The American Sentinel 14
February 9, 1899
“Notes” American Sentinel 14, 6, p. 81.
NO INDIVIDUAL ever attained to true greatness by launching out upon a wave of popularity. AMS February 9, 1899, page 81.1
THE man of principle seeks to create public sentiment; the man of policy only wants to find it. AMS February 9, 1899, page 81.2
WHEN religion is made a football, it must naturally follow that multitudes will often find it beyond their reach. AMS February 9, 1899, page 81.3
RELIGION never gained anything from the approval of human majorities. AMS February 9, 1899, page 81.4
A GOVERNMENT cannot longer be called republican when it begins to reap where it has not strewed. AMS February 9, 1899, page 81.5
THE person who forsakes right principles to gain popularity or wealth, lets go of eternity to grasp at the fleeing shadow of Time. AMS February 9, 1899, page 81.6
[Inset.] RELIGION IN POLITICS—“THE FOOTBALL OF CONTENDING MAJORITIES.” A GREAT demand is being made to-day for religion in politics. But if religion is joined with politics, what will be the result? It must necessarily follow that religious questions will then be settled as political questions are—by the decision of the majority. And as majorities are constantly changing with the changes in public sentiment, and the power which they confer constantly alternating between one and the other of the contending political parties, religion will necessarily be subject to change with every political election, and will become as has been aptly stated, “the football of contending majorities.” No true friend of Christianity would wish to see it subjected to such conditions, or to see erected constantly varying standards of religious duty. The true standard of Christian duty is above all standards of human origin, and is unchanging through all ages. AMS February 9, 1899, page 81.7
“The Reflex of Imperialism” American Sentinel 14, 6, p. 82.
JANUARY 6, 1899, Hon. Wm. J. Bryan, in a speech at Cincinnati, O., said:— AMS February 9, 1899, page 82.1
“If we enter upon a colonial policy, we must expect to hear the command ‘Silence!’ issuing with increasing emphasis from the imperialists. When the discussion of fundamental principles is attempted in the United States, if a member of Congress attempts to criticise any injustice perpetrated by a government official against a helpless people, he will be warned to keep silent, lest his criticism encourage resistance to American authority in the Orient.” AMS February 9, 1899, page 82.2
January 25, 1899, Representative Johnson, of Indiana, made a speech in Congress against American imperialism in the Philippines. In replying to this speech Representative Dolliver, of Iowa, “amid another outburst of applause, declared that the crisis of the hour was due to ‘the almost treasonable utterances in this chamber and in the Senate chamber.’ There was some excuse for the rioters at Madrid, but none for those who at home joined in reviling their country and denouncing the Peace Commissioners for what they had done.” He declared that “their arguments were drawn from General Blanco himself.” AMS February 9, 1899, page 82.3
The above words of Mr. Bryan have come true, much quicker than even he supposed. But there is no doubt that they have come true, and that in only three weeks. And this being so, the following also from the same speech may be expected to come true in due time and order:— AMS February 9, 1899, page 82.4
“If an orator on the Fourth of July dares to speak of inalienable rights, or refers with commendation to the manner in which our forefathers resisted taxation without representation, he will be warned to keep silent, lest his utterances excite rebellion among distant subjects. If we adopt a colonial policy, and pursue the course which excited the Revolution of 1776, we must muffle the tones of the old Liberty Bell, and commune in whispers when we praise the patriotism of our forefathers.” AMS February 9, 1899, page 82.5
And if they do these things in a green tree, what will they do in the dry? Yet for all this, Mr. Bryan well says:— AMS February 9, 1899, page 82.6
“we cannot afford to destroy the Declaration of Independence; we cannot afford to erase from our constitutions, State and national, the Bill of Rights, we have not time to examine the libraries of the nation, and purge them of the essays, the speeches, and the books that defend the doctrine that law is the crystallization of public opinion, rather than an emanation from physical power AMS February 9, 1899, page 82.7
“But even if we could destroy every vestige of the laws which are the outgrowth of the immortal law penned by Jefferson; if we could obliterate every written word that has been inspired by the idea that this is a ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people,’ we could not tear from the heart of the human race the hope which the American Republic has planted there. The impassioned appeal, ‘Give me liberty, or give me death,’ still echoes around the world. In the future, as in the past, the desire to be free will be stronger than the desire to enjoy a mere physical existence.” A. T. J. AMS February 9, 1899, page 82.8