The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-03-26

InlS makes party and sect a mighty uomln-
atLng force. So that men too often utter
their honest convictions in a whisper under
the cover and seal Of confidence. When
they mount the platform or enter the pull
pit they appear clad in the full panoply
Of party or sect and proclaim whatever is
found in the Platform or creed and not the
sentiments Of their hearts. This enables
the party to become a shield for bad gov
rnmen and is a serious obstacle IN the
attempt to Secure reform. 1t permits a
host OF treasury leeches to live on unearned
salaries, thus taxing the labor and sweat
of the common man to support a gang OF
partisan incapables and idlers.. And then
amount TO the interests of the people and
the State. This breeds cowardice. If the
correction of evils may result in loss OF
votes to the party, then the narrow par
tisans viii cry out that Ii is mot good pol
tiles to attempt to right the wrong This
undertakes the intelligence OF tire common
fling away all old dogmas and creeds. and
work for nothing but the public welfare
ence. The country will take care of the
party that will best serve her interests.
Tbs bloodshed and the treasure expended
and the sorrow and tears of the late civil
war were the legitimate results of the blind
adherence to political dogmas that forced
the Nation into the whirlpool OF war. AS
high price to maintain mere distractions
and impractical theories. The demagogue,
with his foul breath and lying tongue, Is
the natural product OF political dogmatism.
Without this he could not exist. The gerry
mander, the stuffed ballotbox and forged
election returns all come from the hotbed
of party zeal. L might give some instances
that would enforce this point, but 1 would
subject myself to the charge of using a
never do that. 1t would, on this occasion,
be so at variance with my purpose that /
would deserve the scorn of honest men.
If 1 were to take, as / might do, ~illustra-
tions from all parties. I would then be re-
garded as a mugwump, and that would not
be pleasant-to me. at least. So l think 1T
evil and let each make the application he
chooses. You can well imagine that the
temptation to launch out on some Of these
points is very strong, but 1 resist the voice
of the tempter. So that I feel sure that
this audience, if they give me no credit for
what | do say. that a balance In my favor
conceded. We will pass from politics to
religion. Now we are in a field where we
truth-seeking. Such should be its supreme
purpose and spirit. To a great degree Sec
tarianism binders and defeats the high aims
of its holy mission among men.
I am not insensible to the fact that ]
am exposed to the LANCER of being misun-
derstood. / am conscious that in assaulting
anything else, I am treading on very thin
ice and am liable TO go down
with 2 crash and splash
Let me then fortify myself against that
by saying, that in every department of
human affairs. We ought to believe some
thing, and believe ii with all our might.
But before We yield our earnest and sincere
faith we ought to see by the light of our
best reason and Judgment that it bears the
brand of eternal truth. We ought not to
believe il because somebody else believes
il, or because We found it in a textbook
or Cree q p Vat a1a0t or 70 s1 beIieYs n s5a1ea n that e
we are unwilling to submit to a full and
free discussion. One has well said, IF we
are afraid of submitting any question, civil
or religious, to the test of free discussion,
We are more in love with our own opinion
than with the truth" DIR. Johnson says.
Truth and reason constitute the intellec-
tual gold that defies destruction" That is
the only sort of faith that elevateS and
~civilizes. 1t contains not the semblance OF
sectarianism. 1t is not mixed with the al
10y of dogmatism. 1t is the blind devotion
to certain tenets without regard to truth
and reason that is the great aindering
Against this take my stand and feel sure
that my feet are on. the solid rock. IL Is
into innumerable sects. 1t is that that has
erected countless church houses that are
never filed with hearers: that places so
many incapableS in the pulpit and keeps
them there: that compels the support of so
many church officials who live and grow fat
off the toll of the common man; that erects
sectarian colleges everywhere, some or
which are existing on half rations. There
is not, nor can there be, any sectarianism
in the great trutps OF science. nor are there
shlJ O6Lld III tHC " -
the many different languages. There is, no
such thing as a Baptist multiplication table,
an Episcopallan algebra, a presDyterlan
then, must all these things be taught by a
sectarian. Why do the bending backs OF
the toiling millions have the additional bur-
den imposed on them to support these Sec
tartan schemes? There are some so in
tensely sectarian that they will not allow
lest they might be led from the sectarian
fold. In the eloquent address or Paul be-
fore King Agrippa he said that he had once
been of the "straighteSt sect" of the Phar-
isees. But when he was converted and had
his eyes opened he became broader and
wrote to the Thessalonians to Prove All
This college, 1 take Il, is following the
wise admonition of the great apostle, and
1t must succeed in the end.
WHAT THE DOCTOR CAN DO.
I might enlarge and dwell at great length,
how in social life this sectarian principle
has organized on millionaire lines an ex-
elusive set, calling themselves THE -Four
Hundred" because their hard-working and
thrifty fathers had left them a fortune. or
they had become rich by wrecking some
body else, but L have no time to waste on
such people. They are far beneath the
dignity of this occasion. Is it too much to
claim that if our physicians become broader
and less sectarian they will become a most
important factor in charging the thought OF
the race. lQtH tulc lively Jill 10y AlC
illustrations TO the sick and suffering they
acquire a hold on the hearts of all classes
Of people. In the homes or the poor and
the unfortunate they are the only persons
who have any strong grip on their conf1-
dence, or who often cross the threshold or
their humble homes. The doctor is the con-
Meeting link between them and the far.
away regions of culture and refinement. If
he is q full pattern OF a mana gentleman,
in the broadcast sense of the word-a de-
voted lover of his race, he can lift them
to a higher plane, can conquer their preJu-
dices and greatly assist them to reform
their habits. He can cure them of the dis
ments. He can instill a kindlier spirit and
cause them to feel that the more prosper
Gus are not their enemies and thus put
them in touch and sympathy with their lel-
low-men. Being thoroughly levei-headed
and we'll rounded himself, his example viii
ness and hobby riding among his patrons.
And here let me remark that the tendency
to become lopsided in these latter days is
so general that 1t is giving great concern
and anxiety to the philanthropi5t. IL seems
to me, as there has. been no organized ef-
fort to arrest this evil, that every intelli-
gent and responsible human being ought.
every morning, the first thing he does, put
himself through a thorough and honest ex-
animation to see If the incipient stages OF
crankiness can be discerned. / am not sure
but with the advanced thought of the times
will come a demand for a chair In this
ard all other colleges to discuss and teach
the best remedy for this alarming and too
prevalent disease. Ii is a complaint worse
than strabismus, or club foot. or St. Vitus
dance. But if we succeed in wiping out sec
tarianism and dogmatism We will greatly
modify it's evil effects. 1t is here for the
most mart that the disease is terminated.
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