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Ico; while they arc not numerous and while they
aro not large in membership, they enjoy all the
rights and privileges enjoyed by the Catholic
church or any other church, and the protestant
missionaries who go to Mexico are just as free
to preach their doctrines in Mexico as a Catholic
priest is to present his views and the beliefs of
his church to prote3tants in the United States.
; The same can be said of Cuba, which is also a
uaujollc country.
The doctrine that "God is using the wars of
our times for the evangelization of the nations"
Is not only an assumption, uut it is an exceedingly
dangerous doctrine. If those who believe in tno
protestant form of the Christian faith have tha
right to wage war against a Catholic country for
a religious purpose, then the people of a Catholic
country have a right to wage war against a pro
testant nation for a religious purpose. Who will
defend such a barbarous doctrine? If the United
States can justify the subjugatiSn of a Catholic
country for a religious purpose, then is there not
danger that people who apply that doctrine to our
nation's dealing with other nations, may apply
the same doctrine in the United States, and at
tempt to justify the forcing of one form of re
ligion upon those of another denomination or
religion?
Christ's gospel was a gospel of peace. While
its introduction creates a contest between the
Christian ideals and the ideals of Mammon, it
does not justify the use of force in the propaga
tion of that gospel. If there is not something
in the heart to which the religion of Christ can
successfully appeal there is certainly no way in
which It can be Introduced into man by a surgi
cal operation.
A line must be drawn, and it is a distinct line,
between the utilization of an existing condition
and the creation of that condition. No one would
attempt to justify the burning of a town, and
yet after the towu is burned people, accepting the
situation, may take advantage of the burning to
improve the town in a way that they might not
have been able io do before the fire. Instances
have been known where a disastrous season has
turned attention to new crops that have proved
greatly beneficial to the people of that section, and
yet no one shoiihi justify the sending of a drouth
or a flood in the hope that good might come out
of It So with wars. It is proper to make the
most of the condition which follows a war, and
yet no one could afford to assume responsibility
for a war in the hope of produch-g the condition
It is proper for the representatives of all branches
of the Christian church to present their ideas and
to give expression to their beliefs, but no one
can justify a colonial policy on the ground that
it may be utilized to advance any form of re
ligion. Those who attempt to interpret Providence
often make the mistake of considering the good
that comes out of the evil, without considering
the good that might have been done without the
evil. In order to make a fair comparison one
must understand what can be done peacefully as
well as what is done violently. It is impossible
to see both what has been done and what might
have been done, and, therefore, comparison is
difficult. The only sound method of argument is
to reason from the individual to the collection of
Individuals. We can understand a thing -when we
see it emphasized in an individual better than
when we attempt to look at It as exemplified In a
nation. If an individual went about with a club
beating people and bruising them and commanding
them to live In a certain way, inspiring not love,
but terror, we would describe him as a bully and
as a braggart. If he acted thus merely because
he found pleasure in It, we would condemn his
disposition, but if he made money out of his
brutality we could call him a robber. No pre
tense that he was benevolently inclined or that
ho was only exacting a reasonable compensation
for the good that he was doing, would paliate
his crimes. If he did this in the name of Chris
tianity we would accuse him of adding hypoc
risy to his other sins. But when a nation acts
upon the principle of a bully or a highwayman
it is sometimes applauded as a world power by
those who desire to exercise the power. Some
times the action is applauded as Providential if
a grain of good can be found in a bushel of evil.
We have no difficulty in contrasting the ex
ample of an upright man with the example of an
evil doer. We recognize the virtues of the man,
wo recognize the good Influence which he exerts
upon his community, and we know that the ben
efits flowing from such a life go on increasing
with each new generation forever. (Jan we doubt
that a nation which applies its measure of indi
vidual worth to its national greatness does more
good than a nation which risks the corruption of
The Commoner.
its individual ideals by brutalizing its national
purpose?
Imperialism strikes at the principles of our
religion as well as at the principles of our gov
ernment Love, not force, is the foundation of
our religionlove that sacrifices and persuades,
not that robust selfishness which boasts of its
brute force or hides Its mailed hand in the glove
of benevolent .assimilation. Our missionary so
cieties should study the gospel of the Prince of
Peace.
JJJ
The Value of an Education.
It should not be necessary to quote eminent
authorities as to the importance of an early edu
cation and yet there are all too many young peo
ple who fail to grasp their opportunities in this
respect. To be sure, all of life is education and
while the college course does not properly termi
nate endeavor in this line, it is of the highest
importance than the young man and the young
woman avail themselves of the opportunity of
profiting by a college education.
The wisest men of our times have sought to
impress upon the youth of their generation the
importance of securing an education, and with
the present as with preceding generations, it is
important that this wholesome counsel be im
pressed upon the young. Addison wrote: "What
sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to
the human soul. The philosopher, the saint, the
hero, the wise, and the good or -the great very
often lie hid and concealed in a plebeian, which a
proper educauon might have disinterred and
brought to life." Benjamin Franklin wrote that
"An investment in knowledge always pays the
best interest" Washington wrote: "Promote as
an object of primary importance institutions for
the general diffusion of knowledge. In propor
tion as the structure of government gives force to
public opinion, it is essential that public opinion
should be enlightened." Judson wrote: "Plant
ing colleges and filling them with studious young
men and women is planting seed for the world."
varle wrote: Education is the companion which
no misfortune can depress no crime destroy
no enemy alienate no despotism enslave. At home
a friend; abroad, an introduction; in solitude a
solace; and in society an ornament. Without it
what is man? A splendid slave, a reasoning sav
age." To be sure, just as John Randolph said: "All
the professors and teachers in the world would
not make you a wise or a good man without your
own co-operation;" but as E. H. Chapin said:
Do not ask if a man has been through college;
ask it a college has been through him if he is
a walking university."
The young man or young woman who under
disadvantageous circumstances struggles for a col
lege education will certainly appreciate it Under
such circumstances, such a person will not merely
seek to go through college. The result will be
that the college has gone through the man.
Perhaps it is not possible for everyone to ob
tain the advantages of a college education. Some
are able to surmount the obstacles of life with
out such an education, but we think it safe to say
that the most successful of these will cheerfully
testify that their struggle would have been easier
had they had the advantages of a college educa
tion. Attention Is therefore directed to the offer
made by The Commoner, the details of which are
sIaie2 In another column of this issue. As already
SS2i ? J Her 0f The Commoner will be
gratified if this offer serves as an inducement to
a large number of young men and young women
SLE? GP- U is sueeestei that those who
, , mu1111 a colleSe education carefully
nj Th? Commoner's proposition and upon
fven n further stalls will bo
JJJ
Questioning the Juror.
The Chicago Chronicle continues to show
signs of agitation because the editor of The Com
moner occasionally refers to the fact that the
Chronicle is owned by John R. Walsh, a repub
lican banker and run in the interest of the cor-
Cftw Rh Which Mr' Wal8h Is connect.
Sw'there n ason why the Chronicle should
get angry and hurl epithets at Mr. Bryan.
Is it ashamed to have its owner known' Is
he connected with corporations that ought not to
be defended? If a juror presents himself for Lr
vice he is always questioned as to his interest fn
the case about to be decided; why should an edi
tor or newspaper owner conceal his interest in th
tnf1JSlGr crIderati0I? lt is ESKSe in th?
eyes of the public, a pecuniary interest in the re-
.V0LUME 3, NUMBER 30.
suit of a case always incapacitates a 1nrnr
service in thafr ewe and the oiraS of the ? ChroS
icle knows that his connection with I!11'
M ? to imSsSforthrSa
VQu t0 hal any influence with democrats b
1 ?H ? n0trU the paDer a repuSfican paper
and thus deal honestly with the public" TP
cause a republican paper could nSt hurt the
democratic party as much or aid his private Dla2
aS Y? PaP?r, ca,1,n lt8el democratic 3
As the Chronicle assumes to sit in judemenf
?n ?UemTaffeC.tIns the democratic party Is ougSt
to be willing to answer questions touching its
fitness to serve in the case. ".un, its
FirstWhat proportion of the Chronicle stock
does John R. Walsh own? K
doec0ndInr Yhak corporations affected by leg
islation does John R. Walsh hold stock?
Third How did John R. Walsh vote in the
presidential campaigns of 1896 and 1900
The Chronicle ought to be willing to answer
these questions without compensation, but The
Commoner hereby offers the Chronicle five dol
lars reward for the answer to each question gold
or silver the answers to be published on the
Chronicle's editorial page.
Another Slap at Miles.
' Although General Miles has endeared himself
to the people because of his faithful service
present and past republican administrations have
marked this old soldier as their victim. By or
de of President Roosevelt, Colonel C. A. Wood
ruff, chief commissary in the Philippines, was re
cently promoted to be a brigadier general, and
under the regulations will be promoted to go
upon the retired list.
The Washington correspondent for the New
York World says that Woodruff's promotion is
regarded as an intended punishment to General
Miles for his disclosures concerning the rice
transactions in the Philippines." The World cor
respondent reminds us that Colonel Woodruff
was the originator of the system under which
tons of rice, much of it second class, was bought
with army funds and sold at a profit to Filipino
reconcentrados in certain provinces in the island
of Luzon. More than 20,000,000 pounds of rice
were thus disposed of at a total outlay of $300,000
in commissary funds. It was claimed in defense
of this plan that it was a charitable act made
necessary by war and pestilence and that it was
intended to sell the rice only at a price that
would pay the expenses. But this statement did
not correspond with the fact that the system
yielded a profit of nearly $66,000.
On the day that General Davis took command
of the Philippines, he ordered the discontinuance
of this practice and as the result of his investi
gations and his orders, the sum of $66,000, repre
senting certain profits, was paid over to the civil
government. The World correspondent reminds
us that the rice transaction was severely ar
raigned by General Miles in his report on the
Philippines and was referred to as an open vio
lation of the law and army regulations. In the
report of General Miles made public by Secretary
Root the reference to the rice transactions was
omitted, but subsequently Mr. Root made public
the suppressed part of it referring to the rice
transaction, -accompanying the correspondence
was a letter from General Davis in which he
said that the transactions were clearly in viola
tion of the law, and that he had stopped them and
ordered the profits turned over to the civil gov
ernment on the day he took command. General
Davis said that there might have been some ex
cuse for these transactions while the island was
under military rule, but there was no possible
reason for their continuance after peace had been
proclaimed.
It Is strange that Mr. Roosevelt should lend
himself to an attempt to rebuke General Miles by
an undeserved promotion, and In this instance it
is all the more strange because of the experience
which Mr. Roosevelt himself had with. Colonel
Woodruff. The World correspondent reminds us
that at the time of the war with Spain, Colonel
Woodruff bought nearly 1,000,000 pounds of canned
beef, one-third of which had been shipped back
from Europe. This was tha material which Mr.
Roosevelt, then a colonel, testifying in the beef
investigation, declared was "an utterly unfit and
utterly unwholesome ration."
The World correspondent says that hundreds
of Colonel Roosevelt's Rough Riders were made
sick by the canned beef and that his testimony
against it was the strongest brought out in the
Investigation. Colonel Woodruff, in his examina
tion, testmed that he had served in the army in
the far west prior to 1878 and that during all his
service there he had never seen beef on the hoof
served to the troops, but this testimony was in.
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