Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-07-13

interests:
In the first place remark: CONNER
cial ethics are always affected BY the
moral or immoral character of those
who have municipal supremacy. OFF,
Gals that wink at fraud, and that have
neither censure nor arraignment for
glittering dishonesties, always weaken
the pulse of commercial honor Every
shop, every store, every bazaar, every
factory in the cities feels the moral
character of the city hall. If in any
city there be a dishonest mayoralty. or
an unprincipled common council, or
court susceptible to brides. in that city
there will be unlimited license for all
kinds of trickery and sin; while, on the
other hand, if officials are faithful to
their cath Of Office, If the laws are
promptly executed, if there is vigilance
in regard to the outbranchings of crime,
there is the highest protection for all
bargain making A merchant may
stand in his store and say: Now. I'll
have nothing to do with city politics;
| will not soil my hands with the
siush;" nevertheless the most insig-
nificant trial in the police court will
AFFECT that merchant directly or indi-
rectly. What style of clerk issues the
writ; what style of constable makes the
arrest; what style of attorney issues
the plea; what style of Judge charge the
jury; what style of sheriff executes the
seltence-these are questions that
strike your counting rooms to the GEN.
ter. You may not throw it eff. In the
city of New York, Christian merchants
for a great while said: Well have
nothing to do with the man
agement of public affairs" and they
allowed everything to go at loose ends
until there rolled up in the city debt
of nearly $120,000,000. The municipal
government became Kissing and by
word in the whole earth, and then the
Christian merchants saw their folly,
and they went and took possession of
the ballot boxes. / wish all CONNER
cial men to understand that they are
not independent of the moral character
OF the men who rule over them. but
must be thoroughly, nightly affected
by them.
So, also, Of the educational interests
of city. Do you know that there
are in this country about seventy thou
sand common schools, and that there
are over eight millions of pupils, and
that the majority of these schools and
the majority of those pupils are in our
cities? Now, this great multitude of
| children will be affected by the intelli-
gence or ignorance, the virtue or the
vice, of boards Of education and boards
of control. There are cities where edu-
cational affairs are settled in the low
caucus in the abandoned parts of the
cities, by men full of ignorance and
rum. 1t ought not to be so; but in
many cities it is so. l hear the tramp
of coming generations. What that
great multitude of youth shall be for
this world and the next will be affected
very much by the character of your
public schools. You had better multiply
the moral and religious influences
! about the common schools rather than
abstract from them. Instead of driving
the Bible out, you had better drive the
Bible further in. May God defend our
glorious common school system. and
send into rout and confusion all its
sworn enemies.
/ have also to say that the character
of officials in city affects the domestic
circle. In city where grogshops have
their own way, and gambling bells are
not interfered with, and for fear of los
ing political influence officials close
their eyes to fostering denominations.
in all those cities the home interests
need to make importation. The family
circles of the city must inevitably be
affected by the moral character or the
immoral character of those who rule
over them.
| will go further and say that the re-
ligious interests of a city are thus af-
fected. The church today has to con-
tend with evils that the civil law ought
to smite; and while | would not have
the civil government in any wise relax
its energy in the arrest and punishment
of crime, l would have 4 thousand-fold
more energy put forth in the drying
up of the fountains Of iniquity. The
church of God asks no pecuniary aid
from political power; but does ask that
In addition to all the evils we must
necessarily contend against we Shall
not have to fight also municipal negli-
gence. Oh, that in all our cities Chris
tian people would rise up, and that
they would put their hand on the helm
before piratical demagogues have
swamped the ship. Instead of giving
so much time to national politics. give
some of your attention to municipal
government.
/ demand that the Christian people
who have been standing aloof from
public affairs come back, and in the
might of God try to save our cities If
things are or have been bad, it is be-
cause good people have let them be bad.
That Christian man who merely goes
TO the polls and casts his vote does not
do his duty. 1t is not the ballot box
that decides the election, it is the po-
litical caucus; and if at the primary
meetings of the two political parties
unfit and bad men are nominated, then
the ballot box has nothing to do save
to take its choice between two thieves,
In our churches, by reformatory or
ganization, in every way let us try to