, 1900-07-19
UNVEILED THE FUTURE.

Hon. ]. A. Van Orsdel delivered an
eloquent and prophetic Grafton at
Guernsey on July 4th. In its entirety it
was 3 In his reference to the ex-
.6hsion of this nation to the Pacific
seas Mr.. Van Orsdel pulled aside the
veil which obscures the future and
gives his auditors a glimpse of that
which is to come. We make a few ex-
tracts:
1.-The material greatness Of a nation
is measured by its standing in h COM
mercial world. With Hawaii, Guam,
the Philippines, the construction OF the
N~icaraguan canal, the commerce Of the
Pacific will be securely our own. The
seat Of commercial enterprise is rapid
ly shifting from the Atlantic. and the
Pacific, which the late war has SO COM
pletely placed in our control, is rapidly
becoming the theater OF action.
From behind the mist that wells
the future, l see great changes which
seem inevitable. The English-speak-
ing race is destined to extend its Ian
guage, its government and its civil
ization around the globe. Its westward
march, starting with jamestown and
Plymouth Rock, has completely encom-
passed the western hemisphere. 1t has
gained a permanent foothold on the
lands and among nations of the far
east. When the guns of Dewey re-
sounded from the bay of Manila, they
echoed through the world, not SO much
the notes Of victory for American arms,
as the announcement of the dawn of a
new day, the landing Of the English
race in its triumphal march upon the
shores of Asia, and the establishment
of its government and its civilization
in those oriental empires. 1t is the
hand Of the Supreme Ruler of nations,
shaping and ruling the destinies Of
men. 1t is the inevitable development
of His plan to redeem the world from
%barbarism to civilization, to use the
Anglo-Saxon race as an instrument in
whose hands this mighty regeneration
shall be brought about. And let me
say, in the progress of this wonderful
scheme, wherever the flag of liberty
has been planted by the valor, the blood
and the patriotism of American citi-
zens. there it will remain forever, and
woe be to the man or set of men who,
in c~ontravention Of this eternal des-
tiny, shall attempt to tear it down.
THE outcome Of the present strug-
gle in China 1 am not able to pre-
= dict; but one thing is certain, the
civilized nations will not withdraw
from thai empire. Civilization will
not take a backward step. 1t is today
knocking at the gates of China, and
Monaghan barbarism and idolatry
must yield. That vast territory is too
valuable for civilization to be longer
abandoned to heathenism. By super
ior diplomacy we have established the
open door policy in China. This policy
embraces the civilized nations, and they
are great enough and strong enough
to sustain it. An international army
has been landed in China, and if the
necessity arises, the United States will
be the chief factor in solving the Ash
attic problem.
"Out of all this can be seen the pro-
found wisdom of the founders of our
government, in the establishment of a
union, and not a confederation Of
states. They constructed the govern
ment stronger than they knew. They
laid the broad, liberal foundation,
strong enough and sufficiently flexible
to reach out and govern territories and
peoples in the remotest corners of the
earth. Yet We have among us today
that class of diseased mind that, in the
foundation OF the government, opposed
Hamilton, that opposed the purchase of
Louisiana, that opposed the annexation
of Texas, that opposed every ogre
sive step that this nation has ever TAX
en-that are today opposing the gov
m and predicting its downfall
because we have extended our eoyern-
ment to a few insignificant islands of
the sea.
This nation is yet in its infancy. It
is only developing strength. Giant
though 1t is, it is only in the MORNING
of Its existence. What may we not nre-
dict when it basks in the MONDAY sun
You might as well try to stop the sun
In his majestic course, as to check the