Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-07-23

volvcd this country in war with Eng
land which would have destroyed the
unity Of our government A civilized
nation always claims an imperial do.
main over the ships deck above which
flutters its flag.
Now, my brother, as n human vessel,
to what overrulng power have you
rendered your allegiance? To what
power do you look for protection ?
"Oh," you answer, Il claim the pro.
lection Of the English or the American
flag. nm native Of London or of
New York" All, my friend, that Is
not enough. AS human vessel, you
are going TO meet dangers from which
no earthly government can protect you.
Your voyage of life not only goes over
the sea of time. but also of eternity
Everywhere are the satanic pirates
of temptation ready to run up their
black flags. Have you been registered
in the Lambs Book of Life? Have
you today the protection of that Christ
who once trod upon the rolling pillows
of Lake Galilee and saved the sinking
boat Of the disciples, when he said to
the angry winds, Peace. be still?
A Valuable Cargo.
Each human vessel always carries a
very valuable cargo Have you stopped
to consider why great Cunard or
White Star transatlantic steamer
spends as much time by her dock as in
travelling the high seas7 IT'S true some
of that time must he given to clean.
ing up the ship, but most Of It Is spent
IN loading and unloading the cargoes.
The massive walls of building rest
upon deep foundations. The huge
masts and upper decks Of great
steamer must have a deep hull. This
hull must be fllled with ballast, or else
the ship would soon topple over This
ballast IS composed of boxes filled with
merchandise or hundreds of bags Of
mail, of steel from Birmingham works
and linens from the Irish mills, silks
from France and wines from Italy, art
treasures as we'll ms expensive furni
ture and clothes.
Then food must be provided for the
passengers and the crew and huge car
goes Of coal TO keep the engines in mo
/
of tons of coal which ship like the
Kaiser Wilhelm II. carries Mt the be-
| ginning OF its passage across the At
| iantic. The great stomachs of the fur
| naces seem to be Unsuitable. Their hun
! ger is never satisfied. Relays Of dust
begrimed stokers are shovellng the Goa
day in and day out. But what about
bn Q ,oh
be provided for the hungry human pas
sengers and crew? Those who live
above and below great ships deck
are not TO be numbered by the scores
but by the hundreds. On the last voy.
age I made from England there were
nearly 1000 human beings aboard
Then there may be millions Of dollars
worth Of bullion aboard. The clearing
! houses OF the two continents are con
tinually adjusting claims. Money from
America going to Europe. Gold and sill
yer from Europe coming to America
The average steamer plying the Allan
tic Is not to be despsed. It's successful
voyage means life to hundreds Its de
struction may mean death alike to pas
sengers and crew and destruction to
all the freight.
Safeguards of the Voyage.
Does not each human craft carry
valuable cargo? What about the
money which Is intrusted to mans
care? If the cashier of bank alb
seconds and the bank has to close its
door who suffers? Is 1t not the poor
widow and orphan, the old man who
has trustfully placed in the bank the
savings of lifetime so that he can
have something in his old age and
money enough to buy him a casket and
a grave when he is dead? What hap
pens when n human craft founders and
sinks into the great sea Of sin? Does
it not nearly always destroy many hui
man lives which are dependent upon
its existence? What became Of nearly
all the ships crews and passengers
which were sunken at sea? What be-
came Of those who set sail from
Charleston, S. c., in the boat which
carried the beautiful daughter Of
Aaron Burr, who was never heard of
again? Those ships not only went
down, but they took most of their pas
sengers and crews with them Oh, l
know lifeboats and life preservers are
provided by law on every boat to
guard against accidents But, ms
rule, they do but little good. BY the
time the hurricane has completed its
work the lifeboats are spintered, and
hy the time the tornado of sin has
wrecked human craft it not only de-
stroys father and husband but also
all those whose existences are depend
ont upon his life. One Of the brayest
scenes ever witnessed was that In Sa-
moa harbor, when q few years ago the
famous cyclone destroyed many lives
When an English man-of- war was able
TO get up enough steam to head out to
sea, the American sailors OF a sinking
ship began to cheer their English
cousins 1t was a brave cheer. When
those sailors cheered they knew they
were on sinking ship, and therefore
most Of them would be drowned. Let
us, as human crafts. beware how we
allow ourselves to sink into the sea of
sin and destroy those loved ones who
are standing upon our upper decks.
The signal of Distress.
The human vessels should be willing
to stop and help those sister crafts
which are lifting their signals of dis
tress. Why? Because distress and