The record-union., 1892-02-16
RELIGION And SEWERAGE.
Young Men Should Fit Themselves
for Citizenship.
They Ought to Qualify Themselves
for Political Leadership
in the Land.

In the course OF his sermon to Young
men on Sunday night in the Congrega-
tional Church, Mr.. Silcox said some
sensible things. He urged young men
to care for their health. young men.
| you are often urged from the pulpit to
save your souls. Tonight with empha-
sis l eXhort you to save your bodies. It
is almost as wicked to sin against your
stomach as to sin against your conscience.
Sanitaryllaws are divine laws. The law
of Moses made the preservation of health
| part of religion. If this city had more
religion, it would have more and better
drainage. From a certain quarter you
hear good deal about The Mistakes of
Moses If you take the trouble to read
what Moses wrote on public health and
the care of the body three thousand years
ago, you will conclude that Moses is as
much above his critics as Mount Shasta
is above a mole hill. If the principles
taught by Moses in the Bible were APP
pIed to this city, we would have a sys-
tenn OF sewerage that would carry away
its physical filth as well as a sewerage
that would clean the town of its moral
filth. Do you suppose the system of
government God gave the jews through
Moses would permit brOthels and dives
to run wide open night and day on the
public streets as they do in this civ
polluting the bodies, imbrutlng the
| minds and damning the souls of the
youth and young men of the city? It's
a monstrosity that should make us hang
our heads for very shame. Talk about
our advanced civilization Some parts
of our city are about as advanced as
Sodom and Gomorrah. Ii the city is ever
to be cleansed, it will be in the old
fashioned way of fire from Heaven, for by
| the looks of things we will never have a
| City Council with nerve enough to clean
them out"
Discussing his theme, Chow to Get Up
| inthe World he urged young men to do
some good, strong reading. "The man
of brains generally comes out ahead.
| Wisdom is power. Brain is more than
| Drawn. Mind is superior to muscle The
revival that our land needs is an intel
! lectual revival. We need a mental quick
! enlng. We are not an intellectual people.
! The beerStore is better patronized than
the bookstore. Our tastes are not liter
ary. We are better judges of beef than
we are OF books. We are more particular
| about what we put into our stOmacbS
than what we put into our brains. We
feed our bodies better than we do our
minds. The text that young men-and
! young women, toO-need sermon after
! sermon on is the text on Timothy-sGiye
attention to reading l would like to see
! revival IN reading. l would like to see
! the young men and young women OF the
| land deyouring our best literature |
would like to see reading clubs eStab-
llshsed, science circles organized, history
parties formed. What a glad, hopeful
sight it would be to see the young men
and women of this land mastering the
works of our best writers on science. his
tory, biography, political economy, po-
etry.
why not quit dancing for six months
and go to reading. Let your legs rest and
give your brains chance. Make your
brain sweat in the effort to acquire some
of the fine gold of literature Enrich
and enlarge your mind with the treasures
of wisdom stored up in our great libra
rieS. Buy copy of Lowell and read and
re-read him until brain, and heart and
soul are saturated ana inspired with mis-
lofty teaching on patriotism, humanity
and genuine Goodness. Take vorir
Shakespeare and spend night after night
with him, and be not ignorant of the
matchless worth of this myriad-minded
genius.
Fit yourselffor citizenship by studying
the history of your Nation, and by ac-
quaintance with the men and principles
that shaped the Nations destiny in the
past. Grapple with the great questions
of political economy, and qualify your
self TO solve some of the political and
social problems that confront modern
statesmanship. By diligentstudy and deep
thought qualify for political leadership in
the land. The cultivation of your mind
is duty you owe yourself your Nation
and your God. 1t is possible to make the
best of both worlds. There are thrones
of power waiting fit occupants. There
are scepters waiting for strong arms to
WELD them.o
He closed the sermon by urging young
men to develop moral stamina There iS
nothing so courageous as conscience.
There is nothing SO omnipotent as truth.
You cannot down the man who prays.
II God be for US who can be against us 2