Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-01-24

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by worldly reform, or evangelism?
Will it be law, or gospel? / am glad
that wave of reform has swept
across this land, and all the cities
are feeling the advantages of the
mighty movement. Let the good
| work go on until the last municipal
evil is extirpated About fifteen years
ago the distinguished editor of New
| York daily newspaper said to me in
his editorial room, You ministers
talk about evils of which you know
nothing. Why don't you go with the
officers of the law and explore for
| yourself, SO that when you preach
against sin you can speak from what
| you have seen with your own eyes?"
l said Il will" And in company with
commissioner of police, and captain
of police, and two elders of my church,
l explored the dens and hiding places
| of all styles of crime in New York, and
| preached series of sermons warning
! young men, and setting forth the work
that must be done lest the Judgment
of God whelm this city with more
awful encouragement than the volcan-
ic deluge that buried Herculaneum
and Pompcii. received, as nearly as
l can remember, several hundred coll
umns of newspaper abuse for I'M
dertalling that exploration. Edito.
| rails of denunciation. double loaded,
and with captions in great primer type,
entitled THE Fall of Talmage," or
''Talmage Makes the Mistake of His
Life" or Down with Talmage," but 1
still live, and am in full sympathy with
all movements for municipal purifica-
ton. But movement which ends
with crime exposed and law executed
stops half way. Nay, it stops long be-
fore it gets half way. The law never
yet saved anybody; never yet
changed anybody. Break up all the
houses of iniquity in this city, and you
only send the occupants to other cities.
Break down all the policemen in New
York, and while it changes their
worldly fortunes, it does not change
their heart or life. The greatest want
in New York to-day is the transform
ing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ
to change the heart and life, and up
lift the tone of the moral sentiment,
and make men do right, not because
they are afraid of Ludlow Street
jail or Sing Sing, but because thew
love God and hate unrighteousness.
have never heard, nor have you heard,
OF anything except the gospel that pro-
poses to degenerate the heart, and by
the influence of that regenerated
heart, rectify the life. Execute the
law most certainly; but preach the
gospel, by all means-in churches. in
theaters, in homes, in prisons, on land
and on the sea. The gospel is the only
power that can revolutionize society
and save the world. All else is half
and half work, and will not last. In
New York it has allowed men who
got by police bribery their thousands,
and tens of thousands, and perhaps
hundreds of thousands of dollars to
go scot free; while some who were
merely the cats paw and agents of
bribery are struck with the lightnings
OF the law. 1t reminds me Of a scene
In Philadelphia when l was living
there. A poor woman had been ar
rested and tried and imprisoned for
selling molasses candy on Sunday.
Other law breakers had been allowed
to go undisturbed, and the grog shops
were open on the Lords day, and the
law with its hands behind its back
walked up and down the streets declin.
ing to modest many of the offenders;
but we all rose up in our righteous in
dlgnation, and calling upon all pow
ers, visible and invisible, to help us.
we declared that though the heavens
fell no woman should be allowed to
sell molasses candy on Sunday.
There is that mother who tbrouob
all the years of infancy and childhood
was kept running amid sick trundle
beds, now to shake up the pillow for
that haXen head, and now to give q
drink to those parched lips, and now
to hush the frightened dream of a lit
tie one; and when there was one less
of the children because the great lover
of children had lifted one out of the
Group into the easy breathing of celes-
tai atmosphere, the mother putting
all the more anxious care on those who
were lest; so weary of arm, and foot.
and back, and head, so often CRYING
out, Il am so tired. l am so tired,,,
Her work done, she shall sit down. And
that business man for thirty, forty. fiftv
years has kept on the nm, not urged
by seltishness, but for the purpose of
achieving livelihood for the house
hold. On the run from store to store
or from factory to factory; meeting
this loss, and discovering that inaccu.
racy, and suffering betrayal or disap-
pointment; never more to be cheated
or perplexed, or exasperated, he shall
sit down. Not in great arm chair of
heaven, for the rockers of such a chair
would imply ones need of soothing. of
clinging to easy posture, or semi-indi-
vidualism; but throne, solid as eter-
nifty and radiant as the morning after n
night of storm. They shall sit
down"
Frederick the Great, notwithstand.
ing the mighty dominions over
which he reigned, was so depressed at
times he could not speak without crv.
ing, and carried small bottle of
quick poison with which to end his