The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-03-05

scented by one hundred and twenty
one societies, while all other races
had only eighteen. Is it not evident
that we must look to the Saxon for
the evangelization OF the world? The
Anglican nations stand today for the
highest type Of aggressive, spiritual
Christianity. Wherever this influence
has gone civil liberty has followed.
and wherever civil liberty has gone,
Christianity has made rapid progress.
The two seem to be ~inseparabie. Each
is the complement of the other.
In a peculiar sense the language of
the Saxon is becoming the language
OF Christianity. For eight centurieq
it has been the store-house for the
highest results of Christian thought.
1t is a language of democracy adapted
to the use of pauper and millionaire,
of peasant and poet. Shakespeare
could not exhaust its poetical posi-
bilities; Burke never fathomed its
oratorical depths; yet the mother
croons its lullabies over the Graded
treasure and the child lisps it in his
simple play. No other literature is
so complete; no other language can
boast of such masters. From Chau-
Ger to Tennyson, from Irving to Hol.
mes English literature presents a
galaxy of writers, unsurpassed by
any other nation.
The situation of the Saxon in
medieval and modern ages has made
him a Rightly influence in the field
of commerce. His restless activity,
and his intimate acquaintance with
the sea, especially prepared him to be
/ n no ~ ~ nrpin1 lnndas MI
of the Spanish Armada left England
mistress of the seas. For over three
hundred years the Saxon fleets have
never met an equal. The result of
this continued supremacy has been
marvellous. English and American
ships now visit every port in the
world and comprise two-thirds of the
worlds tonnage. Not only in foreign
commerce does the Saxon hold first
rank, but his commercial spirit has
revolutionized methods of ~transporta-
ton and communication. His terri
tory is spanned by interesting rail
roads; telegraph and telephone lines
are festooned across continent and
isle; and beneath the pathway of the
ocean traffic his messages flash from
continent to continent. Commercial
interests have driven the Saxon to
all countries and in every cline he
has flourished. This commercial
spirit has poured the wealth of the
world into his treasury. and from his
abundance have sprung the mighty
forces that have stayed the hand Of
the oppressor.
In wealth, the Anglo-Saxon has be-
come the rival of continental Europe.
.Two-thirds of the earth's surface IS
under his control. America, Africa
and the islands of the sea yield for
him their richest treasures. His
situation in the o n of pownr has
added to his restless activities, and
has ever spurred him on to invention
and discovery. To satisfy commercial
demands individual effort has broad
ened into gigantic corporations. The
short railroad line of a half century
ago has heightened to transcontinen-
tai systems. The track of the old
sailing vessel is now strewn with
blackened carbon from lues Of the
modern ocean liner. The old wigwam
of the red a has given place to the
farm cottage, and his hunting ground
has become tie feeding place for the
herds of the husbandman. Saxon
energy, once satiated by plumber and
conquest, is now being turned to the
arts of peace. Where the battle
ragged ~fiercest a hundred years ago,
now, great educational and humani.
tartan institutions stand, and
churches rear their lofty spires.
From these superior advantages and
surroundings should come a race
stronger, even, than their fathers.
They tell us that the Slav is the
coming race; that the Saxon has
reached his zenith; that in years to
come SlaVonic people will determine
the worlds policy. But the Slav has
always been held in oppression and
ignorance. His civilization embodies
the germs of Anarchy and Nihilism.
To personal liberty he is an entire
stranger. His government is Asiatic
and suppresses rather than en-
courages individualism. The Saxon
civilization stands for an individual
civil liberty, a pure home, and an
aggressive, spiritual Christianity. II
has all the essential factors of great
ness. The Saxon economy combines
the greatest race with the greatest
civilizations; the greatest numbers
viii Inc GREATEST wealth., anu Ln6
greatest physical strength with the
greatest desire for education and
advancement. Must the race perish
because it is great in numbers and
efficiency? Is there no bright future
for the people that have made such
progress? Can any reason be given
for its decline except that other
nations nave fallen? The Saxon race
is founded on principles that are
Divine. ut is the last for which the
first was formed" 1t has the relig
ion of the Hebrew, the individuality
of the Greek, and the organization of
the Roman.
The Saxon stands today as an
unconquered race. His advance to.
wards self-government has been op-
posed, by unfriendly monarchs. mis-
ambition for a pure municipal and
local government has sometimes
been defeated. His efforts to estab-
lish commercial relations in accord
ance with the principles of Christian
ity have met with a measure OF dis
A~-