The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-03-12
TALMAGE
SERMON
e
By Rev.
FRANK De WITT TALAsAGE. DID,,
Pastor Of jefferson Park Fresby-
terrain Church, Chicago

Chicago, March 8. $50 In this sermon
the preacher shows that there are other
tnan commercial and financial Obliga-
tons between nations and that Chris
tan America owes Il debt, both in the
spiritual and philanthropic sense, to the
modern Greeks and barbarians which
she now has opportunity to pay. The
text is Romans i, IA, 4 am debtor both
to the Greeks and to the barbarians"
A national debt! 1t is popularity IN
derStoOd to be a financial obligation
which Il government has pledged itself
to pay. Sometimes this is contracted
in the interest of a single subject
About thirty years ago the English gov
eminent assumed j debt of over 49,
100000 to liberIte single man, Cap
tain Cameron. who had been unjustly
endungconed by the king Of AbyssiniH
in tie rocky fortress Of Mlglala. 1t
took six months for the news of the
outrage to travel to England, but in
less than eleven days afterWard Il Brit
ish army of 10000 men, under General
Napier, was on its way. 1t not only
crossed the seas, but also marched a
terrible journey Of 100 miles under a
tropical sun, until the troops reached
Magdala and battered down the for
tress and rescued their incarceratcd
countryman. A civilized country is
usually ready to begin any undertake
ing, assume any financial responsible
ty. in order to protect it's own from the
tyrannical clutches of foreign foe,
Sometimes an extra financial Obliga-
ton is assumed by government in
times of peace as we'll as in times Of
war. \ depleted treasury during the
financial panic of 1893 caused the pres
ident Of tie United States to issue
$500, 100000 worth of government
bonds. Some Of these interest bearing
bonds were purchased by foreign cap
italiSts and others by American citi-
Zens. But there are still other forms
and causes of international obligation.
4 government can owe to foreign lands
more than money. Such definitions as
we have given are right as far as they
go, but they are too circumscribed.
When the Hebrew Paul wrote am
debtor both to the Greeks and to the
| do not believe he had
any idea of a financial interpretation
Referring TO Greece, he was abiding
to the inMllectuai influence of the Athe-
MAN capital. which made itself felt
throughout the world. That city sway
ed the scepter in the domain OF intel
iectuality; it ruled the world of culture
with the sculptor chisei, the poets
pen and the Demostllenean oratofy of
a patriot rousing the people to wage
war against King Philip. When Paul
spoke of the barharians, | believe he
was alluding to the strength and the
viriIity which the world had absorbed
from the different provinces. AS
man of learning he was indebted to
those people to whom he was about to
to speak of America s national debt in
n moral and spiritual sense as well as
In financial:I want to show what we
should give back to the lands across
the seas in return for what we have
absorbed from them, consciously Or I'M
tional books the debit side of our ledg-
ar must be cleared off. If we are ma
tionally honest. we are ready to pay
for what we have received ..s.-.
We Have borrowed Europe's Best.
Our country has been the reservoir
For the best and the richest blood of all
Europe. A few years ago noted Irish
leader, now a member of the British
parliament, was addressing q great
gathering of Irish-Americans in Chica-
90. During his speech he made this
statement: "You Irish-Amer
cans congratulate yourselves because
every year you send over q few thou
sand dollars to help us in our struggle
FOR home rule. But I want to tell You
that you are doing no more than you
ought to do. America owes greater
iebt to Ireland than Ireland does to
America. America has not taken from
is money, but she has taken from US
what is of more value than money.
Her magnetism has come into our large
titles and villages and factory towns
ind Wooed from our shores the best
md strongest young men and young
we had She has taken them
lway annually not by the scores and
hundreds, but by the thousands and
he tens of thousands: she has takeu
way the strongest young men and wo-
men we had and has left only the weak
ings-those who are afraid to start out
n the new world. Meanwhile we. the
tay at homes, must go on struggling
while our stalwart Irish American
,rothers and sisters are winning sue
.ess in another hemisphere" What |
hat member of the British parliament
aid in reference to Ireland can be
aid Ia reference to almost every coun-
~ of Europe. Go down to the great
eaport towns of Norway and Sweden,
Germany, France, Italy, Holland and
England and Scotland and ask those
those staIwart young fell
ows and those red checked lassies. |
where they are going. Everywhere |