that Ferdinand and
| Isabella did was 10 send messengers
to the Pope Of Rome and give to
his holiness all the realms and lands
embraced in the great discovery. The
grateful successor to St. Peter re
ceived them and then bestowed them
back to the king and queen of Spain
as the faithful custodians of the Ro-
man Catholic Church. But in the
prudence of God the land was pee
pied by the Protestant Anglo-Saxon
and his children. By successive con-
quests and purchases of this restless,
progressive family of people this
country has been entirely captured
from the Spanish crown and now
we see its soldiers and sailors
wrestling the last Of SPANS pos
sessions from her relentless ty-
ranny. The Anglo-Saxon estab-
lished here liberty Of conscience,
in politics and religion and our great
Republic became the coveted haven
of the Protestant exiles of all lands.
Her flag has become the emblem OF
protection to the prosecuted OF all
countries and in turn has been given
by the God of nations the task of
being the great exemplar in govern
ment and the great liberator to the
poor and distressed Of earth's scat
tered families with the Anglo-Saxon
gives wherever he lives a spiritual
Christianity and a personal liberty
and personal independence, and free
thought and freedom of expression
these trophies u flag will carry
to all our new possessions.
By u battles and successes or
land and sea it is clear to any obser.
want mind that God himself has
sealed his commission as a mission.
airy to the isles OF the sea-" 1t is
very clear that a greater nation has
arisen to take SPANS place and tc
sheer her of her terrors and give
more of the sons of men a place
among freemen and a right to be re
ligiously what they desire. He is E
blind man who can't e the direc
ton Of a superior intelligence. I an
not of the opinion that the Republi
Can Administration meant expansion
at the commencement of this strug
gle. But one achievement led on tt
another and now that the Admins
tration sees that Jul destiny is more
evident aid our duty more clearly
marked out and that a. the II
strument in the hands of a supreme
intelligence for great purpose. How
humiliating to a free born American
to read of the departure from Spai1
of DOOR Cervera's fleet. To see hi
poor, deluded soldiers kneeling
around the statue of "the Virgin
Mary" and receiving the blessings o:
the Catholic Church and promising
a poor statue of lifeless marble that
they would hold the Spanish colonies
for you and your son Jesus and fol
the Holy Catholic Church, we will
die in the attempt" The fight al
Santiago revealed to Cevera and his
soldiers that they were living in a
dream but the guns Of the American
navy and the crash of those burning
vessels awake ned them to a reality
It was the bugle blast Of a new
day. It was the sunrise of q
new gospel. They died but
failed to hold the colonies for the Vir-
gin Mary and for the Holy Catholic
Church, but the presence Of the flag
of freedom is now the continual re-
minder to that one imprisoned PEG
pie that the power of Christ has
made them free aid they are free
indeed.
Nearly 1000 islands are now num-