Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-06-29

1
| tested. It would, II it had the power, leave
eyery church, chapel, cathedral, school.
house and college in ashes.
Another suitor for the hand of this ma.
tion is inndelity. When the midnight ruff
| fans despoiled the grave of A. T. Stewart
| in st. Marks churchyard, everybody was
| shocked, but infidelity proposes something
worse than that-the robbing of all the
| graves of Christendom of the hope of re-
surrection. 1t proposes to chisel out from
words. Asleep In Jesus" and substitute
| the words, 'Obliteration-annihil
Infdelity proposes to take the letter from
the worlds Father, inviting the nations TO
| virtue and happiness and tear 1t up into
fragments SO small that you canno- read
word OF it. 1t proposes to take the conso-
| lation from the broken hearted and the
| soothing pillow from the dying. 1nfidelity
| proposes to swear in the President OF the
| United States and the supreme court and
the Governors OF States and the witnesses
in the courtroom with their right hand OF
Paine's cage OF Reason" or Voltaires
philosophy OF History" 1t proposes to
take away from this country the book that
makes the difference between the United
States and the kingdom of Dahomey, be-
| tween American civilization and Bornesian
cannibalism. II infidelity could destroy
the Scriptures, 1t would in 200 years turn
| the civilized nations back to osemibarbarism,
and then from semibarbarism into mid
| erie OF tigers, rattlesnakes and chimpan-
zees would be better than the morals OF the
| shipwrecked human race.
| The only impulse in the right direction
that this world has ever had has come
| from the Bible. 1t was the mother OF
| Roman law and of healthful Jurisprudence.
| That book has been the mother of all re-
| forms and all charities-mother OF Eng
| lish magma charta and American Declara-
| tion of Independence. Benjamin Franklin,
l .Sl TIzI.. D%Nl lvxI It1 haw. ukn nod
| before an infldel club in Paris and read to
| them out of the prophecies of Habakkuk,
and the infidels, not knowing what book
it was, declared that it was the best poetry
they had ever heard, That book brought
George Washington down on his knees in
/ the snow at Valley Forge and led the dy-
ing Prince Albert to ask some one to sing
Crock of Ages"
| tell you that the worst attempted crime
| of the century is the attempt to destroy
this book. Yet infldelity, loathsome, stencil
| full, leprous, pestiferous, rotten monster
| stretches out its hand. ichorous with the
second death, to take the hand of this re-
| public. 1t stretches it out through seduc-
tive magazines, and through lyceum lee
lures and through caricatures of religion.
| 1t asks for all that part of the continent al
ready fully settled, and the two-thirds not
| yet occupied. 1t says: "Give me all east
| of the Mississippi, with the keys OF the
church and with the Christian printing
| presses-then give me Wyoming, give me
Alaska, give me Montana, give me Colo
rado, give me all the States west of the
Mississippi. and will take those places and
| keep them by right Of possession long be-
fore the gospel can be fully intrenched."
| But there Is another suitor that presents
his claim for the hand OF this republic. He
| Is mentioned in the verse following my
! text where it says. Gas the bridegroom re-
| joiceth over the bride, so shall thy God re-
| joice over thee" Before Columbus and his
| 120 men embarked on the Santa Maria, the
Pinta, and the Nina, for their wonderful
voyage, what was the last thing they did?
They sat down and took the holy sacrament
of the Lord Jesus Christ After they caught
| the first glimse OF this country and the gun
of one ship had announced 1t to the other
vessels that land had been discovered, what
was the song thst went up from all the
| three decks? "Gloria in excelsis.'' After
Columbus and his 100 men had stepped
from the ships deck to the solid ground,
what did they do? They all knelt and coz
secrated the new world to God. What did
| the Huguenots do after they landed in the
| Carolinas? What did the Holland refugees
| do after they had landed in New York?
| What did the pilgrim fathers 10 after they
| landed in New England2 With bended knee
and uplifted face and heaven besieging
| prayer, they took possession of this conti-
nent for God. How was the first American
Congress opened? By prayer, in the name
| of Jesus Christ. From its birth this nation
was pledged for holy marriage with Christ.
And then see how good God has been to
us! Just open the map of the continent
and see how 1t is shaped for immeasurable
properties. Navigable rivers, more in
number and greater than of any other land,
| rolling down on all sides to the sea, prophe-
| sying large manufactures and easy COM
merce. Look at the great ranges of noun
tains timbered with wealt.i on the top and
sides, metaled with wealth underneath.
| One hundred and eighty thousand square
| miles of coal. One hundred and eighty
thousand square miles Of iron. The land
so contoured that extreme weather hardly
ever lasts more than three days-extreme
most part bracing and favorable for Drawn
all harvests. Scenery displaying an
autumnal pageantry that no land
on earth pretends to rival. No
South American earthquake. No Scotch
plaques. No Germanic divisions. The
people OF the United States are happier
than any people on earth. 1t Is the testi-
mony Of every man that has travelled
abroad. For the poor more sympathy,
for the Industrious more opportunity.
Oh, how good God was to our fathers, and
| how good He has been to us and our chill
dren. To Him, blessed be His mighty
name-to Him Of cross and triumph, to
Him who still remembers the prayer of the
| aAo IlOiiuuu ICluSCcS uuu tuO
pilgrim fathers, to Him shall this land be
married. Oh. you Christian patriots, by
your contributions and your prayers.
hasten on the fulallment OF the text.
While some people may stand az the
gates OF the city, saying, "Stay packP' to
foreign populations, press out as far be-
yond those gates as can press out beyond
them and beckon to foreign nations, say
ing, "Come, come, all ye people who are
honest and Industrious and God loving!"
But say you, 81 am 80 afraid that they
will bring their prejudices for foreign gov
ernments and plant them here" Absurd.
They are sick of the governments that
have oppressed them and they want free
America! Give them the great gospel Of
welcome. Throw around them all Chris
tian hospitalities. They will add their in
dustry and hard earned wages to this
country, and then we will dedicate all
to Christ and "thy land shall be married"
But where shall the marriage altar be?
Let 1t ne the Rocky Mountains, when,
through artificial and mighty irrigation,
all their tops shall be covered, as they
will be, with vineyards and orchards and
| yru ma Thau az bo ho