The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-06-07
HAMLET WITH HAMLBT LRFr nnr.

There is no minister in this city who
draws larger or more appreciative audi
enees than does Rev. Mr.. Cruzan, of the
First Congregational Church. Mr.. c. is
a liberal, radical, and analytical thinker
and actor, who possesses the happy
faculty Of using the knife and seaIpel Of
bis art with such clear-cut incisiveness
as to cause the willing subjects Of his
theological surgery TO part with many
Of their pet prejudices with as little
pain as though he had used chlOroform
10 stupefy their senses before beginning
the operation. AS an instance Of his
peculiar power in this direction, we
may specially mention the fact that be,
by his own confession, believes there is
a Jacobs ladder reaching from every
human soul to heaven, upon which the
departed spirits Of our friends can and
do come aud go, to minister to the spir-
itual needs of mortals. lie wanted to
make his congregation believe this fact,
and be knew they were determined not
to be Spiritualists. So he combined the
skill of the surgeon with the military
tactics Of the successful general by set
ting up an ambuscade Of prosecuted
mediums" as fender to the popular
faith, and then, marching upon this
decoy with his infantry, he managed to
so far divert public attention that he
could successfully open breach through
which his cavalry Of facts could be made
to charge, and thus penetrate the
chronic spiritual ossificatiOn from which
be saw his church was suffering. And
he gained his point. J. NJ. PEBBLES or
Giles B. Stebbins could not have sue
ceeded nearly so well; for church people
are like other folks, and they prefer
their family physician when they en-
ploy a doctor, and they have a right to
their preference. Brother Cruzan is
popular. Successful people are always
more or less so; and this, too, is we'll.
But the reader will pardon US. This
long prelude bears no more direct refer
ence to the caption of this editorial than
the average Scripture text bears to the
sermon that follows it. Now for the
point. An audience of several hundred
listened last Sunday evening TO the
brothers. sermon on politics. And this
was the play of Hamlet with Hamlet
left out. The reverend gentleman be-
lieves, as do we, that Christianity
should be taken into politics, as we'll as
everywhere else. His congregation on
the occasion referred to was composed,
as it always is, Of one-third men, and
two-thirds women. Christianity at
large shows a much greater proportion
of women. But to this large cOngrega-
tion of Christian women the sermon on
politics had no application. They were
as completely ignored as though they
had been stocks or stones, without
Christian recognition, obligation, or re-
sponsibility. The preacher dwelt at
length upon the corruption that stalks
abroad in politics, and exhOrted Chris
tian men, of whom there were perhaps
two score in attendance, to vote it out o.
existence; but be lost sight of the phys.
biological fact that men are just what
their mothers make them; and that it i,
not possible for women, themselves
serfs, and passively or alphabetically
content with their condition, to becom,
mothers Of men 10 whom the genius o
liberty is a star even Of the tenth mag
nitude. Men do not gather grapes o
thorns or figs of thistles with any NOR,
certainty to-day than eighteen hund
red years ago. God knew what he wa
about in the beginning when he saw
and said that it was not good for man t,
be alone, just as well as he and womei
know 1t now. When he created men II
his own image, male aud female, AM
gave them dominion over the earth, hl
followed the fundamental law Of erea
tion, which recognizes the duality o
sex in everything that perpetuates itself
This government must recognize tn
masculine and feminine elements in IL
composition, or it must fall to piece
through the inherent corruption engen
dered by its own incompleteness. Nj
trogen alone does not constitute air
hydrogen alone does not comprise water
man alone does not compose the half o
Christianity, and one sex alone does no
constitute a perfect government, am
more than perfect church, school, so
eial or domestic circle; and more, it 4
mOckery to ask God to bless mankin,
with a perfect government so long a
men retain the unwarrantable jurisdic
tion over women which they declare {,
be tyranny when applied by other men t,
themselves. And just so long as mel
in high places wink at the injustic,
that robs the mother half of humanit,
of its proper place in the joint dominion
which is the mutual heritage Of human
ity, just so long will the-wickedness o
politics wax worse and worse.
But perhaps we are undertaking ou
brothers. tactics. Perhaps this initia
play of Hamlet with Hamlet left out il
only the ground work Of another am
buscade. He knows as we'll as we tha
humanity is a fool, and must be hum
, bugged. You can no more coax tn,
average man or woman to swallow
truth, pure, straight, and simple, thar
you can coax a sick and self-wille'