The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-10-02

Last Sunday was a notable Sunday IN
Richmond. In almost every church In the
city the minister treated the subject ff
corruption in politics. and warned his
congregation that ;hey could no. have
sound and healthy moral constitutions
willie they participated ~ corrupt poll
tics themselves or stood passively by and
saw them prevail, without ienouncins
them and doing what they could to l'Iug
them to an end. We perfectly appreciate
the Importance of keeping the church
and the State separate and apart, and We
should be the last to justify or excuse
the church. for attempting to intermed-
die with the conduct Of public affairs.
Hut preaching morality 10 the people ana
seeking TO exercise a control in govern
ment are two very different affairs. Dis
honesty is dishonesty, whether it takes
TIE form of bribng voter or stuling
q ballot box, or whether il takes the form
of the pick-pockets vocation. by which
he stealthily inches from another what is
that others own. 1t is the mission Of the
minister of the gospel TO preach against
sin. and all violations of the moral law
are sin. The minister is, therefore, call
ed upon 10 preach against those viola
tons Of the moral law which occur in
corrupt politics as well as against those
which occur in any other OF the walks OF
life. DR.. Sledd put the case justly ana
fairly when De said last Sunday, ai'er
l2ying down the neral proposition tlat
lieht can never be darkness nor darkness
light, that sweet can never be bitter nor
hitter sweet. that right can never be
wrong. nor wrong right. he spoke on the
conscience as a safe guide for the distinc-
on between right and wrong. ana for
the conduct Of life except II De perverted
Rut history and experience teach us,
said he. that conscience in common with
all other powers IS liable TO corrupt ana
total perversion; ana what is true OF
individuals in this respect may be equal
" true Of communities and individuals.
The people at large may reach mat NOR
al condition In which they no longer ac-
curately diacern between truth ana false
hood purity and impurlty, virtue ana
vice.
That Is lust the state and condition TO
which they must arise Il they permit the
spectacle 10 be always held up before
n cir eyes Of corruption in their politics,
without protest or effort TO suppress II.
The conscience is the true and safe guide
when 1t is pure and upright. but the con-
science VIII Inevitably become perverted
If IL tolerates vice IN its presence, fail
ing to protest against it when it does not
participate in it, 1t is plainly the duty OF
the clergy 10 preach against corruption
I'm politics as well as corruption any
where else, and we look upon the gene
raj treatment of this subject in the pull
plts OF Richmond last Sunday as the be-
ginning of a movement destined TO have
a powerful influence In bringing us back
here in Virginia TO our old-time, simple,
and honest political methods. The politics
OF Virginians were as clean and pure be-
fore the war as their method IN any
other business. We have allowed the ne
gro to become an excuse for toleratlng
methods that we would scorn TO permit
in any Of our other relations In iife We
should turn our back upon them. and
refuse to have anything TO do with meth
DDS In our politics that we would not
use in any other affair of life.