Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-06-05

from ignorance and degradation. The
expansion of the knowledge and intel
lectual qualification of all those islandy
regions is the deSire of all intelligent
Americans. Awake. all you schools and
colleges and universities and printing
presses, to your opportunity
Still further, here Isl wide open door
for Christianity. First of all, we have
the attention of those people. The
heather nations are for the most part
soporific. The American missionaries
heretofore had great difficulty in get
ting heathendom to listen. They ex-
cited some comment by their attire, so
different was the parting of the hair
and the shape of the hat and the cut of
the coat and the formation of the shoe
of the evangelizers, but the questions
constantly arose in regard to the mis-
sionary: "Who is he?" "What is he
here for?" And then the interrogation
would relax into the previous stupid in
difference. But that condition of things
has passed. The guns of our American
navy have awakened those populations.
They do not ask who we are. They
have found out. They are now listen
ing to what American civilization and
our Christian religion have to say on
any subject. Now is the time, While
their ears and eyes are wide open, to
tell them of the rescuing and salvable
and inspiriting power of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.
The steam printing press which secular
education plants there may be used and
will be used to print religious news
papers and tracts and sermons and
mighty discussions of questions tenn
poral and eternal.
Influence of Homes.
The comfortable homes of those pop
ulations, when Christianized, standing
side by side with the degraded huts of
those who remain pagans will be revo-
lutionary for good. The Porto Rican
and the Filipino will come out from
this uncleansed and low rooted and IN
inviting kennel and say to his neighbor
of beautiful household, "Why cannot I
have things as you have them?'' And
when he finds that it is the Bible, with
its teachings on family life and per-
sonal purity and exalted principle, and
the church of God that proposes the
rectifcation of all evil and the imp1an
tation of all good, he will cry out,
"Give me the Bible, and the church,
and the earthly alleviations, and the
eternal hope which have wrought for
you such TRANSPORTATION. -
Now, church of God, now, all Chris
tian philanthrcpists, is your opportun
ityl Nothing like it has occurred since
Christ came. Perhaps there may be
nothing like it till his second coming
Here is a defniteness Of aim that is
most helpful and inspiring. The mil
lions of dollars given for the redemp-
ton of the world and the thousands of
glorious missionaries who have as volun
teers gone forth among barbaric nations
were given and enlisted under a great
and immeasura BILE idea. But when they
come to add to the great and immeas
urable idea the idea of defniteness we
will infinitely augment the work. More
than three hundred million of heather
in India, more than three hundred mill
lion of people in China and more mill
lions of heather than can be guessed
outside of those countries sometimes
stagger and confound and defeat our
faith. But here in these islands of pres
ent controversy we can farm out the
work among the churches and in five
years, under the blessing Of God, not
only fit the people for the right Of suf
frage, but prepare them for usefulness
and heaven. The difference between
the general idea of the world evangel-
ization and some particularized field of
evangelization is the difference between
the Improvement Of agriculture among
all nations and the Improvement of rs
acres put under ones especial care and
industry. By all means let the general
work go on But here is the specific
field for religious concentration and de-
velopment. This is not chimerical or
impractical. I read this morning that
the American Missionary association of
the Congregat ional church has already
begun the work at San Juan, Utu ado
and Albonito, and all denominations of
Christians in six months will be in
those islandy fields, and we all need
with our prayers and contri buttons to
cheer them on to take for God and
righteousness those regions which our
American navy has captured from
Spanish perfidy.
It has been estimated that this
war cost us $500. 000,
600. It would not cost half of that to
proclaim and carry on and consummate
a holy war that will rescue those archi
pelagoes from satanic domination. Who
will volunteers I beat the drum of
recruiting station. Who will enlist I'M
der the one starred blood striped ban
ner of Emmanuel? Cuba and Porto Rico
and the Philippines are stepping stones
for our American Christianity to cross
over and take the round world for God.
We need new evangelical alliance or
ganized for this one purpose. In all de-
nominations there are those with large