Birmingham age-herald., 1894-11-18
SAM JONES' LETTER.
Some Plain Truths About the
 Preacher in Politics"
The "Sweet By-and-By Preacher" and the "True Now and Now Preacher, Who Is Handling Corruption
 Without Gloves.
lcoPYR1GHT. 1894. l

Much has been said and written in the last few years on this subject. It is the constant effort of the partisan press and political stump speakers to ridicule all ideas which connect preach CTS with politics in any shape whatever.
 Who and what is a preacher? He is voice and a conscience; a sentinel upon the watch tower. What do you mean by politics? It is defined by some one to be the science of government Prac- tically it means the methods by which votes are obtained sufficient to put the candidate into office. We take the po- sition (barring all ideas of the political parson or the partisan preacher) that the faithful minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ has to do with the govern ment in which he lives and the country that gave him birth. Patriotism is love of country. A preacher must be patriot. Love for his country demands that he should champion every clean method and every right aim which re- suits in good government, and he must denounce in unmeasured terms every influence that would hurt civil liberty or mar the character of the people. Candi- dates for the legislature who are success ful, no matter how they were elected, if elected, make our laws. Candidates for judgeships, when elected, are set for the enforcement of law. Admins trative officials, when inaugurated, are set for the faithful administration and maintenance of law. A preacher is a citizen, with the ballot, with con- science and supreme desire for the maintenance of all that is good, and the destruction of all that is evil
 More than that, he is teacher. Let him teach his people what the right is, and enforce upon them their everlast- ing obligation to do it. Let him teach them what the wrong is, and that they are under everlasting obligations not to do it. I have no respect for @ preacher who champions the democratic party, or the republican party, or the populist party. The more he cham pions either of these parties, the more he loses influence with men for good, and the more he loses his power with God. Wherever a preachers voice is heard, let it be known by all men that candidates who are unclean in life and character shall receive at his hands just and righteous con- demnation. It is his duty to denounce them, no matter what party they represent. Preachers have not lost their power, but they seem to have lost their voice The voice of the preacher is what the powder and shot is to gun; it is that something that gets there. A preacher owes his al- legiance first to God and the right, and then to whatever is right anywhere and everywhere. Apreacher has sworn eternal enmity to the devil and to wrong, and it is his duty to live up to his oath and fight the devil in political parties and denounce rottenness and uncleanness wherever he sees it, smells it or feels it. If every preacher in the United States stood against rotten of ficials and corrupt candidates as Park hurst, of New York, has stood, we would soon put wings on all our politi- eians and clean them up from head to foot. The secular press laughed and scorned and ridiculed Parlzhurst; to- day they are looking upon him as he wears his crown of victory, and they are looking upon old Tammany who is struggling for her existence. The sweet by-and-by preacher is about out of job and almost out of a congrega- tion, but the true now-and-now preacher who is handling with gloves off the corruption in politics and the corruption in society has a. large audience, large place in the hearts of his countrymen, and @ home awaiting him in Heaven. A democratic preacher who can see no wrong in his own party and poli4 ticians, or republican preacher who sees no corruption and vice in his own party, or populist preacher who sees nothing but wisdom and purity in his party, may help his party to victory, but he will help no souls to God. Very politics. and care less. They are work ing seemingly for the other world. They are not as wise as Methodist steward, whom I knew once, when he said: "I'm broke, and away from home, I am hunting a Mason" Says |: 'If you are broke and away from home and a Mason, why ain't you a Metho- dist?" He said: "Yes, but am hunt ing Mason" He said. ''If you want help in this world, join the Masons If you want to go to Heaven, join the Methodists." If were in Heaven I would preach largely like many preachers preach to-day. They are constantly dwelling on the work of our Lord; on the triumphs of grace. on the glories of the celestial. A man can make about as much headway converting the world and saving sin, ners by an exclusive Gospel of that sort as fellow can make in money pedd1ing ice in Greenland.