The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1901-07-10
brother should GO to war with brother,

i kAUI61IcdHS. he sauu6St pdRe VI Ali
history is that upon which our Civil
4 war is written. One can scarcely
think Of il at This remote day without
1 having his deepest emotions stirred.
! w hen we remember the thousands Of
loursnobIe sons who fell in battle and
died in hospitals and tn rebel prisons,
land other thousands who refunded
home manned and diseased when We
remember the perils and hardships OF
army life it is wonder that there are
Iany of the veterans left. was handed
| q little book the other day by friend
entitled Smiths Knapsack of Facts
I'6l and 'g5. y It contained data most
| ~ about prison life during the civil
war, especially AndersonviIle. BY the
way understand we have a comradeI
| in our midst who boarded with Capt.
Wurz for about eight months. The
book gives interesting information.
| 81 or Union soldiers were confined IN
Southern prisons during the war OF
this number Is 900 died in Anderson
vile. In all sc, 900 of the 81, 900 died
from the hardships of prison life But
time has carried us forward and time
has, in measure, healed the wounds
caused by that terrible struggle, and
while we have been able to forgive, we
NAV never be able to forget.
$ s ) III. Is -
The Spanish meriean war settled
the question Of our relation to other
people. and our duty towards them
especially those of the Western Henri
sphere Under the providence Of God
we have been brought to realize that
our duty is worldwide and unlimited.
ct has been feared in some quarters
that our government was seeking to
establish policy of worldwide imper-
ialism. whereas, in my opinion, these
later events are only incidental in the
process of social and political evolution.
Hardly had the Nation advanced be-
yond the threshold of the new century,
before it had dropped its sWaddling
clothes, when in 1903, Jefferson pur-
chased the Louisiana territory for $15,-
DOC, 900, adding to our domain that vast
region west of the Mississippi river,
excepting Texas, California and Ore
gon. While this vast territory was
valuable and important it was feared
| by Jefferson himself that new Re-
public might be formed in the Mississ
ippi valley that might rival the parent
/ federation. These fears were SO real
that New England people became
alarmed to an extent that now seems
ridiculous. Many prophesied that the
downfall of the Republic was at hand,
lust as they now are predicting regard
ing the Philippines. This was followed
by the purchase of Florida in 1919, for.
So. OO0, OOO.. The purchase of Florida
was also opposed by no less a distin-
gqished statesman than Henry Clay.
/ In 1886 Texas gained her freedom and
/ would have been admitted had it not
been for the opposition in our own
country. She was therefore not adj
mitted until 1S45 California was ae-
quired in Is4s. The Gadsden purchase.
concluded in 1858, and Alaska in 1857
i Thus it will be seen that the United
/ Stated has expanded its domains six
times during the past century, adding
vastly more territory than it originally
i had We can only comprehend the
extent Of this domain by way of COM
parison And right here I want to
4 quote DR.. Strong on the vastness of our
territory. He said, take five of the
six great powers of Europe, Great
Britain and Ireland, Germany, France,
Austria and Italy, then add Spain,
Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark and
i Greece. Let someone greater than Ma
i poleon weld them all into one mighty
empire. And you could lay them all
4 down in the United States west of the
Il Hudson river, once, again, and again
three times. This does not include
i New England, Alaska and Hawaii.
4 Well might Mr.. Gladstone say we have
a natural base for the greatest contin-
uons empire ever established by man.
4 Thus far no evils have come to us from
territorial expansion, and all fears have
been groundless. The benefcient pur-
pose ofthe government is just begin
ming to be realized. On the other hand,
had we refused to extend our border
and been content with the thirteen
original States, or even all Of the terri
4 tory east of the Mississippi we might
today have rival republic to the west
IIof as. And should the southern states
q have carried out their design of seces-
sion we might have instead Of one
3 grand and glorious Union. the United
4 States Of America, the Confederate
I States OF America and the Western