Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-01-01
Speaker DWeIis Upon War and
Its Worldwide Effect
" Lauds Arbitration

-
Last Sunday morning in Central
Union church Dr. Wifhert p. Fergu-
son, principal of Mills School, deliver
ed noon invitation the last sermon OF
r19l4 His text vas "Selah," inter
irreted as Pause" 1t was applied as
an appeal between Christmas and New
Years to pause, reflect, mediate, so
that the outgoing yeah may pave the
way for the incoming year. DR.. Fer
guson spoke in part as follows:
THE enc thing that looms up large,
! so large as almost to crowd out OF
vision all else, is the worldwide war
| which broke out August l. So fierce,
so deadly, so widespread and so var
led that We are appalled,, oHerawed
and almost speecEicss. When Fred
eric Harrison. at the opening OF this
century, said that its early years
would be given to Moluch and Nam
mon we thought OF him merely as a
pessim;stic un5nlievCr and little
dreamed that such war would ever
occur. Now with 100000 men and
more in active campaigns and with a
loss IN five months O. nearly 2,000,00o,
cur very vitals are almost frozen with
horror. 1t is a climax and rebuke
to extensive ornaments and one more
sad commentary upon militarismS and
lracialism and monarchy. Untold thou
sands are in the cold and wet Of the
trenches today because three mon
archs baGe them go. They know not
the causes and the ends. James
II nf
five war would be averted if the peo-
pie were given chance to express
their will. Popular government safe
guards peace But cut from this
/ fiery crucible good must finally come.
Righteousness is more important than
peace War broke out because of
sins, many sins by many nations for
many years, and now that the sword
IS unsheather these evils must be eX-
tripated. Peace with Righteousness is
the end to be sought. There must
be given a death blow to militarism;
treaties must be made more sacred;
the smaller and the neutral nations
must have their rights respected; the
balance of power must be set aside
as dangerous fhebrand, and diplom-
acy must be more frank and brotherly.
AS an offset to the great war, Am
. erica has made a proposal through
President Wilson and Secretary Bry-
:. an for superior kind of arbitration
treaty which has been accepted fav-
' crably by more than 80 nations. No
enc is regarded now as mere Senti-
mentalist who favors arbitration. 1t
is as old as Jays treaty of 1794-a
sort of Yankee invention, if you please.
During the past hundred years 80
major causes of war and over 80
i minor causes have been arbitrated.
Our fisheries dispute with Great Brit
ain, lasting more than a century, was
/, finally settled ct The Hague. One
Of our citizens built the splendid pal
ace of peace. but the Olney Paunce-
fcote treaty of 1897 was more splen-
did tribute to the spirit of peace. Since
! then we have made rapid progress I'M
til some citizens now fear the watch
full waiting of President WILSON in
the Mexican crisis, ald fear also some
of the provisions in the new treaty
Mr.. Bryan suggests. But the great
war will itself help the cause of peace
III q ICdSI 4Ol IGo StSIS, 10 uSoO-
' illness and it's folly. We must not
I, then close the year with grCan Of
despair and with heart of unbelief.
Some signs of promise make the heav-
ems aglow while Christmas carols
. make them resound. Follow Brown
/ ing:
Earth is not grey, but rosy,
| Heaven no. grim, but fair of hue;
Do | steop7 | pluck posey;
/ Do stand and stare? Ais blue?
We ourselves throughout the entire
year have been on "a thin boundary
line between peace and war because
CT Mexico's troubles. One whom Ho-
inolulu regards with peculiar esteem
as friend and neighbor, Gen. Funston,
behaved admirably at Vera Cruz with
his troops; and his wise self-restraint
helped nightly to win Mexico to the
belief that the United States has
spirit of friendly helpfuness and not
1 of belligerent aggressiveness. pray
that this self-restraint of Funston
may become nationwide.
/ Two great commercial events have
marked the year in America-the Ter
Centenary of the opening of commerce
on the Hudson river and the opening
Of the Panama canal. To use Glad
stones expression, America has
| passed England on a canter in the
race for commercial supremacy" This
is not matter for pride and self-con-
graduation alone and need not neces-
sarily beget materialism. Commerce
is friend OF liberty. tends by ex-
/ change of commodities to bring ma
items into a neighborly spirit, and
seeks ever to keep the peace. Com
merce I also affords the revenue for
the spread of the gospel for charities,