The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-01-11

| warriors SLAIN In battle! And the
foolish taxpayers think they have no
way to help themselves-no way to
stop the drain-or even to scare away
the freebooters. They pretend to be
satisfied with the gospel of Esop's
fable of the fox and the flies. "And
why don't you drive those thieving
flies away'" said the traveller to the
fox, "and not so idly part with SO
much of your blood to feed your own
tormentors2" "What's the use to
waste more blood to drive these
away" quoth the sleepy fox, when
the next swarm would have empty
bellies, and steal more than these can
now carry9" And the drowsy fox
again sought his nap in the sun.
Moral Forces.
The American people have moral
power enough to drive every politi-
cal scoundrel into his den-power
enough to put every political traitor
at hard labor in prison walls-power
to purify the dead sea of politics and
plant the blooming seeds of life
where now we have only the rank
poison of national sins. Yes, the
moral power. But what is moral
power without political action?
The fundamental basis of this ar
gument is the enquiry Can the Christ
ian religion save the Republic? The
United States bureau of religious sta
tistics tells us that it is fair to claim
that nigh about so 100000 of our pop
ulation are directly or indirectly under
Protestantreligious influence through
pulpit, press, or Sunday-school. Now
whatrightful bearing has the Christian
religion upon political action? Well
the Christian religion has the same
moral bearing on political action that
it has on our conduct in every other
respect-domestically, socially, sex
ually, physically and spiritually. The
Christian religion sounds trumpet
in every ear, that whatever man does
should be done right. And every
negative, or neglected duty, will re-
ceive as quick and just retribution as
a positive wrong. This is the voice
of the true Christian religion all over
the earth. Morally, political action
is implied in the Lords saying, "Ren-
der therefore unto Caesar the things
which are Caesars, and unto God the
things that are Gods" Under a
Republican form of government, tax
money and obedient people are not
the only things which belong to
Caesar. Constitutionally, legally and
morally we have right to require
certain duties of Caesar to us. Jesus
taught that our great ones should be
our servants, and our chief ones
should be our bond servants. Our
constitution, and our state and feder
al laws, require that our officials
should make promises solemn pub
lie promises, and take oaths that
they will fulfill their duties to the law
and to the people, the citizens of this
Republic. If they don't do this, our
passive remedy is petition-and our
positive remedy is the ballot. The
ballot. we boast, is the one mighty lev
erage for American rights and wrongs
| Christians and the Ballot.
But what are the Christians doing
with the ballot7 Largely the saints
stay at home and let bedlam run the
ballots. 100000 of Christians! And
what percentage of them are only
shoddy Christiansl They care SO
little tor infinite political results that
they cannot lift their holy fingers to
puta bit of paper in the box. At one
very important local election in New
York city, with measure before the
people to prosecute the criminals, it
was found after election that out OF
three miles of brown stone palaces
on Fifth Avenue, only eight men had
cast their votes!
Thus it is Chicago, st. Louis, Gin
cinnati, Boston, Baltimore and Wash
ington and in all tax-ridden cities in
our great Republic. We have every
wherein town and city, property
owners, moral men, religious people,
professional men, scholars and CAPT
talists, who have loftily graduated
from the balloting business, with as
much pride and weakness as young
miss from boarding school. They af-
feet to be new species of high heeled
patriots, altogether too unsoiled to
take part in politics-except to en-
ploy their frowning lips and noses to
sneer at what others do or don't do
at what has been done, or ought not
to have been done.
They have kind of common law
among the prairie farmers that when
the leaping demons of flame start
| 4ba;r ,;otouo oharoaa ON tho fhirot "