The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-12-26

The last Christmas OF the
nineteenth century finds the
Christian world exemplifying its
founders teachings with 5000, 900
men under arms and 20,000,00O
trained soldiers in reserve. Never
before in all the 1900 years has
the art Of killing been cultivated
on such gigantic scale.
Two hundred years ago Jesuit
missionaries endowed the Chin,
ese Imperial observatory at
Pekin with a superb set Of as
tronomical instruments, repre-
senting the highest flights Of the
science and art Of their day.
This was Christendom's message
TO China in those backward times.
Today the troops OF Christian
Germany and France have pack
ed up these instruments to be
sent with other loot to the mus
Gums Of Berlin and Paris. One
Christian power is desolating
South Africa, another is slaugh-
tering Filipinos, and all together
are ravaging China.
Nevertheless, the reign OF
peace and good will is not so far
away as it seemed to be. 1t is
much that Europe and America
are at peace at home. No great
powers are tearing at each 9TH
er's throats, as they were when
the century began. 1t is nearly
80 years since the last duel OF
that sort ended, and the majority
OF the people now living in civil
lied countries have no recollec-
tons of a great war. That is
something that could hardly
ever have been said in any cen
tury since the fall Of Rome. And
it is very doubtful whether there
viii ever be q great war again.
The experience OF England and
America in little wars has not
been such as to encourage any
nation to undertake & big war.
al the imposing masses Of sol
Giery. which up to a generation
ago could not have been main
tanned without devoting them to
wholesale murder. may be only
a glorifed police, the watch-dogs
of peace instead Of the blood
hounds of war.
There never has been an end
aa3 ~ Christmas whose
d compare with this.
aalcsa& years ago it would
a@so -. robust faith to be
ar the prospect. Eu-
rope was bleeding at every vein.
Death had stalked over the fields
Of Marengo and Hohenlinden.
Little America, less populous
than Pennsylvania is today, saw
her commerce threatened with
ruin in the clash of the warring
giants abroad. The union ended
at the Mississippi, and it could
not tell what hostile power might
face it on the western bank.
Today the great world issues
have been fought cut and settled.
The boundaries il most quarters
have been finally drawn. The
destinies Of the races have been
fixed. It is known that English,
which d century ago was spoken
by fewer people than French, or
German or Spanish, is to be the
dominant language Of the earth.
it is known that Russian is to
follow it, and that German is to
follow that. These are things
which the work of the nineteenth
century have settled. They can
not be undone. And these facts
mark out the future Of history
broad and clear.
It would have been hard for
any Christmas seer in the year
1900 to predict the condition Of
today. But we can look forward
with confidence on the state of the
world when on the Christmas of
the year 2000, the currents Of
destiny are sweeping forward on
a course that cannot be mistaken.
\ hundred years from now
international rivalries, as We un-
derstand them, will have ended.
There will be three great powers,
the United States, Russia and
the British empire, and a number
Of minor ones. AL North Amer
lca viii be part of tho I-,,;4a1