Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-12-17

AO1WVvvO SO9o
may Justly feel proud Of Robsr
AMI, aud WI want ths world i
know that there .is at lest ous 10
|. In our financial sodom.
HYp00RlTEs n HIGH PLACES.
General o. o. Howard has Hgur
Cd conspieuously In public affair
for : dozen years. EARLY In the wal
he Won Distinction for his patriotism
aud piety.n The former was Of tina
species which IL wilting to ~sacriic,
all his own and his wife's relation
for the sake Of the Union, aud III,
latter consisted Of gusts OF devon,
emotion and the most yolubie pro.
~fessions and prayers. III the battl.
OF Charlottesville, ha was pittcd
against another pr ying General, but
Stonewall Jackson's piety was back.
cd by y mighty do; It was pow der
Plus bullet, aud well aimed in the
bargain; IL was what Mathew Ar.
mold calls morality heightened aud
intensified by feeling until the whole
man was u unit Of moral force. The
result wls just what might have been
expected. Howard lost his corps.
ana came very rtenr losing the army
AMI everything else.
But this ~disgraceful defeat was
partly explained away and partly Gov.
cred over on account Of General How.
ARDS exceeding piety. II was true
that he did mol fight well; but then
he prayed we'll, and the praying was
taken IA. q substitute for the fighting.
be was afterwards put at the lead Of
tho Frcednan's Bureau because, Of
his exceeding piety.' He exhorted
well. lie made glowing speeches in
Christian conventions. lie was dc.
Voutediy interested In Christian as.
sociations. and the chief supporter
or q Christian Church whose naajrs
he engineered and whose edificc it is
feared he helped TO build out of Gov.
ertmeht funds. He had the confidence
of the Christian public because of
his II and fervent prOtestations
OF piety, and the F~recdmiu,'s Bureau
gave him the handling Of large sums
of money, which he seems 10 have
appropriated for his own private uses
or 10 have diverted TO objects Which
appealed to his personal synipatbies
and ambitions He managed the a..
fairs OF his department in the most
unbusincss-like aud slovenlv way,
and, though he read the Bible aud
prayed for guidance every morning,
cheated the poor freedmen out Of
$3S,SSS, and lius misappIied $lO9, 1858.
ahd Is unable 10 account for 1921 600
more. lie WIS subjected to u trial
before q military court, aud escaped
as u good man from persecution, be-
. causc the court lacked the time aud
authority TO accumulate the evidence
OF his guilt. Al last the Secretary of
War, unable to shield him any longer
fings the whole budget Of charges
aud proofs into. the hands Of Con.
gross and leaves that body to dispose
Of the case US it shall see fit. So :sthe
Christian soldier" stands before the
country unmarked.
The case is o sad one. Coming after
the exposure of SO many "ChrIstian
statesmen" last winter, it cannot fail
to have . depressing effect on thou
sands OF hearts, and lead thousands |
to conclude that religion is a deceit
and the Church an institated lie,
But we should hesitate before rush.
ing to such rafh conclusions. ItoQues
DO not forge the lame of a bankrupt.
dypocrites never steal the livery OF
rascais. The Sheep is not fool
enougLSto put OH o VOLTS skin. The
conduct Of Howard, Patterson. Pome.
roy, Coltax, and their comrades il
more sincerely dcplored in religious
Circles than anywhere else. They
are unluestionably exceptional
cases. But, unfortunately, such
cases are so numerous that Thought
full men begin to be alarmed, and
ask, Who, indeed can we trust when
so many men eminent in the church
for their piety prove hollow reeds?
Perhaps if they would stop aud think
y minute they would sec that they
are themselves quite as much 10 blame
as the men they d%ennuncc. The pietyf
these men protested was very largely
a matter Of nero feeling. Their re.
ll.iom was almost solely u thing of
aud %Upinlcns--a thing that
naturally dubbed into pious profess
slons and broke fol til in the cham
pionship of u cause. 1t had no moral
quality in it. 1t was not q thing of
the solid, simple, everyday virtues.
Ii did not sink noiselessly as the rain
TO refresh the roots of moral princi-
pie, and spring forth in Il stalk of
manly integrity aud blossom in be-
ilevolence and ripen in a continuous
harvest Of good deeds, but spoutcdin
the conference and spurted in the
convention like the fountain p~Iayinu
OH the public square TO be looked III
and admired. 1t was . II fire under
the engine moving the train steadily
forward by its steady burning, but u
flashing blaze, swaying this way and
that, attracting muititudes 6y its
brightness and warming those who
came near enough by its glow. That
sort OF religion does no make honest
men. brave soldiers, noble citizens.
great statesmen it turns out profcs.
sionals, canting prctenders, Zealots,
These men are ITO necrs
sarily hypocrites. They are geucraIly
true to tire religion they believe in.
1t would be u crime to call one Of our /
tinguished for his sirewd operations
rs Tor his professions Of piety, q Lvp- ,
There is no hypocrisy about !,
it. The piciy he and thousands of =,
Of others profess has no moral quality /
in il, and is entirely divorced from !
the great common virtues of life. /,
They ito not look on these as essential =
10 religion in this world or salvation 9
in the next. And just as long us that 6
kind Of piety prevails we shall have
immoral professors, defalcating dea- !
CONS, Credit MObh Ell congressman,
and Christian soldiers with their
stuffed with plumber. III
these recent exposures shall have the
effect of leading our churches to lay Il
hundred times more stress upon !
Neglected moralitics than heretofore, S
ind refuse to accept ebuilitiOns oil
as q substitute for virtue. and
Insist that right living is even more
than loud praying, we !,
'hail be spared many more such cx- =
.s.--s-' - 49, ~
Miss FaIlhfull on ssAmeriea.o .
A London correspondent states
.-a NF:s~ Nail, T. -