Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-07-06


freshness, but the utterance of il. as
principle and the enforcement Of il
by Bible truth and the facts Of history.
left a conviction which will abide.
The preacher was speaking to an
audience which is largely northern in
its personnel. The First Congrega-
tional Church of Washington is full of
the type Of people who come to the ma
tion's capital from pilgrim Fathers
sections. thought | saw what was
coming, when the preacher spoke of
our great opportunity as a nation and
our possible evasion of that opportuni-
ty. Then came the rapid review of
great war statesmen, giving each
vivid Characterization that was in itself
we'll worth riding miles to hear.
Clemenceau, Lloyd George-and then
a pause. With voice lowered and in
tenseness in the preachers tones, he
said in substance: "If ever man had
power to speak the right word at the
time; il ever a mans words ran to the
end OF the world; If ever the entire
world hung on mans word: if ever
the world saw in those words its hope,
its ideal; and if ever the failure of
those words broke the heart of the
world-thiS was true of the utterances
of Woodrow Wilson" had made I'D
my mind that would applaud even
if no one else did, but evidently the
least half of the audience thought the
same thing, for there burst forth such
spontaneous and obviously sincere ap-
plause, that the preacher and the peo-
pie were alike startled. 1t was as
beautiful and as wonderful in its way
as the Armistice Day ovation. True,
the preacher was in a courteous way
criticisng the act Of our Senate and
Of our people in rejecting Mr.. Wilson's
ideals; still, the applause only told
what is true all over this broad land
in congregations confessedly Republi-
can and northern, as we'll as in south
ern sections that throng with Demo-
crats-that Mr.. Wilson is now regarded
as the inspired leader of our nation
and the world, and our rejection of
that leadership has contributed more
than anything to our present unhappy
political and moral confusion.
The audience had been wrought to
a pitch that required some tact to let
it down to normal. DR.. Norwood did
this by some half-humorous remarks
about the Monroe Doctrine. He quot
ed Henry VIII, who declared in his
day that what we now call Great
Britain" was henceforth to be an en-
pire." The king meant that the policy
of Great Britain should henceforth be
one of splendid isolation" The king
showed how the situation of England,
cut off from the European Continent
by the Channel which is twenty-five
miles wide at its narrowest point, was
indication enough to base the state
ment that God intended England to
have mo entanglihg alliances with
the Continent of Europe" After ex-
pressing Henry's words in exact form,
he humorously remarked: 81 am not
quoting from modern American news
paper, but from Henry VIII" The au-
dience is keen one and saw the point
with much appreciation.
Referring to the determination of
our people to have nothing to do with
the affairs of Europe, he said: "But
you have been obliged to have dealings
with it. You have more Russians in
your borders than ever confronted Ma
poleon. You have more Italians than
he ever conquered. You have more
Jews than ever lived at one time in
Judea. You have more Spaniiards than
those that came with the Armada.
You have more Scandinavians than in
any two or three great cities Of that
section. Though you will not 90 to
Europe, Europe has come to you. Right
now you are dealing with the very
thing in your own borders that you
have said you would not be entangled
with"
This gave opportunity to say the
word that the preacher wanted most
to say, and shall not attempt to quote
but in substance: america has
wealth above all other nations Poor
and hungry people do not love million
aires. America has been generous at
times beyond expression. But the
world needs Americas sympathy and
leadership in bringing it out of its ruin