The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-05-16
B|SHOPBRENT SAYS
III. S. IS NOT GREAT
America First Must Gain Mastery
Over Herself Before She Be- IL
comes Strong
Occupation Of Philippines Is For
Spiritual Welfare Of Peo-
pie OF Islands

WV Nhutitb IL
Brent Of Manila, Protestant Episcopal
bishop of the Philippine Islands, re.
Gently delivered an address before the
Saturday Club of Shanghai, according
to the mail which arrived here from
Orient yesterday, in Width he mhd seuti
very uhcomplimentary things about the
United States of America. The Bishop
shocked the wcll.hlled dining room of
the Palace Hotel by saying fatty that
America was not a great nation. He
admitted that she was potentially
great nation ~
- Before she becomes truly great"
he continued, America must first gain
a mastery over herself"
Bishop Brent dwelt on the necessity
for spiritual as well as material ideals
being necessary for a country that
would reach the highest development
The man who fulfilled the duties Of a
citizen with the highest motives in his
heart was performing spiritual act.
'|'Thrice we have gone to war;" said
the speaker, land each time II was
for q spiritual and not q material ideal
Our first war was for liberty; our
second for unity; and our third was an
unsciRsh war for the liberty Of an
oppressed people," ...
=, he bishop said that if America had
gone to the Philippines for material
purpose she ought to get out, but that
If her purpose was pnselfsh she ought
to stay in the islandA ~ i!H.t =
Thomas samnTona, lkpeicsn consul
general, was chairman Of the meeting.
Besides Bishop Brent, Prof. ]. W.
jerks, of New York. u nivefsity, and
Chief Justice =, Finley Johnson of the
Supreme Court Of the Philippine Is
lands, made short addresses. Bishop
Brent spoke as follows:
Crisis Produces Better Men ,-f
Naturally serious men at this
place in the worlds history can speak
only in a serious vein on serious sub.
jects. l am one of those and believe
that there are present many others of
the same mind. / thank God that 1t
has been my lot to pass through such a
time of storm and stress. l have yet
to learn that man cannot most readily
rise to his proper stature when he is
graphing with grave difficulties. The
present crisis in the worlds history
produces a better type of man than is
possible under any other circumstances
cit is quite natural that upon any
subject that speak ! viii 'turnRto my
own! pation-my adopted nation tthe
bishop was originally a Canadian) the
nationality to which I owe my loyalty
and the nation of my 'choice--and
present, to you what l deem to be, her
voc alton. The vocation Of America is
primarily aud essentially spiritual.
To-day America is the only great
and her activities in any direction that
she will. She is filled with liberty
which is her national heritage and up
on the proper use of which depends
her future greatness.
"There is no room for self-pity in
great man OF in a great nation
America is, and this may seem TO some
an moderated statement, America il
a potentially great nation. She is not
yet great.
Self Government Great Principle
1.-THE power of self-government ID
one of our great principles but the pow
err of self government means not only
the additional power to make laws but
to keep the laws when they are made
When you study the origin of the Uni
ted States you will md that in it's early
history it's citizens or 'cOlonists were
made up of men who came not to es
cape religion but to be allowed to prac
tise their religion without hindrance
Your lives as citizens are incomplete
unless you are loyal to God as God hal
been made known to you.
"There may or may not be poll
teal advantage in our holding terri
tory in the Far East. The Philippines
may or may not add TO our wealth
These considerations may hold a place
In our conclusions and if so they hole
a secondary place. If our motive fOl
remaining in the Philippines wer'
, for our material benefit I would say
to America go, the sooner the better
If our motive for staying in the Phil
| ippines is unselffsh / would say stay
and do not 60.
81 believe that today we are in the
Philippines Islands as a nation not foI
our ACKNOWLEDGMENT, not for the de
velopment of our wealth, not for selfsl
interest, but we are there for, the spir
itual service of the Filipino people, anC
i il I did not believe this I Would leave
{ the Philippines today, bag and bag
gage, never again to return to her fair
! shores.
Same AS Beginning
"The vocation of America is wha
it was it the beginning of its existenc'
and so far she will grow and be rec
ogniZed by the great nations of thu
world, but as she breaks away from
this she will decline and become small
among the nations of the earth. A ma
! ton like a man can never be grea
merely by material possessions. 1t /
in honor, justice, purity and truth tina
greatness consists. The latter are spir
ituaI and will prevail, but might ant
wealth are material and will surel.
fall"
Professor jerks spoke of the relat
tions of business and religion. He de
clared that truth was becoming the sic
gan of commerce.
~ attended convention of AdVer
Using Men in Cleveland, he said, "a
which it was insisted that there shOul
be no Misrepresentation in any adveI
tisements. That is becoming the fun
uamental principle of the best bushes