> !
'Cbe Conservative *
courage of their convictions , and to
show themselves willing to avow their
belief.
Analogous to this action of the Uni-
versalist young people is a recent address -
dress delivered before a number of
soldiers at Fort Meyer , Virginia , by
Key. Teunis S. Hamlin , the well known
Presbyterian clergyman of Washington ,
D. O. , on the question of the canteen.
We quote the report of his remarks
from the New York Times :
"I am a trustee of the Young People's
Society of Christian Endeavor , but
speak now as an individual , as the so
oiety is not allowed to interfere with
anything pertaining to governmental
regulations. No doubt some members
of the society are opposed to the canteen
and some are in favor of it. I believe
the canteen is a promoter of temperance ,
and , while it does not promote total
abstinence , it is a great improvement
over previous conditions. I do not
think the canteen is perfect , and I think
I could improve upon it. It has im
proved the conditions of the soldier ,
morally and materially. Under exist
ing conditions at army posts I believe
the canteen is a good thing and a great
benefit to soldiers. "
Almost simultaneous with this ad
dress is published in Leslie's Weekly an
article on the canteen question by an
ex-member of the cabinet. He defends
the legal opinion of the attorney general
that the act of 1809 does not abolish the
canteen , but simply prohibits the detail
ing of officers and soldiers to do the
selling and the maintenance of separate
establishments within the posts by pri
vate enterprise ; he shows that the at
torney general might be incorrect in this
judgment and yet not be justly subject
to the censure which the "temperance
wild men , " as Dr. Crosby once felicit
ously called them , have heaped upon
him : "Courts frequently decide cases
erroneously and their decisions are re
versed by appellate courts. " He be
lieves that the attorney general's decis
ion is not only presumptively good law ,
since "no judge or member of the bar of
reputation has come forward to chal
lenge its correctness , " but is good mor
als also. He says very truly : "It is
probable that a majority of the people
of the country , including almost every
officer of the regular and volunteer
army , believe that the entire abolition
of the canteen features of the post ex
changes would be a direct blow at the
cause of temperance. " We call these
utterances indications of a return to
sane methods of dealing with the tem
perance question , not because we think
all opposition to the canteen or all advo
cacy of prohibition is insane , but
because the spirit which condemns all
advocacy of the canteen as advocacy of
intemperance and counts every oppo
nent of prohibition as an enemy of tem
perance is decidedly lacking in sanity ,
and the spirit which submits to such
misrepresentations and is silent for fear
of them is lacking in that courage which
is itself a characteristic of the highest
moral sanity. When common sense
and courage are mated in opposition to
intemperance there will be a reasonable
hope of moro practical methods and
more rapid progress than in the past.
These utterances are indications of such
a union. The Outlook.
THE NATIONS AND THE ISSUE.
Long ago it was known and said an
army cannot be well commanded by a
debating society , and it is now becoming
apparent in China that the command is
even less effective when intrusted to an
international council. The powers that
meddled with China in time of peace
are now muddling in time of war. The
"concert of Europe" is seemingly no
better fitted to contend against Asiatic
zeal at the beginning of the twentieth
century than it v as in the days of the
crusades.
For weeks the powers have been
massing troops at Tientsin , but after the
first abortive attempt under Admiral
Seymour have made no effort to relieve
the legations and their Christian sup
porters at Peking. In fact , according tea
a recent dispatch from Admiral Remey ,
the international column will not begin
its advance before the middle of August.
It is said that among the officials at
Washington opinions differ as to the
cause of the delay. According to one
opinion the foreigners in Peking have
been already massacred and there is
therefore no reason for haste in begin
ning the campaign. According to the
other there is so much friction among the
commanding officers that no agreement
can be reached as to what action should
be taken. Our government , it is said ,
has repeatedly urged a vi orous forward
movement , and the Japanese are said to
have offered to send at once an army
corps to back it up , but the urging has
been in vain. The officers of the other
powers have decided to wait until
' 'the roads are in better condition. "
Of course , the advantages that will
accrue to the allies by waiting until
they have larger forces and the roads
are better , will be many , but the same
delay will give the Boxers time to
strengthen their positions and increase
their forces , and to that extent the ad
vantages will be offset. Consequently
it is very likely the determination to
postpone an advance movement has been
largely due to friction among the com
manders. Late accounts of the attack
on Tientsin attribute the heavy loss of
the Americans to a mistake of orders ,
and the mistake occurred in the trans
mission of the orders from General Dnr-
ward , the British commander , to Colonel
nel Liscum. Now , if a blunder so costly
can occur between officers of such rank ,
who speak the same language and have
a hundred reasons for affiliating with
one another in a foreign land , what is to
happen when the French are giving or
ders to the Germans or the Russians
giving orders to the Japs ?
Another reason for believing in the
theory of friction at Tientsin , is the
confusion that exists among European
diplomatists and statesmen on the sub
ject. The confusion is so great that up
to this time no nation has felt itself at
liberty to "recognize a state of war. "
The Chinese have actually invaded Rus
sia , and the Russian government has
given the Chinese minister his passports ,
but as yet war has not been de
clared. It is up to this time nothing
more than a free fight , and a struggle
for loot. There being no war , there is
no contraband law in force and accord
ingly any one who wishes to get rich by
selling arms and ammunition to the
Boxers has a right to do so.
The concert of Europe is in need of a
leader. There is only one man of suffi
cient rank to take command without
exciting jealousies , and that is Eaiser
William. He has frequently proclaimed
himself a war lord , and now is the time
for him to get to the front. San Fran
cisco Call.
THE GIRL AND HER VOCATION.
"Every girl , no matter what her sta
tion or prospects , should acquire some
useful art or profession , should learn to
do some one thing so well that it shall
have a value in the great world-market ,
and in her hour of need suffice to make
her a bread-winner , " writes Margaret
E. Sangster , in the August Ladies'
Home Journal. "The world has an
abundance of mediocre workers , but it
can never have a superfluity of those
who have added to native endowment
discipline and conscientious training.
Probably the best gift which could be
bestowed on most girls in any station or
occupation would be what on the turf is
known as the staying power. Many of
us begin with enthusiasm , but wo give
out before the end of the day. To adopt
a line of conduct , to choose a special
study , or to decide on a course and stick
to it , is in each case to deserve success ,
if not always to insure it. The path of
life is strewn with the wrecks of those
who began but did not hold on their
way. She who would make her mark
in this workaday world , and gain her
prize , must be steady and persevering in
the face of every discouragement , with
belief in herself and in God. " Ladies'
Home Journal.
At the recent republican national con
vention in Philadelphia , delegates and
visitors were agreeably surprised to find
a Burlington Route fan in every seat.
This bit of thoughtf ulness on the part of
a western railroad , a thousand miles
distant from the quakercity , was widely
commented upon by the eastern news
papers. '
