The Brookhaven leader., 1889-05-09

came to tho rescue Of this Natl N Ia 1876,
ut the close OF presidential election
famous for devilisb fercpitJ. A darker
cloud Yet settled down upon this Nation.
The result Of the election was in dispute,
the revolution, not between two or three
sections. but revolution in every town and
village and city of the United States
seemed imminent The prospect was that
New York would throttle New York, and
New Orleans would grip New Orleans, and
Boston, Boston, and Savannah, Savannah,
and Washington, Washington, Some said
Mr. Tilden was elected, others said Mr..
Hayes was elected; and how near we
came to universal massacre some Ct ts
guessed, but God only knew. l ascribe
| our escape not to the honesty and right
eousness Of infuriated politicians, but
ascribe 1t TO the upper forces of the text
chariots Of mercy rolled Iii, and, tn ough
the wheels were not heard and the fash
was not seen, yet all through the mount
aims Of the North, and the South, and the
East, and the West, though the hdofs did
not clatter, the cavalry Of God galloped
By, tell you, God Is the friend OF this
Nation. In the awful excitement at tbs
massacre Of Lincoln, when there was .
prospect that greater slaughter would
open upon this Nation, God hushed the
tempest In the awful excitement at the
time of 9arAeld's assassination God put
His foot on the neck OF the cyclone.
To prove that God is on the side Of this
Nation, argue from the last eight or nine
great national harvests, and from the
national health Of the last quarter of y
century, epidemics very exceptional, and
from the great revivals OF religion, and
from the spreading of the church of God,
and from the continent blossoming with
asylums and reformatory institutions,
and from an Eienisation which promises
that the whole land is to be a paradise
| where God shall walk in the cool Of the
day.
II in other sermons I showed you what
was the evil that threatened to upset and
demolish American Institutions, | am ens
| couraged more than can tell you as see
the regiments wheeling down the sky,
and my jeremiads turn into doxolugies,
and that which was the Good Friday Of
the Nations crucifxion. OF course God
works through human instrumentalities,
| and this national betterment is to come
among other things through a scrutinized
ballot box. By the law of registration 1t
| is almost impossible now to have illegal
voting. There was time-you and re-
member 1t very well-when droves Of
vagabOnds wandered up and down on
election day, and from poll to poll, and
voted here, and voted there, and
voted everywhere, and there was
no challenge, OF, If there were,
1t amounted to nothing, because
nothing could so suddenly be proved up
on the vagabonds. Now, in every we'll
| organized neighborhood, every votsf Is
| watched with severest scrutiny. I must
tell the registrar my name, and how old
I am, and how long l have resided in the
State, and how long have resided in tho
ward, or the township, and if 1 misrep-
resent fifty witnesses will rise and shut
me out from the ballot box. Is not that
a great advance. And then notics the
law that prohibits a man voting if he has
| bet on the election. A step further needs
to be taken, and that man forbidden q
vote who has offered or taken a bribe,
| whether it be in the shape of free drink
or cash paid down, the suspicious cases
obliged to put their hand on the Bible and
swear their vote in if they vote at all. So
through the sacred chest of our Nations
suffrage redemption will come.
God also will save this Nation through
an aroused moral sentiment. There has
never been so much discussion OF morals
and immorals. Men, whether or not they
acknowledge what is right, have to think
what is right. We have men who have
had their hands in the public treasury the
most Of their lifetime, stealing all they
could lay their hands on. discoursing elo-
quently about dishonesty in public serv-
ants, and meni with two OF three families
of their own preaching eloqucntly about
the beauties Of the seventh command
ment. The question of sobriety and drunk
enness is thrust in the face of this Nation
as never before, and to take part in our
political contests. The question fully
and deferenially heard at the bar
of every Legislature and every
House of Representatives and every
United States Senate. and an o mnipotent
voice will ring down the sky and across
this land and back again, saying to these
rising tides of drunkenness which
threaten to whelm home and church and
Nation: "Thus far shalt thou come, but
no further, and here shall thy proud
waves be stayed"
Have you any doubt about the need Of
the Christian religion to purify aud make
decent American politics? At every year.
ly or quadrennial election we have in this
country great manufactures, manu-
factories of lies, and they are run day
and night, and they turn out half dozen
a day all eq uipped and ready for sailing.
Large lies and small lies. Lies private
and lies public and lies prurient. Lies
cut bias and lies cut diagonal. Long
limbed lies and lies with double back ac-
tion. Lies complimentary and lies defam-
atorv Lies that some DeODle believe
and lies that all the people believe, and
lies that nobody believes. Lies with
humps like camels and scales like croco-
dies and necks as long as storks and feet
as swift as an antelope's and stings like
adders. Lies raw and scalloped and
panned and stewed. Crawling lies and
Jumping lies and soaring lies. Lies
with attachment screws and rufiiers
aud braiders and ready-wound bobbins.
Lies by Christian people who never lie
except during elections, and lies by peo-
pie who always lie, but beat themselves
In pr esidential campaign.
Nothing but Christianity will ever stop
such food of ind ecency. The Christian
religion will speak after awhile. The
billingsgate and low scandal through
which we wade every year or every four
years must be rebuked by that religion
which speaks from its two great mount
aims, from the one mountain intoning the
command; Thou shalt not bear false
witness against thy neighbor," and from
the other mount making plea for kind
ness. and love, and blessing. rather than
cursing. Yes, we are going to have ma
tional religion.
There are two kinds Of national relig-
ior The aua is sunnortad by tha State