OUR COUNTRY by Francis M. Wilcox

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 4, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 27.

OUR COUNTRY.

By Francis M. Wilcox

A Review of Its Basic Fundamental Principles, and the Dangers Now Threatening Its Safety. BY FRANCIS M. WILCOX, BOULDER, COLO.

AMONG all the nations of antiquity and of medieval and modern times, the United States of America stands as the preeminent model and ideal. In its history, the great central truth of all free government, that of which the Anglo-Saxon has been the chief exponent,—the equal and just rights of all men,—has had a higher development than in any other nation. The civilization of the Anglo-Saxon has done much for the development of mankind, but the American model has presented a higher ideal of national attainment than ever before reached.

This perhaps is not true because Americans are more liberty loving than Germans, or than Englishmen, or than Frenchmen. In all these countries have been struggles in the past for individual rights and civil and religious liberties. But the conditions present and the influences at work at the time this country had its rise, contributed to the laying of its foundation upon broader and more liberal principles than had yet been incorporated into the formation of other commonwealths. Europe was then just nicely emerging from the error and superstition of the Dark Ages. The feudal systems of power which had dominated men in civil matters had given place, to some extent, to governments of the people, by the people, and for the people. The reformation of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had opened the minds of men to their God-given rights and privileges. Civilly and religiously, men had begun to think for themselves. France had just risen in her might; and broken the shackles that had held her bound to religious creeds and oppressive civil enactments, and proclaimed her right to think and act for herself in civil and religious matters. Hence, in the light of these principles and with the lessons of France before them, it was but natural that our pilgrim fathers, when they fled from the religious intolerance and civil despotism of the Old World, should come to this continent with the avowed purpose of founding a church without a pope, and a State without a king.

The Doctrine of Equal Rights.

It was their regard for the great principles of equality and republicanism that led them to declare: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty,

and the pursuit of happiness. That they may secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, and that when any form of government becomes destructive to these ends it is the right of the people to abolish it and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." This declaration, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, enunciated the doctrine of "equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political." These are the basic principles of equality and right upon which our government was founded, and it has been, during all the years of the past, the sacred regard for these principles which has led the Ruler of the universe to exalt this commonwealth above all of its fellows, among the nations of the earth.

American Greatness.

And to what a power it has grown! From three million people and six hundred thousand square miles of territory a little more than one hundred years ago, it has come to possess over three million square miles of territory and seventy million people. It has become continental in its extent, reaching from sea to sea. An idea of its wonderful resources may be found in the one feature of its agricultural productiveness, as indicated by the crops of 1897, the latest reports at our disposal. In that year, after feeding more than fifty million inhabitants, there was furnished over two hundred and eighty million bushels of grain for export, but in that year less than one-ninth of our arable land was under cultivation. If, therefore, all were brought under the plow, at the same ratio of production, it would feed more than four hundred and fifty million people, and afford over two billion five hundred and fifty million bushels for export.

But the wonderful wealth of this country is not indicated alone by its surface products. We have vast wealth under the soil as well as in it. The United States now produces one-half the gold and silver used in the world. A number of its mines singly could supply the world's demand. Our coal mines are simply inexhaustible. England's coal pits, already deep, are being deepened, so that the cost of coal mining is constantly being increased, while we have coal enough near the surface to supply us for centuries. Well may Josiah Strong, in his excellent little work, "Our Country," say: "When God was storing away the fuel for the ages, He knew the place and work to which He had appointed us, and gave to us twenty times as much of this concrete power, as to all the nations of Europe. Among the nations ours is the youngest, the Benjamin, and Benjamin-like we have received the fivefold portion. Surely He has not dealt so with any other people."

The wealth of the United States is also phenomenal. In 1880 it was valued at forty-three billion six hundred and forty-two million of dollars. Great Britain is by far the richest nation of the Old World, but our wealth exceeds hers by two hundred and seventy-six million of dollars. The most remarkable point in this comparison is the fact that her wealth represents the accumulation of many centuries, while the greater part of ours has been accumulated in twenty years.

In maritime pursuits, and in the commerce of the world, the power and influence of the United States have been steadily gaining. From a few colonial towns on the seaboard of the Atlantic, at the close of the war of the Revolution, our country is now dotted with populous cities and villages, connected with railroad and telegraph lines, having business and commercial relations with each other, and with all the leading ports of foreign States. And from the few rude crafts and fishing smacks that dotted our Atlantic harbors in colonial days, the ships of our country are now traversing every ocean, and are no mean factor in the interchange of the world's commodities. And no less marked has been the progress and growth of our country in a political sense among the nations of the world.

Washington Monument, Washington, D. C. Corner-stone laid July 4, 1848; cap-stone set Dec. 6, 1884; dedicated Washington's birthday, Feb. 22, 1885; height, 555 feet; weight, 81,120 tons; cost, $1,187,710. It is a wonderful monument, materially considered. But the principles of liberty held by the man it commemorates are eternal.

The spirit of sacrifice, of heroism, of manhood, which marked the experiences of the Revolutionary patriots commanded the attention and admiration of every civilized nation of the world. The war of the Revolution was not a war of conquest, it was a contention for liberty, for life; and the fact that the United States in all of its subsequent history has contended only for the principles of equality and justice, has led the oppressed of the Old World to look to them as a refuge from the despotism of empire and monarchy. The war of the Rebellion was but an effort to preserve indissoluble the ties of unity which had marked the history of the nation up to that date. Great Britain has been noted for years for its land-grabbing propensities. Germany and France and Russia have followed closely in the steps of Great Britain. The partitioning of Africa, and the dismemberment of China, now going on, is but a demonstration of the rapacity of the spirit of the Old World nations to enrich their own possessions at the sacrifice of the liberties or conveniences of the subjugated tribes and nations of the conquered territory.

Gathering Shadows.

And so when we come to view all the history of the past in our own government we find it standing as a harbinger of peace, and the apostle of justice and equity. It has disdained to oppress the weak; it has not been cajoled by flattery, intimidated by fear, or bribed by gold. In its liberal domains and under its generous protection, religion has flourished and grown strong. All this has been true of the past. But now there is thrown a shadow across our pathway of pleasant memories. Will our country continue to be the glory of the nations? Will it continue to maintain the high and lofty standard which its history has erected? Will it ever remain the ideal of the hopeful and aspiring? We are pained to record it here, and yet it seems that in the experience of the past few years, and especially of the past few months, there has come a departure from the lofty integrity which has marked the past course of our statesmen, and the history of our national greatness. This departure is apparent both in the tendency toward imperial despotism which is marking the attitude of our nation toward our recently acquired colonial possessions, and also in the position which has been assumed by the national as well as some of the State governments toward the question of religion and matters of conscience.

Considering the thoughtful utterances of leading men throughout the country regarding these points, we can not be considered pessimistic in inclining to grave apprehensions for the future. In a recent number of the Arena is an article entitled "The Republic of the Empire," by John Clark Ridpath, D.D. Dr. Ridpath gives expression to these pertinent remarks upon the question of this country's departure from the basic principles of government:—

"A revolution is at the door. It impends like a cloud on the horizon. Whether we shall accept it and its results remains to be determined; but that a great transformation of political society is in the dawn, let no man longer doubt. What a few thinkers have been able to see and foretell, and what they have been ridiculed for foreseeing and foretelling, has risen like an exhalation of the night. The swift whirl of events, becoming even swifter, has brought the apprehended change upon us, and ere the century closes we are obliged, looking around upon what is virtually the wreck of our old-time institutions, to see arising over them the specter of imperialism. The proposition to transform the American republic into an empire is not only put forth, but it has the support of all the special interests in the United States. . . . They do not openly propose, any more than the leaders at Rome proposed at the middle of the first century, B.C., to cast aside the name of the republic and adopt the name of the empire; but they proceed insidiously to use the old terminology and to discard the facts. The democracy of the New World is to be deceived with the retention of the name of the republic, while the republic is robbed of its character and substance."

These remarks from Dr. Ridpath are but characteristic and typical of hundreds of similarly expressed sentiments from such men as Senator Hoar, Carl Schurz, Andrew Carnegie, and other intelligent, thoughtful, serious thinkers.

Relation of Church and State.

To one who has never given the matter particular thought the statement that we are fast tending in our national life toward the old Church and State governments of the Eastern Hemisphere, may appear ultra and sweeping, unwarranted wholly by the facts in the case. In the wise judgment of the founders of our republic, every precaution was taken to guard against anything savoring of State aid to religion or religious doctrines or institutions. It is the province of the State to secure to religious orders and institutions liberty of belief and exercise; but it does not fall to the State to promote religious interests or to foster religion in any way. This principle was recognized by James Madison, when he said:—

"It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens, and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much to soon forget it. Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity in exclusion of all other religions, may establish, with the same ease, any particular sect of Christians, in the exclusion of all other sects?"

And earlier still, the great Founder of the Christian religion proclaimed: "My kingdom is not of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is My kingdom not from hence." "Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and to God the things that are God's."

Is the Nation Christian?

That there is a growing tendency in the course of this government to lend its aid to religion and to religious institutions, is manifest in Sunday laws and in the appropriation of funds by this government toward the establishment and maintenance of denominational and sectarian schools. Such aid has been rendered to both Catholic and Protestant schools. To the credit of the latter be it said that they have refused during the past few years to receive government appropriations.

In 1892 the nation was definitely committed to the union of Church and State by the decision that "this is a Christian nation." Whether indeed it is, let the present massacres in the Philippines bear testimony. Let answer be given by the record of corruption in national, State, and municipal elections. Let the record of divorce cases, murders, and the great evils of intemperance and social crime join the chorus. Of the course of this country in the Philippines in particular, and of its present attitude in general, the following remarks from Col. W. J. Bryan, as reported recently in the New York Journal, are most pertinent:—

"The forcible annexation of the Philippine Islands is defended by some on the ground that our nation is performing a religious duty. It is worth while to inquire whether wars of conquest are in line with Christian precepts. . . . The Christian religion is essentially a religion of the heart, and love is its supreme manifestation. . . . There are some who think that destiny leads us away from the Declaration of Independence, away from the Constitution, and away from the traditions of the past. There are some who even think that our nation is commanded to go forth with the Bible in one hand and the musket in the other, prepared to read the former to those who escape the latter. . . . Lincoln was once asked whether he thought the Lord was on his side, and he replied that he was anxious to be on the Lord's side."

We can not change eternal principles to suit our own convenience or to advance our own plans, but we can strive with singleness of purpose to know the truth, and when we find that which we believe to be the truth we can adhere to it. Let us not mistake temptation for opportunity. The sight of new territory may be alluring, the glory of an empire may be fascinating, but the price demanded is too great.

But again, in 1893, the Congress of the United States decided that Sunday is the Christian sabbath, and prohibited the opening of the gates of the World's Fair upon that day, because of its being the Christian sabbath. This bill the President of the United States signed. Thus in some way, and in some form, all three departments of our government—Executive, Legislative, Judicial—have been committed to religious enactments and decisions. The enforcement of Sunday laws by several of the States of the Union is a long step in the same line, showing that the nation is fast drifting upon the shoals where the nations of the Old World have been stranded in their national liberties.

History repeats itself. It is a law of nature that like causes produce like results. And we have but to look back to the history of the past to see the inevitable results of a union of Church and State, and the consequent persecution for conscience' sake, to follow in the course upon which our government has entered in its dealing with religious questions.

A Subject of Prophecy.

To the student of prophecy, all this transformation is plainly indicative. In the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation we have brought to view our own nation, under the symbol of a beast with "two horns like a lamb." Its past greatness and glory is vividly portrayed, but the record is that while at first the principles underlying the nation, and those which in reality form the foundation of its greatness, would be for a time upheld, these principles would eventually be renounced, and this country, speaking as a dragon, would enter upon the same course of religious persecution which has marred the history of the Old World. This, we believe, is the outlook for the future; not pleasant indeed to contemplate, but ominous and foreboding.

But it is comforting to contemplate that the great Ruler of nations deals with us in our individual capacities, and not in a national sense. To Him personally we are responsible for the way we relate ourselves to the principles of government. May He grant that we shall stand for the great principles of religious and civil liberty upon which our nation had its rise. May we accord to every other soul the same liberty, civilly and religiously, that we ask for ourselves, following the principles of the Golden Rule: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." This is the essence of Christianity; this is the doctrine of Christ. This, likewise, is the essence of the Declaration of Independence, and the doctrine of our fundamental law. May this guide our lives and all our relations to our fellow-men.