Graham guardian., 1913-07-04
UNSELFlSH PATRIOTISM
(By Rev. c. c, RilkmanJ
!. Chairman and Fellow Citizens

| Gether TO celebrate TINS, the one y m
dred and thirty-sixth anniversW .
our independence. If there is OF !, her,
today who is so wrapped abo Il wifi
selfishness, hatred for his {, Newman
or our country, he Shout now an,
forevermore shake of thor a bands from
his life, which destroy rs ioy for thi
great day.
Mr.. Kipling, is BIS story of 9Th,
Ship That Found Herself narrate,
the story OF q ? nip newly launched
starting out on t.ier trial trip.
| AZ hrst every part cf the ship wa.
finding faul' with every other part
Every. girder, beam and brace. ever,
ROD, pisSon and rivet, was complaining
agains, all the rest. But by and by the
ship encountered storm.
| The heavy winds began to blow, the
! great, green pillows rolled clear over
the decks, and then, in the emergency,
somehow all parts of the great vessel
began to draw together. All those dis
cordant voices melted into one great
voice, which was the soul of the ship,
and that voice spoke out in one tri.
umphant cry, as the splendid craft
realized that she was not thousand
| IutoCViddAit piCNCoy pul OIlt SWlll, DGdu-
tiful, indestructible vessel.
Our great ship America" on her
voyage has met and conquered many
| storms. The Fathers of our Nation,
| who ''fired the shot heard round the
world, arose as one mighty man, and
met the British hand of tyranny and
oppression, They fought and conquered
and gained the right to possess gov
ernment "of the people, by the people,
and for the people.
When the Fathers of the Republic
declared "that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable rights;
that among these are life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness, cardinal
principle was enunciated, which in its
truth was as old as the race, but in
practical realization almost unknown.
Through great sufRerings and revolu-
tions humanity had been reaching out
toward reign of the rights of man.
kind. The SAVIOUR of the world pro-
claimed abroad the doctrine of the COM
mon fatherhood of God, and the uni
versal brotherhoods of the peoples.
Our forefathers did not love war, but
they loved freedom and the right to be
citizen. The divine gift of liberty to
man is Gods recognition of his great
ness and his dignity. The sweetness of
mans life, and the power of growth,
lie in liberty. The loss of liberty is the
loss of light and sunshine, the loss of
life's best portion.
Humanity, under the spell of heaven
~ memories, never ceased to dream of
liberty and aspire to its possession. Now
and then, here and there, its refreshing
breezes caressed humanity's brow. But
not until the republic of the West was
born, not until the Star Spangled Ban
ner rose toward the skies, was liberty
caught up in humanity's embrace and
embodied in great and abiding nation.
From all nations the peoples have
been pouring in upon Americas 5 soil, to
share the liberty for which she stands,
until our country has become the camp
ing ground of the Nations.
Because of the great principles for
which our country stands, every true
citizen should rally around the Flag, to
protect it, not only from the enemy on
eth side, but from the hand of dsloyal
citizens, who are within our own bor-
ders, and are seeking an opportunity to
strike blow at the very heart of our
beloved Nation.
Our country has done we'll in the
past, trying to correct her mistakes,
and guard against the violation of those
principles for which our forefathers
lived. She has, through struggles, tried
to wash out the stain left by African
slavery on our Nation.
The blood of her noble sons has not
only been poured out for our own land,
but they heard the cry of Cuba, groan-
ing beneath the heel of Spanish OPP
preston. The spirit of American free
dom said to Spain: make Cuba free,
or reckon with u.s.. Spain's answer
was continued cruelty, and our response
was the destruction of the feet, the
charge up the heights of San Juan, and
the hosting of the flag over Santiago
and Havana.
To love our country is to love this
freedom freedom political, social, in
dustrial and religious. To believe in
that freedom, to stand for it, to do our
utmost to perpetuate it the world
around, that is to love our country.
Our Union is made up of the peoples
of the earth. If each has regard and
love for all mankind, then there is
chance for harmony. But if there is
discord because of races, sects and pol
itics, then there is danger of wreck.
Our Union has before it number of
problems, which calls fer our unselfish
patriotism. The many parts of the
great ship are finding fault with every
other part. Religions against religions,
labor against capital and capital against
labor, classes against classes, and now
we are right in the midst of great
political upheavel, which affects every
part of the great vessel.
Let us all look up and see the great |
storm that is approaching. See the |
waves that are flowing clear over our |
decks. Stop your complaining and let
every man be in his place. Religions |
point to Christ, in which direction you
are all headed. Labor and capital |
make better use of your time, money |
and save your blood. Let every one |
be busy in the social world, lifting other |
people up to your own level. Men in
politics, stop your parley over political
pie, and hold on to the principles which |
give US liberty, and look out for the |
safety Of our country,
Now let US meet the great storm |
united, and in one triumphant voice In
the words of Longfellow:
Thou too, sail on, o Ship Of State,
Sail on, Q Union. strong and great!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
r. L. a L -.