The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1899-02-09

e antees freedom OF religious be
l. belief, one Of the wisest provisions
e ever evolved from the brain OF man
a The cloisters Of We ancient mank in
We olden time were not forgotten.
p The hellish deeds perpetrated under
0 cover of the monkish cowl were too
4 recent, and the bell of St. Bartholo-
4 new was still ringing in their ears,
0 whose fatal knell summoned thous-
g ands to Heaven or to hell. They de-
termined that in this new empire
5 there should be no union of church
I and state, and that every individual
, should be guaranteed the right Of
worshiping God according to the
dictates of his own conscience. The
cIergymen are not fit counsellars in a
matter Of this kind. They look at it
only from the standpoint of the
Christian philanthropiSt. 1t is the
only point from which they are cara-
bable OF looking at it, for certainly
if they have fitted themselves for
their high calling they have had little
time to study the science of govern
ment. But, at any rate, whether
they have so fitted themselves, or
have not, craftsmanship and inter
national polity is something with
which they have no concern. 1t was
not contemplated by the fathers, as
the freedom Of religion clause clearly |
shows. but on the contrary it was
contemplated that they as a body
should have nothing to do with sbap-
ing the policy Of this country. And
whether that provision had been in
the constitution or not, it is a prin-
ciple that appeals to all non bigotted
or unprejudiced men. There are FIVE
times more Buddhists, for instance,
in the world than all the Protestants
and Catholics combined, and about
five times more Catholics than
Protestants. They are probably as
sincere in their religions belief as we
are. or at least they are so far as we
know. (
There is plenty Of civlizing to do t
at home. Try to correct anarchism '
and socialism and remedy internal
evils. There is one county in Ken
lucky that needs civilizing about as t
bad as any portion Of this world we
know Of. There is plenty Of room a
there for twenty missionaries for IL
twenty years. But am DEPRESSING e
somewhat, and must to my text. "
We commenced the war with hui
rs the slogan. TO
rec down trodden and oppressed
'uba was our cosus beW. We did
hat, but in its accomplishment we W
anne into the possession Of the Phil In
lppineS. A territory for which we %
ave no earthly need, the inhabitants D'
t which are not homogeneous to our J
eople, but a Heterogeneous mass 81
rom any and everywhere. They II
ant their independence. They want W.
, be free, aud appeal to the United II
tates, that great nation which blaz-
/ the path to freedom, and which
.ands today as the greatest repre- 20
.ntative of Self-g0ysrnment the world
az ever seen, to allow them to he r,
ee. Shall they appeal in vain7
ave the memories Of the revolution
Id our own struggle for indepen- 81 I
,nce been dimmcd and blurred by a."
me? Has the mercantile spirit of '"s
e age. forgotten our glorious past, ' 'I,
Nv shining with redoubled splendor, =, II
its nOblest monuments are about ."e
be destroyed by the hand of the 10
ndal? Are Mckinley and Hanna a 81,
d Foraker superior in statesman ~, f"
Up to EirgiDia'S great gilt to the 4"
ton, the immortal jefferson, or =, ,o'
lmiton or Adams? Well We weep ~, ,re'
t. By their side they stand as ~
ymieS In intellect. in breadth of y"
teSmanship, in patriotism, they are .: 800
aried. jefferson the great author ''o,
orr Magma Charta, the Declare ""u
n of independence, and Hamilton, 'oh'
ose facile pen did so much to secure , Io"'
adoption of the constitution, na'
nd rest uneasily IN their graves ~ 10 :,
they know of the effort to tear ~ = =
vn the fabric, to the rearing OILS
Ich they devoted thnir lives. And 'ie
re is whittier it leadest. The only '"e -,
1t to guide the footsteps of the ,
'eSman is the lamp Of experience, 'o"'
ruly said Patrick Henry, and all le'n
erience teaches tagt this entangle- 90 !, II
1t with the old wOrll can bCde no ' ,''
d. But we stand as self confessed 0p"o
Ocritcs. We did not wage war : :u""
conquest Of heather and their '"s
tory. We put our casus beLH ''op
n the broad ground oi humanitar- ',
sm, and yet we follow in the foot '"''
s Of the old rotten monarchies of a"u
If tht