The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1906-12-06
Rev. Faust's Thanksgiving Sermon

Rev. W. H. Faust, pastor of the
Deer Park Baptist church, delivered a
discourse full ofpatriotism, and abound
ing in food for thought, to a numerous
congregation, on Thanksgiving day.
Come thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy praise"
was the opening hymn, and after "A
prayer full of thanksgiving, Mr..
Faust said in part:
1--WE have a great many things for
which we should be thankful. We
ought to be thankful for our glorious
country, and if we look back over its
past history our hearts should
be full of Thanksgiving, for it
comes to us as a rich heritage Our
fathers fought and bled and died, and
our American women, as well as the
men, toiled to make it what it is today.
There are four men, one of them a
negro, who figured in the history of our
country, who did perhaps as much as
any other four, to make it what it is.
=. The frs, George Rogers Clark.
He was instrumental in opening up the
magnificent northwestern section of the
United States. He had a vision of the
cOuntrv's new world. Gov. Henry, Of
Virginia, was unable to furnish the men
required for the expedition, but gave
him permission to raise an army of his
own. Clark organized few trappers.
and the result today is that all of the
country northwest Of the Ohio river is
the property of the United States, rath-
err than the property Of France and
Spain, as it otherwise would have been.
80. John jay, a statesman, comes
second in the four referred to. He was,
| think, the equal of Lincoln and Wash
ington. He was sent to France to aid in
forming a treaty, and on reaching that
country and finding that the United
States government had bound him to
proceed along certain lines, refused to
do it. He went there as representa-
tive OF this country and he proposed to
carry out the policies in the interest of
our country. By the treaty that was
reached through the patriotism of John
Jay, the famous Louisiana purchase was
brought about, and now all that section
is among the most powerful in our land.
so. And now while we are discussing
the race question, it would be well for
us to remember the services rendered
this country, perhaps indirectly, by a
negro, TOuissant L'Overture, President
OF Hayti, in about the year 1900. 1t
was this determined and courageous
negro, who thwarted the great Napoleon
in his proposed conquest of Hayti or
San Domingo. This negro President
was one of the most patriotic of all the
patriots that have ever adorned the
worlds history. This man persisted in
a dungeon, but the spirit he had set in
motion resulted in the failure of Napo-
Icons troops to capture this little
island, an island no larger than South
Carolina. This, too, aided this country
in the Louisiana purchase.
"a. Then when Texas was acquired
from Mexico, and the great Northwest
was within reach, Marcus Whitman, a
great statesman, came to the front,
and it was through his instrumentality
nnf 4 7
to the Union, and while we are thank
full for our President and our law max
ers, we ought to be thankful for the
blessed heritage that comes to us from
the history of Whitman, who helped to
make our country what it is. P"
G. W. II.