St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-12-06

| the goods would be delivered. Suct
/ betting on an election was never seer
in this country before. 1t is currently
reported that members of both the re
publican and democratic national com
mittees had large sums staked on til,
result. 1t is even charged that the
chairman of the republican committed
won no less than 100000, and it ap
pears that the charge is credited t.
some extent in his own party, for thu
Express and Standard said last week
chairman Quay's fame would be fal
brighter but for his participation il
election gambling"
| The most astonishing and saddles
! feature in this phase of the pOlitica
situation is the fact that good mel
wink at these practices, and even ex
cuse and defend them in their party
An occurrence in our own state affords
an illustration of this. A gentleman
in Montpelier won a large amount o
money on the result of the election
In the celebration of his victory he
gave a banquet at the Pavilion hotel
1t seems to have been universally un
derstOOd at the capital that this was
the celebration of a personal victory a
the stakes rather than a national vic
tory at the polls. Presumably, nc
guest doubted that the money of the
unlucky democratic losers paid for his
supper. According to press report:
more than eleven hundred men Toasted
that night, and at the close speeches
were made by the governor of the
state, the speaker of the house of rep
resentatives, and other prominent gen
tlemen. To say the least such events
point 20 the need of keener mora
sense on the part of Christians in poll
tics. If Christians in the victorious
noise in celebration of tin cir victory, il
rebuke of the disgraceful methods
which helped to win it. We need q
race of Christians with the godliness
and courage to expose and denOunce
corruption in their own party.
But it is sometimes said that clergy
men have no comprehension of practi-
cal politics; that a great party is call
ed upon to meet a condition and not q
theory and that when the opposing
party intimidates, brides, counts out,
and counts in, Sunday school morals and
tactics must take an obscure corner
until after election. But suppose a
Christian is confronted by condition
rather than theory, what shall he do z
Desert his principles? Continue in sin
that grace may abound 2 God forbid.
Judas IscariOt was confronted by a
condition. He knew that the Jews
were thirsting for his Masters blood,
and determined to have it. He saw no
human possibility of preventing them
from accomplishing their object. More
over the Lord had declared that he
must give his life to be ransom foI
many. When Judas saw the condition,
like an astute American politician, he
hedged. He left the Christian theory
and principles, and betrayed his Lord
for thirty pieces of silver. Sirs, the
only proper way for a Christian man
to meet a condition, in politics or else
where, is to apply to that condition
the principles of the sermon on the
Mount. He should everywhere be
guided by the word of God nowhere by
the deceitfulness of sin.
Whenever we consider the drOss of
politics we cannot overlook another
evil which is strongly intrenched in
politics intrenched too in appetite,
lust, greed, and every other thing on
which Satan can lay his hand an
institution that boasts greater reve-
nues and profits than all the railroads
of the land that has inundated more
voters than all the bulldOzers of Amer
today than ever did the Southern Con
federacy that menaces legislation by
the most powerful and corrupt lobby
I,nt Loo oil II, aIA
the corridor of the national capitol ;
that desolates more homes, breaks
more hearts, destroys more manhood,
and cOnsgns more souls to eternal
death than war, pestilence, and famine
combined. But human lips are power
less to add anything to the burning
words which have been spoken and
written against the liquor saloon.
This enumeration might be continu-
ed. AS a nation we are Sin per-
lis in the city, in perils in the
wilderness, in perils in the sea, in
perils among false brethren" And
when our vision rests upon the dross
and tin of this land, we are almost
ready to believe that these words of
the prophet are applicable to our own
country: GLOW is the faithful city be-
come an harlot! 1t was full of judg
ment; righteousness lodged in it; but
now murderers. Thy princes are re-
belliOus and companions of thieves {:
everyone lOveth gifts and followeth
after rewards"
But our vision need not rest here
Thank God, the drOss is not all we see.
We are not here to chant a miserere,
but rather to sing TIE Deum. Our
King makes the wrath of man to praise
him. Some of the forces which we
fear may yet be used for the advance
ment of his kingdom. Political agita-
tons and social commissions may make
for good. The temporary dominance
of the lower elements of society may
not in the end prove to be an unmixed
evil. The persecution of Christians in
the first century, the cOrruptiOns of
the papacy in the fifteenth and six
teenth centuries, and even the reign of
terror in the French revolution teach
us that righteous forces may gain pO
sitIOns through reactions from evil
which could not so soon have been
reached by steady advances. There
are abundant reasons for thanksgiving
this morning. Let us pass the smaller
to rejoice in the larger. Let others
exult over our silver and gold, the
burden of our productions, the wealth
of our undeveloped resources, the en-
ergy of our population, and other to-
kens of material prosperity. These,
in themselves, are weak reasons for
The rich fool of para
BILE had thanksgiving day over his
great possessions, and died that night
This day is a Christian festival and it
becomes us to celebrate other than
gifts. From our summit of
outlook we behold the purging of dross
and tin from the land.