The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-20

At a. recent state oratorical contest
in Oregon the following grafton on The
Homeless Nation" took the first prize
The Jew is the most remarkable man
of this world. His beginning is in the
gray dawn of history: his ending Is
somewhere in the shadows of eternity.
OF all mankind there Is none whose
history is so full of extreme muta-
tons, so replete with suffering and
horror and so Astounding in extraordi-
nary proyidences. The mightiest floods
of human temptations have not over
whelmed him. The tiercest fires OF
fiendish cruelty, heated seven times by
religious bigotry, have. not consumed
him: although for centuries his blood
has marked crimson the pathway OF
time. In the extent and character OF
his influence upon humanity no man
approaches him. His history is the rec
ord of our civilization and progress IN
This world and of our faith and hope
in that which is to come. From him
we derived the pattern of all that Is
nIlT6 ana true Oll Gcl III Vi - 49,
As nriest and faithgiver he has been
the grand usher to the councils OF the
Almighty and the guardian OF COO
mandates to the conscience OF man.
No man has given so much TO rel-
gion and civilization as the Jew. NO
Tace or dynasty has such a glorious
record Says Lord Macauley OF the
Roman pontiffs: There is no lnstltu-
tion upon the face of the earth that can
point to such a splendid lineage as tne
papacy, which reaches back to the tWl-
light of fable: compared TO II tne
the nroudest royal houses are but as
s-astardavp But before "the twilight
cf fable'' began, the Jewish priesthood
nod nassed its MONDAY radiance. Long
before Homer sang of gods ana war,
or Romulus with murderous mana ndu
Lilled his brother the Jew was oller-
mo sacrifice to the true God in beauty
and holiness; long before Caesar or
Pope ruled the world, Solomon was re-
ceiving it's homage, and before our Iuu l;
forefathers had estabisned ui ~
identity, Daniel was lnstruclins III"
Chaldean philosophers.
We admire the heroism of the sturdy
Greek and Roman, but reject with dis-
qust their vile divinities we anecs
20 dasnise the Jew, but accept ana
e5ora the nure God of his conception,
ae rrhose existence the history OF the
lew furnishes the strongest PROOF.
We are Indebted to the Jewish foun-
dtArs for monotheism IN its Purest
form. Whether they discovered the
unity of God by philosophical resealen
-. ~, divine revelation, it makes them
~ nooet INDUSTRIOUS men of the ages.
nrha nurnose of the race was to give
e. tbe world a Just code of laws and
~ taach the unity and fatherhood OF
60 TSbis was understood in Jehoyah s
,,,.or,iee. an thy seed shall all ma
tsons ~ the earth be blessed. Wnlle
other races had conception OF Goa,
the Jews handed down to posterlty
Knowledge of Jehovah free from cor
rupting myths. For TINS lueal .nsy
nave endured persecution from their
very beginning. e.. ..,,,,.t
avistance against the Egyptians,
Asevrians. Babylonians, Syrians ana
pornans They were almost exterml-
natad nv each of these powers, yet
nutllved them. all. They have been
onnressed and prosecuted by emperors
ana republicans, sultans ana popes'
Moors and inquisitors. They nave peen
nroscribed alike by Protestant and
rathoi,c while the prosecutors sang
their nsalms, revered their books, be-
iIeved their prophets and prosecuted IN
the name Of their God,
During the Middle Ages the Jews
condition IN all Europe was most pill
abie THE Magma charta deprived
them OF their liberty, property and
residence. everywhere they were de-
MED ne rights Of citizenship and were
banished. pluncered and murdered a.
viii By rabble and king.
The Jews, moreover, we're tofceo ~
ioan money that equipped the hrst two