The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-26

oughly organized. We do not have indi-
vidual dealers and individual producers
to contend with. We have an institution.
No church, no secret society is banded
together any closer than are those inter-
estCd in the drink traffic for the adj
vancement of their nefarious trade. No
stone is left unturned, and no side of
the situation Is lost to their view. Temp
erance workers however Jealous they
may be, have no more interest In the
plans and aims and accomplishments of
their cause than do the brewers and dis
tillers and saloonkecpers
We thought we had found way In
the temperance instruction and training
in our public schools to put check on
the monstrous evil. Certainly If boys
and girls grow up abhoring liquor and
bound to let II alone drinking must ma
terially decrease
And now within a year at conven-
tion of liquor men in one of the states
west by the president of the conven-
tion himself, l think was given this
startling utterance: 1--WE must go to do
ing missionary work" You would almost
think the man had been converted, that
as 1t was with Paul of old somehow a
light had appeared TO him by the way
and he had renounced his wickedness,
become the Lords disciple, and was bent
on walking in the steps of the great
| Christian missionary himself. But save
your CONGRATULATIONS. The next words
were, In substance: 1--WE must do some-
thing to create an appetite for drink.
If the rising generation is not assisted
! in this way, our business will be ruined.
! We must give away liquor. We must
induce abstainers to drink of our cups,
or pretty soon we shall have to give up
/ the trade"
WHAT WE MUST DO.
EA ~,
! waters" and it will return to us a hum
| dred and thousand fold by and by. This
! is the spirit of the rum power. 1t has
no scruples. 1t will sacrifice anything
| and everything for the sake of its ends
/ Is 1t to be wondered at that men are
! leaving the old parties and casting their
/ votes emphatically against this mons
! trous dragon? Is not the wonder the
fact that this number is so small?
81
1t seems inhuman to show these weak
nesses to the Pilgrims, but tae"e is enc
| thing more that they must observe, were
| they our guests today, which we must
notice. Imagine Brewster and Bradford
and Carver and Winslow upon the streets
of our cities on Sunday morning They
| pass a group of men and boys and ask
you: Are not these rather boisterous
| for people going to church on the Lord S
| Day?' And you have to answer: "They
| are not going to church. They are go
| ing 10 play and witness game of ball.
They never go to church." "Can it beH
eXclaim all the Plymouth saints. But
| surely" they go on, "this is exceptional,
| most of your people attend Divine W ~
ship. Where are your meeting houses?
You have large population, we do not
see room for all to worship"
And you have to answer, there is not
ROOM" Not one-half nor one-quarter Gf
cur population could find standing room
within the churches" The question must
come quick: "Why do you no: supply
this manifest necd?" and you have 10
answer: "One obvious reason is that the
churches that we have are seldom filed"
That is the situation. OF course the
Christian church in America is grea;
institution. and its influence reaches far
beyond its immediate followers, and II
may reach a great deal farther, but
when we consider the multitudes of our
population, we, of the United States. can
hardly be called a church-going people
at all.
RESPECTABLE CITIZENS.
And the most striking and startling
thing about this is that a good number
of these who neglect public worship are
among our respectable citizens They
are by no means all ignorant, and OF
low morals. Sometimes they arc people
of refinement. Indeed there seems to he
a growing class Of such. people who let
Couture" take the place of religion in
their lives. To them the church is sup,
erhuous, IA useless burden on the should
ers of the people. Instead of saying
with Paul: 81 am not ashamed Of the
gospel of Christ, for it is the power OF
God unto salvation" they say, "Tht
church has had its day, and Christian
ity is OutgrOwn, and we have left ii fai
bG2vnnd."
can do dreadful harm. Men say: 1--WE
look after our own lives, live upright
ly. and that is our whole duty" 1 an
reminded by this of something said by
President Hutchinson, of the Univer
salist general convention, which met las
month at Chicago, in reference to "hu
mantariansm," that idea that Jesus Is
mere man and Christianity a growth
purely from the human side. Human
tarianism," said Mr.. Hutchinson, sis no
eigion but it is fed by religion" Wer,
it not for religion in the community. tn
, religion of Christ, any enterprise baseC
on that false idea would have a sorr!
time of i.
So. with those whose disposition it Il
to mind their own business (as they say
, and keep the commandments. and let tn
, church alone. They may do that Blu
without the church they would not. Tn
, Righteousness of the nation is fed by tn
, religion Of the nation, and If the churcl
is abandoned righteousness will storm.
OF course this is not a cry of despair
The church is strong. More than eve
. I before perhaps it is sending out into tn
community mighty tides of spiritual life
But there is n lesson for its workers II
, this growing class that give it no sup
| port. The church must cease its quarrel
! inEs aud work together. The vital ques
I tiOn about any man it not: Where doe
, . he go to church? Not, is he a Pres
/ byttr.:r, - Methodist, or a Baptist
, | or a I.i.,nsalist? But is he anything
and do"y ne go to church anywh"rr? [
4, ! he helping to make religion "A power II
his life and in the life of the nation?
These may be sober thoughts +"
. Thanksgiving time, and yet these thing
! must be said. 1t is not pleasant to be
prophet Of evil, hut other nations hav
been wrccked-and wrecked on the sam
, shoals that lie ahead of us. We mus
, shape our course Alright. We must hrin
, to bear on our ship OF state every re
: source, TO eSoJDc the same mournful fate
And the outlook is not all dark Tn
spirit OF the Pilgrims is not dead. Scat
: tered over our land are their descendant
I with hearts loving righteousness and nat
ing iniquity, as they d.d; with an appr,
rl,..v