Suddenly men realized that England had lost the moral leadership of the world.  Lured by the ideals of Rhodes, the country that gave to mankind Magna Charta seemed now bent only on its own aggrandizement and preservation.  Germany’s colonies were seized, and anything that threatened the permanence of the dominant system, especially unrest on the part of the native African, was throttled.  Briton and Boer began to feel an identity of interest, and especially was it made known that American Negroes were not wanted.

Just what the situation is to-day may be illustrated by the simple matter of foreign missions, the policy of missionary organizations in both England and America being dictated by the political policy of the empire.  The appointing of Negroes by the great American denominations for service in Africa has practically ceased, for American Negroes are not to be admitted to any portion of the continent except Liberia, which, after all, is a very small part of the whole.  For the time being the little republic seems to receive countenance from the great powers as a sort of safety-valve through which the aspiration of the Negro people might spend itself; but it is evident that the present understanding is purely artificial and can not last.  Even the Roman Empire declined, and Germany lost her hold in Africa overnight.  Of course it may be contended that the British Empire to-day is not decadent but stronger than ever.  At the same time there can be no doubt that Englishman and Boer alike regard these teeming millions of prolific black people always with concern and sometimes with dismay.  Natives of the Congo still bear the marks of mutilation, and men in South Africa chafe under unjust land acts and constant indignities in their daily life.

Here rises the question for our own country.  To the United States at last has come that moral leadership—­that obligation to do the right thing—­that opportunity to exhibit the highest honor in all affairs foreign or domestic—­that is the ultimate test of greatness.  Is America to view this great problem in Africa sympathetically and find some place for the groping for freedom of millions of human beings, or is she to be simply a pawn in the game of English colonization?  Is she to abide by the principles that guided her in 1776, or simply seize her share of the booty?  The Negro either at home or abroad is only one of many moral problems with which she has to deal.  At the close of the war extravagance reigned, crime was rampant, and against any one of three or four races there was insidious propaganda.  To add to the difficulties, the government was still so dominated by politics and officialdom that it was almost always impossible to get things done at the time they needed to be done.  At the same time every patriot knows that America is truly the hope of the world.  Into her civilization and her glory have entered not one but many races.  All go forth against a common enemy; all should share the duties