Show HENRY WATERSON ON THE WAR i WORDS ELOQUENcE PATRIOTISM PATRIOT-ISM AND PATHOS Exhorts the Men of Kentucky t Do Their Duty and All Will be Well A Holy War Lexington Ky May 2iTen thousand i thous-and neonle came into Lexington to day to witness the civic and military pageant followed by a review by Governor Gov-ernor Bradley of the companies of troops now here and to hear the address ad-dress to the troops by Henry AVatter son When the parade and review were ended 300 school children sang America Amer-ica icaHon Hon W C P BrecKinriage then introduced In-troduced Mr Watterson who was given an ovation When order was restored Mr Watterson spoke as follows Mr Watterson said In part You are about to make hlstory It may prove that this will not b history merely repeating itself For the first time since the crusades war has been levied for no cause of a purely material ma-terial kind and with no selfish purpose I scarcely like the shibboleth Remember Remem-ber the Maine It seems to me to be too revengeful to be quite worthy I do not forget the circumstances to which it owes Its origin The scene of that awful tragedy under the shadow of Morro castle is yet before my eyes I can see as I close them the very faces of our murdered sailors with the ghastliness of death upon them But I also see the myriads of starving men women and children ruthlessly sacrificed I ficed to feed th lust and to fill the pockets of professional plunderers masquerading mas-querading in Cuba a Spanish officers and gentlemen Behind them I see three centuries of wanton pillage of frightful corruption of cruelty unsurpassed unsur-passed in human annals The time was long ago come for some great power to stretch forth its hand to interpose in-terpose Its authority and to say to the world This > barbarism shall proceed no further What power except that of the United States was to do this Cuba Is our next dpor neighbor Time out of mind these atrocities have been perpetrated per-petrated before ou eyes Whilst Spain has required us to spend millions of money policing our coasts against the filbusters she h shown herself u able or unwilling In our protection to I police one of her own harbors Was this to go on forever You yourselves are the answer to this question You are going to fight a battle waged by man for ma You are go Ing therefore In the name of that Christ who died for men You are going to fight a battle for the glory of God and your native land You are going ther fore under a flay which Is the symbol at once of freedom and humanity and having Gods blessing upon i h never yet known defeat Look to it that you carry yourselves as soldiers equally of the cross and the flag I believe in this war I believe in It with all my mind and with all my soul I there ever was a Justifiable i war it Is this Though It should rob I me of lives that are dearer to me than my own life I shall believe it conceived con-ceived In a holy spirit sanctified by heaven and directed toward the advancement ad-vancement and the enlargement of a benign civilization In the nature of the case but fewer i few-er you can hope to attain to great I commands or to acquire exceptional i distinction In the end most of you i must lay aside you uniforms and r sume the habiliments of civil life But there is no one of you who cannot do his duty and doing his duty cannot b proud and happy A neighbor of mine came to me the other day to ask me to exert my supposed sup-posed influence In getting his son a commission I assured him that I had no Influence but said I I have two sons carrying muskets In the ranks sons whom I dearly love but for whose advancement I shall not put forth the slightest effort I is enough for me to know that they are serving their country try and If it pleases God to bring them back to their mother and me safe and sound I shall bless his name as long as I live In that prayer let me Include each and every one of you though I would rather see my boys and each and everyone every-one of you lying by the side of that brave and lovely sailor lad whom North Carolina has just given up as heavens first sacrifice upon the altars of the nation na-tion and mankind than that one feather fea-ther should be plucked from thS eagles wing or a syllable of reproach be Justly cast upon the name and fame of our dear Kentucky |