Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-04-14
FAST DAY OBSERVANCE.
The Union Services Held I'm the Town
Hall Last Friday Evening.

Hall Last Friday Evening.
An audience of about 200 people gather
ed at the town hall last Friday evening to
attend the union Fast day services. The
order of service was well arranged, well
balanced, and well worth the hour and
a-half devoted to it. The singing of the
High school chorus upon the platform, led
by Miss Wyman, and the good piano music
by Miss Jennie Hall, complemented by
Mr.. Morse's cornet, was an inspiring
feature
After the responsive reading, led by Mr.
Sprague prayer by Mr.. Webb, and the
singing of two hymns, Ralph Reed gave
an impressive recitation of the inspiring
poem "What constitutes a state Mr..
Parry then briefly outlined the theme of
the evening, which was "What constitutes
a state" and the addresses followed.
Mr.. Webb, speaking upon the "Religous
element" said that while our country is
not like the mother country, all connection
between church and state being forbidden
and this is the better way--there is a
connection between the church and the
state which God made. Some people be-
lieve that religion has nothing to do with
the life of nation. What we have need
to do is to read over again the sayings of
Solomon in this respect. They have lost
nothing of their force as they have come
down through the ages. Many believe
that the people will do right when they
are educated, but liberty and right-doing
depend on virtue, and virtue on religion.
1t is righteousness and not education, as
usually meant, that exalteth nation.
Bishop Simpsons story of how President
Lincoln asked the bishop to kneel and pray
tr-ifl I, 81
most trying period of the war, was related.
1t was a time when the people felt the
need of Gods help, and that time will
come again. Perhaps there was never
time when it was so necessary TO impress
upon men the need of acknowledging the
Lord Jesus Christ as it is today. 1t was
he who first taught the relation of the in
dividual to the state, and who defined the
true authority of the state. In closing
Mr.. Webb expressed strongly his objection.
on the ground of the religious life and
well-being of the nation, to the opening of
the Worlds Fair on Sunday.
Mr.. Day, speaking on the ethical
code" drew his opening thought and il
lustration from what he noted in manner
of building the magnificent cathedral at
Milan. Dante pictured the man in the
lowest depths of the damned as he who
had been false to his trust, while he who
had been faithful was exalted. Washing
ton stated the ethical idea in a way that
has never been surpassed when he said, in
simple phrase, that the life of nation
rests on the immutable principles of pri-
vate morality. The trainers of our Yer
mont constitution put this same ethical
thought into its very first article, prohibit
ing human slavery. Where shall we find
the body of laws under which We shall be
strong and our life as nation assured?
In the ten commandments. When troubles
arise in nations or with individuals it is be-
cause those commandments have been vio-
lated. In them is the true body of laws.
The records show that it is the same thing
which makes the boys bad in the slums of
New York and Boston as in the rural dis
tricts-failure to keep the ten command
ments. The building up of a nation must
be by careful, a tive watchfuness in the
training of the children, and the home is
where this is to be done first of all. He
would not say to the boys and girls ''thou
shalt but would say to them thou
canst," and would show to them the posi-
bility and the beauty of leading the higher
/ life. The real revival which this nation
needs is a revival of the ten command
ments in all the life of the people.
Educational forces was Mr. Spragues
theme. Education is mans safeguard
against his own ignorance, he said in open
| ing. In a country like ours education is
especially necessary. In an absolute mon
archy, where the rulers will is law, the
people may be densely ignorant without
| great peril. But in a republic it takes in
telligence TO discharge the duties of citi-
zenship The education of our people
must therefore be of a broad and generous
character, and il must be compulsory so
far as is necessary for the nations sef-pro-
lection and to enable the people TO exercise
the right of beneficent foresight. This ed
ucation should not be merely classical or
academcal, but our children should be ed
ucated in harmony with their opportunities
and with the resources of the state. News
papers, the stage, lectures, books, are all
leading factors in the education of the
American people. The Importance that
they should all be true and pure in tone is
self-evident. The novel is the tyrant of
the whole family of literature. 1t is read
to excess, and il oftentimes fills the mind
of the young with artificial notions,
with disappointing illusions, or vicious
ideals. The state does we'll in developing
in the young a love for music and song.
!
body. There is physical side to the safe
ty of the commonwealth. In developing
exact and methodical ideas the state mill
tia system is doing good service. The
first law of the state is self-preseryatiOn.
Empty sentiment must be put aside, and
the young must be trained bodily to be
strong and agile, and mentally to think
correctly and for themselves.
Mr. Parry, speaking upon "Ciyic respon,
sibilites,' said that the Bible asserts in
the most positive way that the state is es
tablished by Cod According to the Bible
civil government is divine trust. No ma
ton was ever so degraded that it had moi
some form of government. The better
and higher this form the greater the re
spOnsibility OF the individual citizen. o.
our American government it is more trut
than any other that we are "members one
of another" In other countries it is al
easy thing to find the government, but il
our country you may travel from one enc
to the other without finding it, because
the individual carries the government will
him. This brings the idea of personal civ
ic respOnsibility-to see to it that every in
4 I'LL 4 II