The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1895-01-25

/ pei! tIll Eldu tllAb u WdN0 VI IolOTu
has swept across this land, and all thu
cities are feeling the advantage of tn,
mighty movement. Let the good worl
60 ON until the last municipal evil il
extirpated. About 10 years ago the dis
tinguished editor of New York daily
newspaper said to me in his editoria
room: "You ministers talk about evils
of which you know nothing. Why don't
you go with the officers of the law anC
! explore for yourself, so that when yor
preach against sin you can speak from
what you have seen with your OWL
eyes?' said, II will, +" and in company
with commissioner of police and q
captain OF police and two elders of my
church l explored the dens and hiding
places of II Pies Of crime in New York
and preached a series of sermons warn
ing young men and setting forth the
work that must be done lest the judg-
ments of God whelm this city with
more awful encouragement than the vol
can1c deluge that buried Herculaneum
and Pompeii. received, as nearly as I
can remember, several hundred columns
of newspaper abuse for undertaking that
exploration. Editorials of denunciation,
double loaded, and with captions in
great primer type, entitled 1.-THE Fall Of
Talmage,' or ''Talmage Makes the Mis-
take of His Life, " or ''Down With Tai
mage" but still live and am in full
sympathy with all movements for mu-
nicipal publication.
But a movement which ends with
crime exposed and law executed stops
half way. Nay, it stops long before it
gets half way. The law never yet saved
anybody, never yet changed any body.
Break up all the houses of iniquity in
this city, and you only send the occu-
pants to other cities. Break down all
the policemen in New York, and whils
it changes their worldly fortunes it docs
not change their heart or life. The
greatest want in New York today is the
Transforming power of the gospel of
Jesus Christ to change the heart and the
life and uplift the tone of moral senui-
ment and make men do right not be-
cause they are afraid of Ludlow Street
Jail or Sing Sing, but because they love
God and hate unrighteousness. have
never heard, nor have you heard, of any
thing except the gospel that proposes to
the heart, and by the influ-
ence of that regenerated heart rectify
the life. Execute the law most certain
ly, but preach the gospel by all means in
churches, in theaters, in homes, in pris-
ons, on the land and on the sea. The
gospel is the only power that can revo-
lutionize 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 dol
lars to 60 scot free, while some who
were merely the cats paw and agents of
bribery are struck with the lightnings
of the law. It reminds me of scene in |
Philadelphia when Twas living there.
A poor woman had been arrested and |
tried and imprisoned for selling molasses
candy on Sunday. Other lawbreakers
had been allowed to 60 undisturbed,
and the grogshops were open on the
Lords day, and the law, with its hands
behind it's back, walked up and down
the streets declining to modest many of
the offenders, but we all rose up in our
righteous indignation, and calling upon
all powers, visible and invisible, to help
as, we declared that though the heavens
ELL no woman should be allowed to sell
nolasses candy ON Sunday
Party and Politics.
A few weeks ago, after had preached
n one of the churches in this city, a
nan staggered up on the pulpit stairs,
naudlin drunk, saying, 81 am one of
he reformers that were elected to high
'ffice at the last election" / got rid of
hat great reformer'' as soon as l could,
nut did not get rid of the impression
hat man like that would cure the
of New York about as soon
s smallpox would cure typhoid fever or
buzzsaw would render Haydn's "Crea-
ion." Politics in all our cities has be-
ONE SO corrupt that the only difference
etween the Republican and Democratic
arties is that each is worse than the
ther. But what nothing else in the uni
erse can do the gospel can and will &C.
omplish. They shall come from the
'est," and for that purpose the evan
elistio batteries are planted all along {
ne Pacific coast, as they are planted all
long the Atlantic coast. All the prai- {
les, all the mountains, all the valleys, I
II the cities are under more or lessgos- {
ell influence, and when I'VE get enough l
nth and conservation for the work this I
hole American continent will cry out 4
IT God. They shall come from the e
est.' i
The work is not SO difficult as many s
oppose. You say, There are the for
gn populations. " Yes, but many of c
lem are Hollanders, and they were r.
Fought up to love and worship God, @
I'D it will take but little to persuade q
10 Hollanders to adopt the religion of "
Ieir forefathers. Then there are among G.
Iese foreigners so many of the Scotch. q
hey or their ancestors heard Thomas d
halmers thunder and Robert Nc OF
heyne pray. The breath of God so often p
Vept through the heather of the high
nds, and the voice of God has so often II
unded through the Trossachs, and they IL
| know how to sing Dundee, SO that
ey will not have often to be invited TO