The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-11-26
BAPTIST CHURCHES UNITE
THANKSGIVING DAY SERVICE HELD
 ATCALVARY CHURCH.

 , Church, Preached an Eloquent Sermon, Choosing His Text from the Fiftieth Psalm and Fourteenth verse-Special Music Rendered by an Augmented Choir. The congregations of Calvary and the First Baptist churches united yester- day and held their Thanksgiving day services in the former house of worship Rev. Addison Moore, pastor ofthe First Baptist church, preached an eloquent ser mon. Several special musical selections were rendered by an augmented choir. Following Is an extract of Rev. MT. Moore's sermon:
 Offer unto God thanksgiving-Psalms 50:14.
 "As nation we have three distinc- tive holidays. Washington's birthday, celebrating the power of personality; Fourth of July, celebrating liberty and praising patriotism; and Thanksgiving day, the festival of the home. This day originated in 1923, when harvests had failed and che drear November days found the settlers in the new colony looking only for disaster and death. 'Tn their extremity men came together on the last Thursday in November to commend themselves to God. That day good ship with weather-beaten sails came into the harbor bringing food and friends" Delirious with joy the Pill grinls came together for Thanksgiving. Thus out of danger and deliverance was born the holiday. In keeping with the character of the day it is fitting that our chief magistrates should ask us to-day
 TO BECOME ,OPTIMIsTS.
 The Sultan of Turkey and the sub jects of his misrule, and the distin- guished, or, as we may now say, the extinguished, General Weyler and the victims of his Cuban horrors would doubtless find 1t difficult to find rea- sons for thankfulness; but American citizens have abundant cause to rejoice over bountiful harvests, reviving com- merce, abounding peace and steadily increasing prosperity. Contrasted with conditions in other lands we have great reason to rejoice over physical bene- fits. The wide extent of our territory; it's treasures of coal in the valleys and iron in the hills; of substantial foods and tempting delicacies; of the produc- tions of factories and mills and manu- factures, conspire to enliven our thanksgiving song. The benevolent na- ture of our civilization is also evidenced in the ever deepening interest displayed oJN I1JYo oo1oit o r>io n treatment of defective, unfortunate and helpless wards of the state we lead all the nations. The spiritual character of our advance is as pronounced as the physical and benevolent. For although our population has doubled every twen- ty-five years since 1776, the increase in church membership has not only kept pace, but has advanced in an increas- ing ratio; from one church member to every fourteen inhabitants in 1776 to one in five in 1S90 In addition to this, American Christianity becomes more practical each year until to-day 1t is recognized that no man can be a good Christian without being a good citizen, while at the same time God has led men to safer and simpler statement of Christian faith. We are journeying away from
 DESPOTISM AND DOGMATISM, as we have left behind the tallow can- dIe and the black arts. So long as the people were ignorant the political des- pot oppressed them and the ecclesiasti- cal despot tyrannized over them. But our citizens are not peasants; they are princes, and our hope for tomorrow lies in the fact that the agitator is giv- ing place to the educator. We are be- ing educated in the conduct of life com- mercially by the hard times just ended; benevolently by the awakening interest in the welfare of all sorts and condi- tions of men; spiritually by the break ing of old creeds and the adjustment of old truths to new needs; politically by the widening study of economics.
 A nation may make mistakes, and does make them. But when a people feels it's mistakes, when homes and pockets are affected, the people soon remedy the trouble and make the wrong right by their votes. For that reason we should be thankful to-day fo1
 UNRESTRICTED SUFFRAGE.
 The idea frequently advanced that all foreigners should be prevented from voting for period of years after their arrival here is pernicious idea. The KnOWleQSe CHdI ne CtlIl polItiSiPea.C III the politics of the country after brle1 residence stirs the foreigner on to be- come citizen quickly. He learns soor that this is his government and his country. Only thus can this govern. ment of, for and by the people become secure with the focking of such large numbers to our shores each year. Just so long as popular suffrage is unre. stricted and unpolluted the country i: safe. But we have need to keep the springs sweet and pure, and we thanl God for the steady advance that is be- ing made for purity in politics. Once 1T a while there is a set back, but the drift of the years is onward and up. ward. There never was a time wher politics were so pure as to-day--and fol that we are thankful. But there nevel was a time when so many men were awake to the need of further purified ton, and that adds hope to oul thoughts of the future.
 So, thankful for crowded stores ant bursting barns, and laden trains anG busy mills and happy homes; thankful for just laws and for liberty secured and for new and glowing truths, let us
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