Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-09-05

of the United States or Europe a cen
fury ago.
But | want 10 tell you. fellow work
men, we are no greater than We think
We are The intelligent, thinking
minds of the day cannot close their
eyes to the fact we are travelling at a
rapid pace. and we are getting to be a
proud. arrogant. naughty race. full of
egotism and self-conceit. totally blind
to our imperfections and weaknesses.
We are travelling swiftly down the
same broad highway of luXuriant ease
which the people of the great nations
of antiquity and some in modern times
have travelled in their march into OBJ
livion and ruin. While l believe the
seed of decadence has already been
sown, and taken root in our own fair
land, l have faith in the good. hard
common sense of the great majority of
the American people to check and re-
tard its growth. If trouble ever comes
and the nation is again rent in twain
by internal strife, il will not be along the
color line which some people are try
ing SO hard to revive. 1t is a dead is
sue and is passing away, and is only
kept alive by a few old, ante-deluvian
moss backs and the brainleSS sons of
the old fire-eaters o. the south, who
are the last people in the world who
should prosecute the colored race. For
it is a well-known fact that their rela-
tions with the colored man, or rather
the colored woman. has always been
of the closest and most intimate char
acter, which anyone who has ever
lived in the south can testify from
ocular proof.
Good in All Religions.
Neither will it be along religious
lines. For the people are far too in
telligent now to fight and cut each
others thrOats. trying to force their
opinions upon each other at the point
of the bayonet Religious bigotry and
superstition was always convenient
weapons in the hands of tyrantS, keep
ing the people divided and fighting
each other. But their beliefs can no
longer sway the masses. They have
brushed them aside ard have almost
annihilated religion and creed with
them. The intelligent, thinking minds
of the day will not be bound by any
narrow sectarian creed, but are broad
enough in their views to see some
thing good in all churches who are
working with the same object in view:
to elevate mankind to a higher and
nObler standard. And l want to tell
you there is a whole lot of good people
in the world today, and they are not
all in the churches, either l believe
there is more humanity, more good
fellowship and less SelfiShneSs in the
world today than ever before; more
genuine good Samaritans, who will
side-step from the busy throngs in the
marts of trade or from the activities
of business life, to aid an unfortunate
fallen brother. Organization and
unions, society, fraternity and other
wise have done much to bring about
these results. teaching us the duties
we owe to each other as men and
brothers. But if trouble ever comes
and God forbid tit will be a clash
between the classes-the two radical
extremes of our social fabric. On the
one hand are those who own no prop
erty and don't believe in property
rights, and those who own or think
they own the earth, and are trying
hard to secure a mortgage on heaven.
But as long as the great conservative
middle class remains in the ascendant,
our course is clear and our future
bright. We will continue to rise high
er and higher, and will go on and on,
marching down through the ages to
fulfill our destiny, carrying our civ
lliZation. benevolence and charity to
the uttermost parts of the earth, with
universal peace on earth and good
will towards all men"