St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-07-04

planning Tor orr demolition, W ~ Z
united people. and tomorrow you viii
ind ID both houses Of congress the
men who fought for tho north and the
south. now sitting side by side, armed
with no weapon except the pom, with
which they write home to their con.
stituents who want to be appointed
postmasterA
The man who can not see God Ii our
American history Is - blind Of soul q
he would be blind Of body II he could
not at IL o'clock Of IN unclouded noon
see the sun in the heavens As = mat
ter of gratitude to Almighty God, gen.
tlemen of the American congress, be
pleased to insert the four words suQ-
gcsted by the Methodist confercncel
Not only because Of the kindness
Of God TO this nation in the
past should such = revercntial
insertion be made, but because
Of tho fact that we are going to
want Divine interpolation still further
in our national history. This gold
and silver question will never DO set
tied until God settles It. This Ques-
ton of tariff and FREQ trade will never
be settled until God settles It The
question between the east and the
west, which Is getting hotter and hot
ter, and looks toward a republic of
the Pacific, will not be settled until
God settles it. We needed God In tho
100 years of our past national life,
and we will need Him still moro
in the next 100 years. Lift up your
heads, We everlasting gates OF our Rlo-
rious constitution, and let the King Of
Glory come In! Make one line OF that
immortal document radiant with Om-
nipotence! Spell at least one word with
Thrones! At the beginning, or At the
close, or In the center, recognize Him
from whom as q nation we have re-
ccived all the blessing Of the past and
upon whom we arc dependent for the
future. Print that word God" or
Lord" or Eternal Father" or
Ruler OF Nations" somewhere be-
tween the first word and the
last. The great expounder Of the
constitution sleeps at Marshfleld,
Mass. the Atlantic ocean still hum
ming near his pillow Of dust its pro-
longed lullaby; but Is there not some
one now living, who, In the white mar
BILE palace Of the nation on yonder hill
not ten minutes away, will become the
irradiator Of the constitution by caus-
Ing to be added the most tremendous
word of our English vocabulary, the
name of that Being before whom al
nations must bow or 70 into defeat
and annihiliation-sGod
Again before the approaching adj
journment Of our American congress,
it ought to be decidedly and forever
settled that no appropriation be made
to sectarian schools, and that the
courtship between church and state
In this country be forever broken up
That question already seems tempo
rarily settled. All schools and all in
situations, as well rs all dcnomina-
tons should stand on the same
level before American law. EN-
pcror Alexander Of Russia, at his
Peterhof palace, asked me how many
denominations Of religion there were
in America, and recited their names
as well as I could. Then he asked me
the difference between them, and there
broke down. But when / told him
that no religious denomination in
America had any privileges above
the others, he could hardly under
stand it. The Greek church first
in Russia. The Lutheran church
first In Germany. The Episcopal
church first in England. The
Catholic church first In Rome. Mohanl-
me1anism first in Constantinople The
emperor wondered how it was possible
that all the denominations In America
could stand on the same platform. But
SO It is, and so let it ever be- Let there
be no preference, no partiality, no at
tempt to help one sect an inch higher
than another. Washington and Jeffer-
son. and all the early presidents and all
the great statesmen Of the past, have
lifted their voice against any such tend
ency. If a school or an institution can
not stand without the prop Of a national
appropriations, then let that school or
that institution 20 down. On the 9TH
er side of the sea the world has had
plenty Of Illustrations Of church and
state united. Let us have none Of the
hypocrisy and generalization born Of
that.ne3aion on this side of the At
lantic. Let that denomination come
out ahead that does the most for the
cause of God and humanity. Men. in
situations and religions getting what
they achieve by their own right are
OF usefulness, and not by the favorit-
ism Of government As you regard
the welfare and perp.tuity Of our in
keep politics ont Of reli-
gion.
But Low, that am speaking OF ma
tional affairs from . religious stand
point, I bethink myself Of the fact
that two other gavcls will soon lift
and fall, the one 1t st. Louis and the
other at Chicago, and before those ma
tional conventions adjourn, ask that
they acknowledge God in the plat
forms. The men who construct those
platform are here this morning, or
will read these words. Let no polit-
ical party think it can do its duty I'M
less it acknowledges that God who
built this cont nent. and revealed II
1t the right time to the discoverer,
and who has reared hero q prosperity
which has been given to no other peo-
pie. .'Ohi" says some one, ''there are
people in this country who do not be- |
lieve in God, and it would be an in |
suit to them. "Well there are people
in this country who do not believe in
decency, or common honesty,
Or any kind Of government, preferring
Your very platform is IN in |
suit to them. You ought not to re-
gard u man who does not believe in |
God any more than you should regard |
! man who refuses to believe