The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-01-02
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: Our Nations Needs-We Should
Show More Gratitude to God For HIS
Blessings - Our Lack of Appreciation
NJ the Lords Bounty.

Copyright lsool
WASHINGTON, D. C:-Dr. Talmage
breaches a discourse of Christian patriot
ism, and shows the resources OF our eoun-
try. and predicts the time when all the
world will have the same blessings. His
two texts are, Revelations xxi, l3, "On
the south three gates;" Psalm cxlvii, 20,
''He hath not dealt so with any nation.
Among the greatest needs of our coun-
try is more gratitude to God for the un-
parelleled prosperity bestowed upon US;
One of my texts calls us to International
comparison. What nation on all the plan.
ct has of late had such enlargement. OF
commercial opportunity as is now opening
before this nation? Cuba and Porto Rlco
and the Philippine Islands brought into
close contact with us, and through steam
ship subsidy and Nicaragua canal, which
will surely be afforded by Congress, all the
republics of South America will be brought
Into most active trade with the United
States. Con the south three gates:
While our next-door neighbors, the south
ern republics and neighboring colonies,
imported from European countries 3Ooo
miles away 1915, 900 900 worth Of goods IN
o year, only $l26, 900 worth went from
the United States-Sl26, 900, 900 out OF $780,
100000, only one-6fth of the trade, ours
European nations taking the four fingers
and leaving us the poor thumb. Now all
this is to be changed. There is nothing
but a comparative ferry between the ISL
ands which have recently come under our
protection, and only ferry between Us
and Bolivia. Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay,
Venezuela, Salvador. Nicaragua, Colon
bia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Brazil, while
there are raging seas and long voyages be-
tween them and Europe. By the mandate
Of the United States all that will be
changed through new facilities of transpor-
tation. The Hispano.American congress,
lust closed at Madrid, will fail in its at
tempt to divert all the trade OF South
America from us to Europe.
In anticipation of what is sure to come
I nail on the front door of this nation an
advertisement:
Wanted-One hundred thousand men
to build railroads through South America
and the islands Of the sea under our pro-
lection.
Wanted-A thousand telegraph opera
tors.
Wanted-One hundred million dollars
worth of dry goods from the great cities
of the United States.
Wanted-All the clocks you can make at
New Haven. and all the brains you can
spare from Boston, and all the bells you
can mold at Troy, and all the Mccormick
reapers you fashion at Chicago, and all the
hams you can turn out at Cincinnati, and
all the railroad iron you can send from
Pittsburg, and all the statesmen that you
can spare from Washington.
Wanted - Right away, wanted by new
and swifter steamers, wanted by rail tram,
lawyers to plead our causes.
Wanted-Doctors to cure our sick.
Wanted-Ministers to evangelze our
Wanted - Professors to establish our
universities.
"On the three south gates!" Yea, a
thousand gates! South America and all
the islands of the sea approximate are
rightfully our commercial domain, and
the Congress of the United States will see
to it that we get what belongs to us.
And then tides of travel will be some
what diverted from Europe to our islands
tees. Much of the $l25, ,000, 900 yearly ex-
pended by Americans in Europe will be
expended in southern exploration, in look
ing at some of the ruins of the forty-seven
cities which Stephens found only little
way apart, and in walking through the
great doorways and over the miracles OF
mosaic and along by the monumental glo-
ries of another civilization, and ancient
America will with cold lips of. stone kiss
the warm lips Of modern America, and to
have seen the Andes and Popocatepetl
! will be deemed as important as to have
seen the Alpine and Balkan ranges. And
there will be fewer people spoiled by for
eign travel and in our midst less of the
Door and nauseating imitation of the French
shrug and the intentional hesitancy of
brainless foreign swell. The fact is that
many are made vain by European travel,
and, though sensible when they embarked,
they return with collar and a .cravat and
shoe and a coat and pronunciation and
a contempt for American institutions and
the bend of the elbow that make ono be-
lieve in evolution backward from man to
ape. OF the many thousands who now cross
the sea annually thousands will on pleasure
and business visit southern lands, and 30
tourists and merchants and scientists and
velopment. "On the south three gates"
And what other nation has such openings
for commercial enlargement as ours?
Again, in this international comparison
notice the happy condition of our country
as compared with most countries. Rus.
sia under the shadow of the dreadful i'll
ness of her great and good emperor, who
now more than any man in all the world
represents peace on earth, good will to
men," and whose empress, near the most
solemn hour that ever comes to wom-
ans soul, is anxious for him to whom she
has given hand and heart, not for political
reasons, but through old-fashioned love
such as blesses our humber dwellings;
India, under the agonies Of a famine which
though somewhat lifted has filled hun
dreds Of thousands of graves and thrown
millions into orphanage; Austria only
waiting for her genial Francis Joseph to
die so as to let Hungary rise in rebellion
and make the palace Of Vienna quake with
insurrection; Spain in Carlist revolution
and pauperized as seldom any nation has
been pauperized; Italy under the horrors
of her kings assassination; China shud-
dering with fear of dismemberment her
capital in possession of foreign nations.
After a review of the conditions in other
lands can you find more appropriate ut
terance in regard to our country than the
exclamation of the text, "He hath not
dealt so with any nation?"
Compare the autumnal report of har-
vests in America this year and the har.
vests abroad. Last summer l crossed the
continent of Europe twice, and saw no
such harvests as are spoken of in this
statement. Hear it. all you men and
women who want everybody to have
enough to eat and wear. I have to tell
you that the corn crop of our country
this year is one of the four largest
crops on record, 2,l05, 1000, 900 bushels. The
cotton crop, though smaller than at
some times, will on that account bring
bigger prices, and so cotton planters of
the South are prosperous. The wheat
fields have provided bread enough and to
spare. The potato crop one of the five
largest crops on record, 2ll 100000 BUSH
els. Twenty-Five million two hundred