The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1893-11-09
THE GOSPEL IN POLITICS.
THE REV. DIR. rALMAoE SELECTS
An odd But Instructive Text. Poiiticr
should Be Above Reproach.

OVfu WtW Vff fNNb. anu frOhfd NnrP Ntnff
has defense INTO The people Bui icien hey
hrne,e that he tcds Je,c. al ,cih one roics
about ho space of f,ro hours cried otp:
Great is Diana OF he Eptesionsr Acts
XIX. 32
Ephesus was upside down. II was about
the silver question. A manufacturer Of silver
boxes for holding heather images had called
his laborers together TO discuss the behavior
OF one Paul who had been In public places
assaulting image worship. and consequently
very much damaging that particular busi.
ness. Theirs was great excitement in the
city. People stood In knots along the
streets. violently gestcuiating and calling
each other hard names. Some OF the people
faSoredt he policy OF the slver-mith Other
people favored the policy Of Paul. There
were great moral questions involved, but
these did not bother them at all.
The only question about which they
seemed TO be interested was concerning the
wages and the salaried positions. The silver
smith and his compeers had put up factories
at great expense for the making OF these sill
YER boxes. and now, II this new policy Is TO
he tnaugurated the business will 90 down.
the laborers will be thrown out OF employ
nent and the whole city will suffer. Well.
what IL To be doneP Call convention"
says some one. for In all ages a convention
has been panacea for public evils. The
convention IL called. and ~ they want the
largest room in the city theytake the theatre
Having there assembled, they all want TO
get the floor and they all want 10 talk NJ
once. You know what excitement that nj
ways makes In convention. whers a gre1t
many people want 10 talk NJ once Sons
cried one thing. some cried another. some
wnntei To denounce. some wanted 10 splye.
After awhile prominent man gets the floor.
and he begins to speak. but they very soou
hiss him down. and then the confusion rises
into worse uproar. ani they begin 10 shout.
N hnf fAtr haT aVNI
they are red in the face and hoarse In the
throat. for two long hours crying out Great
IL Diana OF the Ephestans. Great Is Diana
of the Ephesians ~
The whole scene reminds me- OF the excite
ment we have almost every autumn at the
elections. While that goddess Diana has lost
he' worshlpers and her temples have gone
into the dust, our American people want To
Sc, up a god In place Of her. and they want
us all Ia bow down before IL, and that god IL
political party. Considering our superior
civilization. | have u declare to you that
Ephesian idolatry was less offensive in the
sight Of God than is this all absorbing Ameri-
can parti5anship.
While there are honest men, true men,
Christian men. who stand in both political
parties. and who come into the autumnal
elections resolving 10 serve their city or their
state or the Nation in the best possible way,
L have noticed also that with many IL is a
mere contest between tho ins and the outs -
those who are trying TO stay in and keep the
outs out. and those who are trying to get In
aud thrust the ins out. And one party cries,
"Great Is Diana Of the Ephesians - and the
other party cries. Great Is Diana OF the
GDhesians ~ neither OF them honest enough
t'r's'. Great Is my pocketbook -
= crou or twice a year It is my custom 20
taA ~ rlo psople about public aff6,Ts from
what I call Christian standpoint. and
this morning have chosen for that duty. |
hope 10 say a practical word. History tells
us of "A sermon once preached amid the high
lands OF Scotland sermon two hours long
--on the sin OF luxury. where there were not
more than three pairs OF shoes In the au-
dience, and during our last war good man
went into a hospital distributing tracts and
gave u tract on ''rhe Sin ot Dancing" to
man both OF whoss legs had been amputated
But hope this morning TO present an ap-
propriate and adapted word. rs next Tues
day a, the ballot box great affairs are 10 be
settled.
The Rev. Dr. Emmons. in the early his
tory OF our country. in Massachusetts,
preached about the election OF Thomas Jef-
lerson TO the Presidency. The Rev. DIR.
Mayhem, of Boston. in the early days of our
republic. preached about the repeal of the
stamp act. There are times when ministers
~ Christ must look on upon public
affairs and discuss them. We need go pack
20 no example. Every man Is. before Col
II the Norwegian boasts of his home OF
rocks. and the Siberian is pleased with his
land Of perpetual snow II the Roman
thought thar the muddy Tiber was tho
favored river in th" sight OF heaven. and IL
the Laplander shivers out his eulogy of his
native clim-. and II the Chinese have pity
Tor anybody born outside of the Flowery
Kingdom. shall not We born under these
tar skies aal standing day by day amid
those glorious civil and religious liberties,
hs public ,pirtrdt propose TO tell the peo-
H." very plainly what | consider to be- their
Christian Guty AT the ballot box
First, ,at yourself against all political false.
hood, The most monstrous lies ever told in
'his country are during the elections. stop
~ tn" door OF Demo ratio meeting and
listen aud hear that the Republicans are liars.
stop At ths door Of u Republican meeting
and listen and hear that tho Democrats ara
scoundrels. Our public men microscopi2ed.
and the truth distorted. Who believes a
tenth part of what he reads or hears in the
autumnal elections! Men who at other sea-
sons OF the year are very careful In their
speech become peddlers OF scandal.
In the far east there is place where once
year they let the people do rs they please
and say what they please. and the place is
full OF uproar. misrule and wickedness. and
they call II the devils day The nearest
approximation to that in this country has
been the first Tuesday in November The
community at such times seems TO say, Go
to- now, let US have good time at lying"
Prominent candidates for office are de-
nounced ~ unprinciped and renegade. A
smart lie will start in the corner of a country
newspaper, and keep on running until II has
capturedthe printing presses Of the whole
continent. What garbling OF speeches What
Inisinterpretation of motives! What mis-.
representation OF individual antecedents
The trouble is that we have in this country
two great manufactures manu- factories OF
lies-the Republican manufactory OF lies and
the Democratic mandatory OF lies-and
they arc run day and night. and they turn
out half dozen n day all equipped and
ready for full sailing. Large lies and small
/ lies. Lies private and hes public and lies
| prurient. Lies cut bias and lies cut diagonal
Long limbed lies and lies with double back
action Lies complimentary and lies de-
| famatory. Lies that some people believe.
and lies that all the people believe, end lies
| that nobody believes. Lies with humps like
camels, and scales like crocodiles. and necks
as long as storks, and feet rs swift as an an
telope's, and stings like adders. Lies raw
and scalloped and panned and stewed.