The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1913-05-29

"He shall be called Prince Of Peace"
are the words of the royal prophet,
spoken centuries before the Savior
came.
Peace was His mission upon earth.
Peace is another word for unity. To
establish union between heaven and
earth Christ brought the sacrifice of
His life on Calvary. Pace is there
fore the spirit of christianity, peace
among men, peace among nations.
But, precious as peace may be, still
often times we must say that the
soldier is the true peacemaker. 1t
is often only by war that peace can
come and peace can stay. War is in
deed dreadful-it means the splitting
of human blood, the taking of human
life. Yet there are times when war
must be Waged in order that more
precious things than life be guarded.
So also in the late war in which you
distinguished yourselves and because
of which we SO honor you. War was
necessary in order to preserve the
union of the states. The very life
and strength of the country was in
danger. A republic in the north,
another in the south, one in the east
and another in the west, the nations
Of the world would despise. But if
today the starry flag is respected and
honored throughout the world: if
today millions and millions seek
shelter and protection under it's
sacred wings: if we rank today
amongst the first Of the nations to
whom others older than we look for
inspiration, it was you, brave
soldiers, through whom this was
brought about, you who have sacri-
feed all that was dear to you, who
offered your life's blood. That we
are one united, peace-loving people
today we owe to you.
Again, the war was necessary to
preserve the human rights of our
citizens. In spite of the Declaration
of Independence there were slaves in
America. Slavery-America Two
contradicting terms. For America
stands for liberty and freedom. We
could not have both. The signers at
Independence hall when declaring
E'all men to be free and equal' had
made false omission. They had not
inserted after the word ''men' the
words ';regardless of color and con-
ditions" Sla"ery was an injustice
it was trampling on the rights of
our equals. Here it was then that
the soldier of the civil war became
the true peacemaker according to the
mind of Christ. No one understands
the repugnance of slavery to the
spirit of christianity better than he
who knows the history of the early
church.
Rome and Greece had their slaves,
creatures considered as cattle and as
chattel. and not human. The slave
master had absolute right over his
slaves and, if it pleased his cruel
heart to bury them all alive, he could
do so with impunity. 1t was only
when the doctrine of Christ was pro-
mulgated that the chains began to
loosen from the hands and feet of
the slaves.
The christian church teaching that
mans value and rating does not con-
sist in body, but in soul, that in the
sight of God we are all equal, having
secured an immortal soul washed in
the same blood of the Savior, and are
destined for the same end-eternal
happiness, encountered violent op-
position from imperial Rome and its
chief rulers. the slavemasters. Great
and violent were the prosecutions the
church had to endure on account of
this teaching. Yet SO firmly did she
contend for the liberty of the slave,
81 strongly did she advocate his
equality in soul with his master who
lorded it over him, and so deeply was
she convinced of this truth as being
the will of Christ that she raised tc
the choir of St. Peter a liberated
slave. 1t was the great Pope CAL
lestus who reigned in the Sc conc
century after Christ.
And it was for this same sacred
principle of religion that you veteran
soldiers brave]y fought in the war O.
81, 81 years ago. You shouldere(
your arms to battle for the freedom
of brother who was unjustly dis
fanchised and enslaved, brothe:
coming from the common Creato
with an immortal SOUL destined tt
glory with us our Common Master il
heaven. And, in order to unfur
the flag of freedom, need I mention
the price you paid, the sacrifice tina
was demanded of you? Time will
not permit to go into detail. We al