The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-06-14

forget our God and enact wickedness
our overthrow will be quicker and more
tremendous, and yonder capitolinc hill,
with its architectural magniicence,
will become a heap of gigantic ruins,
to bevi5ited by the people of other
times and other nations, who will read
in letters of crushed and crumbled mar
Bile that which David wrote many hun
dred years ago upon parchment, ''Thc
way of the wicked he turneth upside
down.
We concluded a few days ago the an
nual decoration Of northern and south
ern graves. Three years ago, at this
season, in memorial sermon l 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 America Hispanic conflict.
The third garland needs to be quite as
fragrant and as radiant as the other two.
These last heroes braved more than
bayonets and bombshell, they braved
the pcstiferous breath OF the tropics,
whole battalions, whole regiments,
whole brigades, whole armies of death
full 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 5000 men went down, some to
instant death and others through lingcr-
ing paDgs in hospital.
If in this third wreath you twist the
crimson rose, suggestive of sanguinary
sacrifice, and nhe white ealla lily, sug-
gestive of glorious resurrection, put in
also few forgetmenots, suggestive Of
remembrance, and few passion flowers
suggestive Of the love that mourns the
slain, and few heliotropes, suggestive
of the fragrance Of their memory. Then
let the nights dew put the tears into
the blue eyes of the violets and all the
soldiers cemeteries be so 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 Constellation; at the
beginning of the century, to the guns
of the United States warships Olympia,
Oregon, Brooklyn and other loaded
thunders, at the close of this century.
Remember here and now that those
brave boys opened up the way for kind
Of expansion we all believe in. They
wing open the gates for the speedy
-,spelization of islands stupid with the
superstition of ages. They cleared the
way for missionaries and Bibles. They
set those islands free. Leaving to the
United States government to decide
what shall be the political destiny Of
those peoples, let US all join in cam
paign O. religious expansion, expansion
of affection that can take all the world
in, expansion of our theologies until
none shall reject their broad invitation
expansion Of hope that embraces eter-
pity as well as time, expansion of eff
ort that will not cease till the whole
earth is saved and the time arrives when
the prophecy shall be fulfilled and
'they shall come from the north and
the south and the east and the west
and sit down in the kingdom Of God and
the last shall be first and the first last. "
Week before last, in this capital Of
the nation, We set three nights on fire
in celebration Of naval and soldierly
heroics, and there were rockets Of fire,
and spouting fountains Of fire, and bonn
bardments Of fire, and ships Of fire sank
in pillows of fire and those three nights
were three garlands of fire; but now we
are in softer and quieter mood, and the
three garlands of today are woven of
blossoms and corollas Of all colors and
all pugencies Of aroma, and we bethink
ourselves that this third garland was
needed to chain together the northern
gafland of other decorative times to the
southern garland Of other decorative
times. Floral chain of three links!
For the first time in 60 years the north
and south stand in complete brother
hood. Heroes OF Vermont and Ala
bama, of Massachusetts, and South Car
olina, of Maine and Louisiana, shoul-
der to shoulder! May that alliance re-
main until the last oppression is extir-
pated from the earth and all nations
stand in the liberty with which Christ
would n,se all people free.