The Minneapolis journal., 1902-05-21
DEFENSE OF THE ARMY
a Defense of the Rough Work Nec-
essary In PioneerinE-Fhe
7-E Cuban Affair.

New York. May 21,-Carnegie Hall was
crowded 20 the doors last evening with
an audience eager to hear the address or
President Roosevelt, who came from
Washington expressly for the purpose Of
speaking in the interests of Presbyterians
home missions. .... .'--. u...
In introducing President Roosevelt DR..
Dodge said that no man knew better
than the president the Importance to the
nation of the good work Of the hCme MIS-
sions. President Roosevelt said:
Every earnest and Jealous believer, every
man or woman who is a doer of the word
and not hearer only is lifelong mis-.
sionary in his or her field Of labor-a mis-
sionary by precept, and, by what is thou
sand fold more than precept, by practice.
Every such believer exerts influence on those
within reach, somewhat by word and infinitely
more through the ceaseless, yet well-ntgh
unseen, pressure, all the stronger when its
exercise is unconscious, OF example, OF broad,
loving charitable neighborliness.
The century that has closed has seen the
conquest of this continent by our people. To
conquer a continent is rough work. All really
great work is rough in the doing. though 1t
may seem smooth enough to those who look
back upon it or who gaze at it from afar.
We need display but scant patience With
those who, sitting at ease IN their own homes
delight to exercise a querulous and censorious
part Of judgment upon their brethren, who,
WnateFer Inelr SHORTCOMINGS, are QOlnS strong
mems work they bring the light Of civili
| zation into the worlds dark Ilaces The
criticism of those who live softly, remote
from the strife, is of little value; but it would
be difficult to overestimate the value Of the
| missionary work of those who go out to share
the hardship. and, while sharing it, to wage
war against the myriad forms Of brutality.
1t is such missionary work which prevents
the pioneers from sinking rerilously near the
level Of the sayagery against which they
contend Without it the conquest of this con-
tnent would have had little but an animal
side. Without it the pioneers fierce and rude
virtues and somber faults would have been
| left unlt by the flame of pure and loving
| aspiration. Without it the life of this country
| would have been Life of inconceivable hard
and barren materialism. Homer, thrice honor,
| to those who for three generations. during the
| period Of this peoples great expansion, have
! seen that the force of the living truth ex-
| panded as the nation expanded. They bore
| the burden and heat of the day, they toiled
| obscurey and Ced unknown that we might
| come into a glorious heritage. Let us prove
| the sincerity Of our homage to their faith and
| their works by the way In which We manfully
| carry toward completion what under them
was so we'll begun. ~ ..
| Coming up here tonight I made up my
mind to speak to you of the manifestations Of
| the spirit of national Righteousness OF some
| thing that has taken place this. day and OF
something that has happened within ten days;
of the action Of this nation which eliminated
| in the creation to-day and in starting a new
republic on it's course That has represented
| four years work-blunderings and shortcom-
! ings in the work of course, and there were
| men of little faith who only saw the shortconl.
| ngs and the blunders, but it represents work
| trumphantly done. We have the right to
| feel proud that have kept every pledge
TO the letter and establishd a new national
/ dow ,har thnr cyJnh
case--and 1 have looked for one with care-a
| case where the result of such war the
victorious nation has contended itself by
| starting a new nation, free, on the difficult
path of self-government
! More anarchy and ruin would have befallen
the island if we had been satisfied with the
| victories Of and left its people to shift
for themselves. For four years our repre-
sentatives in the island have been repre-
| sentatives largely of the army. I sometimes
! hear the army attacked and have even
! heard missionaries attacked. Still when great
work is to be done in peace or war, it is good
| to have the army to depend upon. Our repre-
sentatives worked to build UP the school sys-
tem to establish sanitary measures, TO pre-
serve order and to prepare for the starting of
industries that the new government might be-
gin with the chances in its favor.
Now as a nation we bid it Godspeed and
we intend to see it has all the aid we can give
it. 1 trust and believe our people III the :
tional legislature will to it shortly that
they have the advantage of entering into
peculiarly close relations with our economic
system. -''
1t is a fine thing to have at the opening Of
this century such omens of righteous acting
Of international brotherhood; omens of the
future, where a sense of duty to the neigh
borhoo1 will extend beyond national lines, as
the actions which eliminated in the starting
to-day of the free republic of Cuba on the
paths of independence and in being first t.
reach out helping hand to those over
; whelmed by disaster without regard to th
, flag to which they paid allegiance.