The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-12-25
'"PEACE ON EARTH
Hundreds of Petitions Signed
by Church Members
TO STOP THE STRUGGLE
Waged by English in South
Africa.

One hundred thousand congregations
will assemble today in their churches tt
hear repeated the magic words, Peace
on Earth" The members Of the congre-
cations Of the churches of Kansas. Okla
homa, Texas. Colorado and western Mis-
souri, will be asked to exempIify these
words by signing a petition asking that
the president OF the United States and
the queen of Holland act as arbitrators
and to do all in their power TO stop the
struggle between the Beers and English
in South Africa In the meantime, it is
asked that all hostilities cease in that
territory until the difficulties can be ad-
! 3usted.
The petition was gotten out by Mr.. A.
! c. JoSes under the direction of a man
who wants to see the struggle stopped.
This petition was circulated among all
the ministers of the churches in the states
named and they were to ask their MEM
bers to sign il and then forward IL to
the Cosmopolitan at New York City. The
petition has been generally signed
throughout all the territory and even
now the signed papers are coming in.
Some Of the ministers viii not have ser
vices today, so they had their congre-
cations TO sign it on last Sunday. Okla
bona seems to be the greatest point, as
reports show that the greater part of
the people of that territory have signed
the petition. The following is the petition
sent out:
1, nd
congregations viii assemble throughout
the United States to hear repeated this
command or Christ. Shall not these
words have for them a practical appli-
cation?
1T will be the first Christmas of the
new century and VIII find two hundred
and twenty thousand troops of the Chris
tan nation of Great Britain standing rifle
In hand on the South African veldt trying
to destroy another Christian people The
horrors Of this war, which IS now in its
third year, lave been unusual.
1--WE Americans have cause to feel deep
" over these conditions. On one side Is
England. with whom we are united by
blood and commerce and customs; on
the other, a brave republic enduring I'M
hinchingly death and hardship for the
same principles which were at stake in
our own war of independence. The Eng
fish people, with whom we have such
close ties of friendship have been placed
by short-sighted politicians in the false
and ruinous position of seeking to de-
strov brave republic with whose inter-
ests England would have been in har-
mony had there been any intelligent ne
gotiations.
More than twenty thousand lives and
eight hundred Millions of dollars have
been sacrificed as the first results of
this mistaken policy. and in third year
of the war the latest news by cable tells
of seventeen officers and two hundred
and twenty-eight men killed and wound
ed IN the last fight Other cablegrams
tell of a hundred thousand other men
being drilled in English camps for i'm
mediate service. and that the commons
viii shortly be called upon to add another
hundred million of taxes.
This. to say nothing of ten thousand
Boer families scattered over the veldt
and enduring wretchedness almost with
cut a parallel in great prison camps. (
where the death rate and attendant hor-
rors are almost equal to our own at
Andersonville.
Have the Christians who will gather
in American churches on Christmas day
no interest in these two peoples? Can /
they do nothing beyond meeting and 4
singing Peace on Eearth?'
IAN effort, beyond which lies at least /
a promise of success, will be made by |
The Cosmopolitan to secure the co-opera- |
ton Of those who as Christians owe ao-
tive work in aid of the unfortunate par
Elephants in this struggle-who as be-
levers in a republic. owe determined ,
effort to preserve in otehr lands that
that all government derives its
Just powers from the consent Of the
governed. Strange retrogression upon the
part of American republics, that during
nearly three years no word of protest has
gone up against the crushing of an in
FAINT republic Have any been Indifferent
to teh struggle? Everywhere over the
there are indications that the
most intense feeling pervades all classes
Of people
1T is impossible to believe that II the
American people unitedly petition their
English brothers to submit the issues to
arbitration. there would be favorable
response. Ten thousand earnest meet
nss on Christmas day expressing only
he sentiments that already oil every
breast would quickly bring about the
iesired result.
we owe II to England TO seriously on
iesvor TO settle a war which IS so waste
'ul OF the blood Of her splendid youth
md 50 rapidly bringing her resources un-
Ter the mortgage Of an immense nationalN
iebt. We owe i 70 the republics az South
Africa. who have shown the most mag
'ihcent spirit since the war began. to
Il something for their liberty
The Cosmopolitan. therefore. asks the
'eople OF tho United States that they give
heir Christmas day tone II active
INSTANTLY"
The Modern Mother
las found that her little ones are i'm
'roved more by the pleasant Syrup n
'igs. whom in need OF the laxative eject
u gentle remedy than by any other
'hildron entoy Il aad 1t benefits them