The herald., 1894-04-29
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within Chicago's city limits. The title
J is q peculiar one, indeed a striking one
| and was suggested by James Russell
Lowell's poem, "A Parable" which be-
gins:
"said Christ, our Lord. will go and see,
How men, My brethren, believe ia me"
Mr.. Stead considers Lowell a "kind OF
evangelist OF the nineteenth century,
and the gospel. according to Mr.. Lowell,
is the doctrine which Mr.. Stead en-
deavors to preach in every line OF his
book" He says: "It 10 great concep-
ton OF his, that as man was made in the
| image of God, the test Of the reality OF
our belief in Christ is the extent to
which We have restored that image or
| defaced it hence first part of my book le
devoted to describing some of the
images which we find made OF Christ
among the citizens of Chicago. They
are types. There is the tramp, and as
a comparison picture, there is the mil
liouaire. There is the harlot, who is
| Offset against the idle women OF fashion,
who figure prominently among the Chi
cago Four Hundred, but who are among
| the most disreputable in the town.
| There is a sketch of lodging house
precinct in the First ward, and
| picture, drawn from life, of whisky
/ drinking politician. These tramps,
millionaires, harlots, fashionable so.
ciety ladies and drinking political
heeers, are some of the images which
| have been made of Christ's people in
! Chicago. And all of these types can be
found here or in any other city OF the
union. Mr.. Stead has been studying
America and its Institutions for years,
and does not base all the facts OF his
book simply upon four months spent in
Chicago. His study of plutocracy In
America extends over many years. Chi
csgo was selected simply because today
it is the only city in America that in
terests England. Boston at one time,
! New York at another, were more inter-
esting than any other cities, but today
Chicago is by far the most interesting
city on the American continent. It's Chi
cago with it's cheap beef, pork and grain
that made home rule possible, and ac-
cording to Mr.. Stead, which has brocken
the back of the landed aristocracy of
England. Mr.. Moody and Mise Willard,
bosh citizens of Chicsgo, are the only
two Americans who are certain OF
crowded audiences in any city in Great
Britain. The history, too, of Chicago
is mCst romantic; its youth, its energy,
it's disasters, its great frs and its worlds
fair have given it position of predom.
inant interest which il unique, There
is the center and capital OF modern
America, the America which is to be.
And so for these reasons Mr.. Stead
elected Chicago as the place where ne
could learn more inside facts of Amari-
can life, and divine better the American
future than any other point on the con-
tinent, and he learned it. This volume
| is based upon the carefully collected
opinion of this ablest and moet respected
residents, which have been collstsd and
compared with the opinions of other
residents as able perhaps, but who un-
fortunately are neither respected nor re-
epectable Throughout all the work OF
interrogation and condensation the hv-
pothesis has been clung to which forms
the keynote and starting point OF the
whole, "If Christ came to Chicago y
The volums was begun with the
simple object OF recalling the con-
ception OF the man Christ Jesus, but
it develops into an illugtrstion how q
living faith in the citizen Christ would
lead directly to the civic and social re-
generation of Chicago Or Los Angeles or
any other city. That the tramp is
Christ's brother, the harlot is Christ's
sister, That these are the images VS.
have made of Christ. He shows that as
the strength of a chain ls tested by ite
weakest link, so the extent OF our fail
ure to save the least OF these, His
brethren, may be illustrated by the
actual condition of those who are lost.
When once this idea ia clearly and
firmly grasped, when the condition oi
our fellow citizens is recognized as the
test OF the measure of our faith in Christ
the religious aspect of civic politics &C
uuiree new and supreme Importance
For the improvement OF the lot OF the
least OF these, Christ's brethren, the as
sistance of the municipal authority il
indispensable. The law must be in
voked, if only as the schoolmaster, tt
bring men to Christ. Before we car
make men divine, We must cast out the
devils who are brutalizing them out o
even human semblsnce. But this can
not be accomplished excepting by the
use OF means, which can only be wieldeC
by the city council. Hence, as it useC
to be said OF olden time that all road
) lead to Rome, so the more attentivel,
we study the way out of ou
} social quagmire, the more clearly vii
} it be discerned that all roads lead to tn
city hall. When you get an honest citl
; council you can use it TO do justice be
{ tween the rich and the poor and to 81
3 adjust the burden of taxation as to Civ
a the poor man a chance OF living an non
9 est, healthier and happy life, Their
{ are many new ideas in this volume
+ Much that will set you thinking. 1t i
, full of surprises and decidedly origina
? and interesting. 1t is worth reading
a particularly if you have children and
! home and are entitled to vote.
~*~
The Midway Piaissnce, By Ebenezer Simmer!
( "a. J. Doekarty) published by Cnicsgl
!, World Book company, Chicago For ssl
{ by the Antiquarian book store.
The Midway Plsissnce is a comics
r story of the experience OF an iEnocen
! boy from Vermont in the famous Mic
/ way. The story ia told in that humol
3 GUS style in which Samantha would visi
i the fair or Uncle Reuben would te
Aunt Sally OF his experience on thi
wonderful street of surprises. Ebeneze
i was raised in little town in Norther
D Vermont in a rather primitivelog h0ust
a His esrly days were spent anon
i the rugged bills and sturdy mi
a pie groves Of this section an
y the simplicity OF nature visa impIesse
0 upon him. His knowledge Of tue socis
r world was limited to articles in th
> county newspaper, which containe
such notices as Hank Brown went (
: chiropodiat in Podunk yesterday t
have an operation performed on
3.