Norwich bulletin., 1918-07-15
PAYS TRIBUTE TO FRANCE
 ON BAsTiLE DAY
Rev. R. R. Graham Delivers Foree-
 fuI Address on French Holiday.

Sunday morning at Christ church tine rector, Rev. R. R. Graham, preach ed a special sermon in commemoration of Bastile Day. the French National Holiday. MT. Graham said in part:
 On the Fourth of July France cele- brated our national holiday. It is ft- ting that we should join her today in commemorating her national holiday. The closeness of the days and the fact that the events which they mark took place only few years apart, suggest the comparison of the two great revo- lutions which have marked the found- ing of the two greatest republics of the world today.
 The destruction of the Bastile by the mobs of Paris meant far more than simply the overthrow of this fortress and prison. It meant the destruction and annihilation of the class rule, op- pression and all the other evils for which the Bastile was the symbol. It meant the beginning of the recognition l by the people as the people that they | were a power. The fall of the Bastile was symbolic of the entire French rev. olution in that it was primarily de- structive It is difficult to estimate the good and the evil of the revolu 1 tion correctly, but there is no doubt ] but that it marks a step in human progress.
 The liberty. equality and fraternity | for which the French peasants fought | have not yet been fully attained; they are still being carried on, and for that reason the democracies of the earth are now deliberately seeking to de-
 stroy. We believe that the triumph
 of Prussian militarism means oppres-
 sion for us of the same kind that the | T6o nf
 kings and nobles.
 | To some the French revolution is
 only the horror and bloodshed of the
 reign of terror and the destruction of
 the Bastlle. The truth of the fact . that some of the leaders were willing
 in their blood lust and blind fury to
 sacrifice the innocent with the guilty
 cannot be questioned. In all it's ruth lessness the French revolution came as the agent for the destruction of all ] the horrors of feudal France. In this we find the fundamental difference be- : tween the French and our own revolu- , tion. While the Declaration of Inde- Fl pendence was written under the influ-
 ence of the same French philosophy . which resulted in the revolution, the | colonists had no such evils to contend l. with as had the French. The war ol the revolution shows that right is no . victorious without a struggle, and il :, this struggle the evils which are op. y l posed to right are destroyed. Inde T pendence day suggests the positive as sertion of constructive effort whil | Bastile day suggests the opposite.
 But it is mistake to assert tha
 the spirit of France is destructiv rather than constructive We ar
 allied in a work of destruction-fo t war is destructive we are fighting to remove the curse of militaristi
 despotism which precludes the enjoy |, ment of life, liberty and happiness - | When the war is over, heroic ant II ', noble France which has called fort if the admiration of all men, will be on Il of the leaders in establishing the de
 mocracy of the world That she wi
 have the right to the position of leade : she has shown by the ability of he ' people to rule and fight during the pas . four years.
 The French revolution shows hoy 4 cruel and unjust the people of - country as a mob may be- but h T. history of France for the past fou
 years shows that the people of
 country are able to be trusted in tim
 of stress. The praise for the gallar I0 fight of France is shoWered upon tn : people as a people and not upon fe o' outstanding leaders. The people of democracy may be a mob as blin 11- with fury of the French revolutionis Y or they may be an army that is rule III by something greater than disciplin
 and a country fighting with one gre;
 heart for one great cause.
 Many people are wondering whethC E this war is to prove constructive
 destructive and are looking for God h purpose in it. Perhaps it is best e2
 emplified in the fighting spirit
 France that we may practice fratel .s nifty, live in liberty and enjoy equalit