The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-12-04


at the supreme court and Altgeld with hi:
anarchlsm all in one dose would make al
most any decent man sick. These men that
are worse than leeches on the body polite
must be first buried out of sight. To plead
for wise law for the restraining of injustice
and vote with these men who laugh at law
Is to miss ones aim. was In Chicago dur
ing the riot of '93. And there were few
days In that time that we wanted some SOL
diers and we wanted them bad. Standing
at my home on that Friday night l could
look across to where incendiaries were burn
Ing whole fields of cars belonging to the
Panhandle Railroad Co., and could see the
heavens lurid with flames which threatened
the returning of the whole city. There
was wild feeling in the very atmosphere,
and men went gingerly about not knowing
what would come at any moment. And the
man with gun and blue pants was the
imperative need of the hour. And we were
glad that there was one man down In Wash
ington whose ideas of good order were such
as to cause him to send us protection in the
face of governor and a mayor who stood
out for the old exploded doctrine of states
rights. But perhaps If permit myself to run
in this direction much longer l shall lose
the tone of optimism with which | began
and which it was my purpose to keep. 1t
was my design only to set down as clearly
as l knew how tie idea that here and now
is chance for us as nation to m axe new
start. That Almighty God has been trying
to put new trend into history. This past
century has witnessed the exploitation of
the earth and its forces In a material way.
We have brought all the earth near. and we
have developed natures resources. Judge
Grosscup speaks of this as a mood of ma
ture. He says that Mature in its broadcast
sense of comprising men and all the forces
behind the mentality seems TO throw her
whole soul into these periodic moods. Now
she is interpretive and thoughtful, and we
have the day of the Greek philosophers;
now she sings, and there come SHAKESPEARE,
and Dryden, Schiller and Goethe; now she
dreams and there open up the supernal Wis
tas of the master of composers. They last
for day and then the world becomes COM
moDplace again" Certainly this material
development of the age in which we live
has been a mood of nature.
We can put it stronger and say that it
has been passion of nature. 1t has been
such passion that it has all but swallowed
up soul and body. We have set men to
working bits of machinery and destroyed |
their mental acuteness. We have seen the |
great corporations and trusts compelling
the little shop or store to shut its doors or |
submit to be Incorporated. We have all |
but lost the man in the consolidation. His
freedom of initiative aud activity /, becom-
ing dream of the simple days of We olden
time. In our greed and haste to be rich we
have all but forgotten God.
Men of the closing days of the nineteenth |
century. 1t is time we stopped this business
and turned to doing something else We
ought not to wait on a mood of nature to |
carry us out into some new field of activity. |
There ought to be some of the Sam Jones |!
kind of turning about in this matter the |
same as in religion. We must recognize as |
a prime condition that we simply "quit !
Dur meanness." We must cease to do evil |
and learn to do well. Some enthusiastic |
people whom know, delight in picturing |
mighty discoveries and inventions and the |
hiding of richer treasure in this old earth
han we have ever yet discovered, as just |
IN the threshold. And desirable as this |
night be at some times in the history of the
world, l sincerely hope that their predic-
ions won't come true. believe that we
lave gotten about all that thing that we
an stand for time. If they will only
how this age how she can make some dis.
overies In the deeps of mans soul, bring
ng out new powers and nobility. If they
will only find out new ways of learning and
DING Gods will, would gladly join them
q the search. 1t is to this that God would
ave us now turn. This moral and spritu-
development of the race is the task set
or the new century. 1t was for this that
ur panic has come. 1t is that we may turn
D this that we have had the voice of dis
ontent and wretchedDess uttered i'm our
ars in this last campaign. Henry Waiter
on is about right when he says, 'In 1900
re were few million of people and we
wed liberty. In 1900 we are nearly 1OO,-
90, 600 of people, and we love money"
md here and now there has been lull in
ne fierce rivalries of business life. Mems
we of money has been denied its gratifica-
on in the acquiring of more money. And
is time of revealing to us. Just as on
ark day there comes now and then rift
! the clouds, and the sun appears. Just
; the death of Uzziah brought to the sensi-
We mind of Isaiah vision of God, so these
ational experiences of panic and of pecu-
ar politics ought to cause the veil to drop
ON before our eyes so that we could see the
ord sitting upon the throne high and lifted
p, and with a majesty so glorious as that
Is presence would fill the whole earth.