Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1900-02-08
Boer and Briton.

The NOrrnalia, magazine published
Il at the st. Cloud Normal School, and
was written by a member Of the
faculty:
If British civilization is not only the
best but the only culture that has a
right to exist on the face Of the earth,
then certainly the British are entirely
right and the Beers entirely wrong.
This is the way 'our little two-by-four
editors, preachers, bishops and pro-
fessors view the matter.
Almost every element of our Amer
lean institutions and culture can be
traced, in superficial way, to Eng
land; hence England is our mother
country We Americans have every
thing and know everything that is
worth having and knowing Hence
England !, as the source Of all civil
cation that has any right to exist, has
divine right to annex all the earth. !.
We can speak English
Therefore every nation on the face
of the globe should be forced to
speak English.
We understand no other language
than English;
Therefore it ought to be made a
criminal offence for anyone to speak a
language that we cannot understand.
Our cultured" broad editors of re-
ligious family papers, which, modem
tally have quite circulation in Eng
land, will call upon us to admire
England for not going all to pieces
when she found that the first skirm-
ish with the enemy went against her.
The Dutch Beers of South Africa
are doubtless very crude creatures:
They do not play cards, keep mis-
tresses, smoke cigarettes, wear mono
eles or evening swallow-tail coats.
They have no dukes, dudes or Stan
dard Oil company. Nor do they adj
NIT the divine right of Cecil Rhodes
to rule over them.
Their clothes don't fit.
They are long haired, long bearded,
and incidentally long headed, and be-
heve in crude theology that has
gone out Of fashion in England.
And worst and most heinons crime
They DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH.
After such an Indictment can you
blame the American jackals who fol-
low in the heels Of the British lion for
their holy fervor for English culture
in South Africa? e
But let us leave the opinions Of rem
egade Americans and look at the sub
ject moment. What interest does
humanity have in this vicious little
scrap between Boer and Brit?
Humanity is big subject. More
than can be expressed in one race, ma
ton or culture. If England should
conquer all the world, if her language,
laws and customs, should supersede
all others; good as is the English civ
ilization, this would mean the annihi-
lation of worlds of beauty and truth
for man. 1t takes all the languages
and all the cultures of the world to
express what is in man. Some cul-
lures, to be sure, hold less and some
hold more of realized humanity in
them, but every culture has some
thing that is of value. And this val
liable something is peculiar to that
culture. No other civilization can be
substituted for it without loss of just
this peculiar element that forms it's
vital center.
The Boer is, to be sure, not in the
possession of as rich a culture as Eng
land. For in spite of s'the devil and
(his) Chamberlain" the grand and
noble English people is still sound at
heart. There is more for humanity
in Britain than in Boredom. But
British culture is no substitute for
Boer culture. They are, as we'll as
other cultures, incommensurables.
Humanity will be poorer for all eter-
nifty if Boer culture is now cut off and
not allowed to develop to its normal
frtlitage.
Nor is the loss small. The Boer
civilization, though crude and anti
quated, is healthy. The Boer is full
Of life and energy, is progressive and
aggressive. He does not, to be sure,
adopt English culture uncooked and
unqualified but he would not be
worthy Of our respect if he did. "A
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