Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-24
NO BLAZING METEOR
Archbishop Keane's Estimate Of Star
Of Destiny.
new MEANING OF TERM PROGRESS
Lecture Under the Auspices Of
Local Patriotic Societies.
DISTINGUISHED GATHERING

| An audience notable in its character
| gathered in the Lafayette Square Opera
House yesterday afternoon. The assemblage
! was not only distinguished in the direction
of being remarkably representative of the
| best that America contains. but was inter-
| national well. The occasion was in keep
| ing with the attendance. Archbishop JOHN
| J. keane, whose fame scholar and
| orator extends wherever intelligence OBJ
| tains, was to lecture upon The Star of
Destiny under the auspices of the patri-
otic societies of the District.
The theater was handsomely decorated,
and the nations flag was appropriately in
| evidence everywhere.
| President Mckinley occupied a box, to-
| gether with Justice and the Misses Nc
| kenna, the Secretary of War and Secre-
| tary John Addison Porter Among the
| cUpants of the other boxes were the Ger
| man and Mexican ambassadors, several
| attaches of other legations and officers of
| Upon the stage with Archbishop Keane
| were Senator Depew. DIR. E. NJ. Gallaudet.
| Rabbi Stern, F. P. B. Sands, Josiah Pierce,
B. IL Warner. D. Qqintard. Albert r Carr;
| Others Mr. Hay presented Senator Depew
| as presiding officer.
A Need of the Nation.
| The latter paid an eloquent tribute to
| Archbishop Keane in the course of his in
| PRODUCTION, and then created more enthu-
sasm by calling attention to what he
| termed "a great need Of the nation"
| q did not consult the President. he
| said before 1 came here upon what 1
| have to say. 1 did not give him chance
| to place his veto on my remarks. and 1
| can speak without any restriction also be-
| cause 1 am the only man on the floor of
| the Senate who does not hope to become
/ Gn wit ,nlpff saQr of 1a11cP
| 1 say that the nation should build new
White House. Everything else in America
has expanded but the White House, and
| that has contracted
| He then put the question of building a
| new White House before the audience, and
| it was apr owed amid cheers and prolonged
| applause. Archbishop Keane prefaced his
| lecture by heartily indorsing what had been
| said about the erection of new Execu
| tive Mansion. and President Mckinley
| showed that he enjoyed these remarks. as.
| he smiled broadly during their delivery. and
| seemed to keenly appreciate their truth.
| ApOtheOsis of Washington.
| Archbishop Keane took for his central
| character George Washington. The speak
er attributed Washngton's great achieve
| nients to his profound love of Christianity
and freedom. Following Washington
! through his earlier career. Archbishop
keane said in part:
THE birthday of Washington comes TO
| us this year more than usually laden with
! thoughts of deep significance. Washing
| ton has always been to US more than an
Individual man. He has been the typical
| embodiment Of the genius of America. To-
| day America counts more than ever before
as mighty factor in the life of the world
| Therefore more than ever is Washington
| row far more than a splendid individual
| life. far more even than our typical
American. He is a world symbol. He IS
| a man of providence to us and TO the
| race. He is the embodiment, of great
| ideal. which it behooves US as lovers of
| America and as lovers of mankind to
study and to understand.
| Napoleon Is said to have declared that
| the French were the only people who
would go to war for idea. In the life
| of the world he saw two great motive
powers at work-ideas and interests. To
be impelled to action by ideas he conSid-
cred far nobler thing than to be mpelled
| to action by interests: and that hghmind-
| edness he claimed as the exclusive honor
| of the French.
| Wars Only Qualification.
People, like individuals, are indeed,
| chiefly swayed by interests, but not all in
terests sordid. selfish and ignoble. as
not all ideas are noble and commendable.
| The interests of mankind are inseparabiy
| bound up with the highest ideas. To war
over merely sordid interest with no noble
! idea involved in it. would be a shame and
| usually a crime. To war for an idea that
| was mere abstraction. with no interest of
humanity involved in it, would be folly
and no less a crime. War is awful
| thing, and takes both noble ideas and
weighty interests to Justify it. 1t must be
| the assertion of a great right against a
| great wrong. or it stands condemned at the
| bar of reason and justice.
Napoleon had his own idea In all The
| march of his wonderful career 1t was the
| idea of the restored empire of the Caesars
himself Its Augustus and Paris its Rome.
! But it was mistaken ideal 1t was no
| plan OF Providence, but the creation of his
own brain. His star was a blazing meteor,
! which. after its awful rush of fiery light
| exploded and left only darkness behind
| The interests of mankind are all the better
| for the great failure.
The true star of destiny is no blazing
| meteor. leading to explosion and darkness
| 1t Is an ideal, shining with the light of
truth and leading toward the welfare of
mankind Such was Washngtons. He
| genius who could remodel the world. He
| was better. He was strong and fearless to
push onward toward the true and the right
| He had no thought of selfish interest or
crooked ways. He was fit to be the irstru-
| ment of Providence for the nations good
| and for the good of the world.
| Mankind and Ideals.
Mankind has ever been following one
| ideal another. History shows success
| sion of great empires which rose had their
| day and passed away. The various forms
of civilization represented by them can be
| summed up in three principal epochs-the
oriental, the Graeco-Rornan and the mod
ern.
1.-The mind of the orient was tinted by
| the idea Of the miseries of existence. The
| truth that we are fallen race, created for
good. but subject to evil. Is the thought
which dominated their life, giving shape
| both to their religion and their civilization
| Their characteristic monuments are the
pyramids and the sphinx. The pyramids
stand as stupendous monuments of regal
power, cemented by the toll AMI tears and
blood of myriads Of enslaved subjects the
embodiment of despotic absolutism. The
sphinx-a human head fastened to the body
| of a beast-expresses mans subsection to
nature 1t gazes so patiently so wistfully
toward the east. for the deiiverer whom
even Egyptian mythology foretold. The
| star Of the orient gave no uplifting light to
mankind, and SO the march Of the empire
had to be westward.
"The mind of Greece and Rome had the
very opposite ideal Their dominant
| thought was the enjoyment of existence,
the charms Of beauty, the capabilities of
human genius and energy. Their ideal was
the development OF the human to the ut
| most in all that tends to beauty and joy of