Connecticut western news., 1897-07-08
SAVE ALL THE CITIES
HOW THE MORALS OF OUR BIG
 TOWNS MAY BE MINDED.

nicipal Purity - Good Men Must Be
 Named at the Party Caucus-Other Ways
 to Improve City Life.
 WASHINGTON, July 4.-This sermon If Dr. Talmage discusses from moral and religious standpoint the welfare of all the towns and cities of our country. His text is Ezekiel xvii, 8, 70 thou that art situate at the entry of the sea"
 This is part of all impassioned apos- trophe to the city of Tyre. It was q beautiful city-a majestic city. At the east end of the Mediterranean it sat, with one hand beckoning the inland trade and with the other the commerce of foreign nations. It swung mon- strous boom across its harbor to shut ont foreign enemies, and then swung back that boom to let ill its friends. The air of the desert was fragrant with the spices brought by caravans to her fairs, and all seas were cleft into foam by the keels of her laden merchantmen. Her markets were rich with horses and mules and oamels from Togarmah, with upholstery and ebony and ivory from Dedan, with emeralds and agate and coral from Syria, with wine from Hell bon, with finest needlework from Ashur and Chilmad. Talk about the splendid staterooms of your Cunard and Inman and White Star lines of international steamers-why, the benches of the state rooms in those Tyrian ships were all ivory, and instead of our coarse canvas on the masts of the shipping they had the finest linen, quilted together and inwrought with embroideries almost miraculous for beauty. Its columns overshadowed all nations. Distant em- pires felt its heartbeat. Majestic city, "situate at the entry of the sea-
 But where now is the gleam of her towers, the roar of her chariots, the masts of her shipping? Let the fisher men who dry their nets on the place where she once stood; let the sea that rushes upon the barrenness where she once challenged the admiration of all nations; let the barbarians who build their huts on the place where her pal aces glittered, answer the question. Blotted out forever She forgot God, and God forgot her. And while our modern cities admire her glory, let them take warning at her av ful doom.
 Cain was the founder of the first city, and I suppose it took after him ill mor als It is long while before city can get over the character of those who founded it. Where they criminal exiles, the filth, and the prisons, Gcd the de bauchery are the shadows of such found CTS. New York will not for 200 or 300 years escape from the good influences of its founders, the pious settlers whose prayers went up from the very streets where now banks discount and brokers shave, and companies declare dividends, and smugglers swear custom house lies, and above the roar of the drays and the crack of the auctioneers' mal,ets is heard the ascription, 'We worsh p thee, O thou almighty dollar. The church that once stood on Wall street still throws its blessing over all the scene of traffic and upon the ships that fold their white wings in the harbor. Originally men gathered in cities from necessity. It was to escape the incendiary s torch or the assaSsin's dagger. Only the very poor lived in the country, those who had nothing that could be stolen CT vaga- bonds who wanted to be near their place of business, but since civilization and religion have made it safe for men to live almost anywhere men congregate in cities because of the opportunity for rapid gain. Cities are not necessarily evils, as has sometimes been argued They have been the birthplace of civii- zation. In them popular liberty has lift ed up it's voice. Witness Genoa and Pisa and Venice. The entrance of the repre- sentatives of the cities in the legisla- lures of Europe was the deathblow to feudal kingdoms. Cities are the patron izers of art and iterature-architectu pointing to its British museum in Lon don, its Royal library in Paris, its Vat ican in Rome. Cities hold the worlds scepter Africa was Carthage. Greece was Athens, England is London, France is Paris, Italy is Rome, and the cities in which God has cast our lot will yet decide the destiny of the American peo- pie.
 Office Bearers In Big Cities.
 At this season of the year I have thought it might be useful to talk a lit tie while about the moral responsibility resting upon the office bearers in all our cities, theme as appropriate to those who are governed as to the gov ernors. The moral character of those who rule city has much to do with the character of the city itself Men, women and children are all interested in national politics. When the great presidential election comes, ever patriot wants to be found at the ballot box. We are all interested in the discus sion of national finance, national debt, and we read the laws of congress- and we are wondering who will sit next in the presidential chair. Now, that may be all very well-is very well, but it is high time that we took some of the at tention which we have been devoting to national affairs and brought it to the study of municipal government. This 1t seems to me now, is the chief point to be taken. Make the cities right, and the nation will be right. have noticed that according to their opportunities there has really been more corruption in municipal governments in this country than in the state and national legisla- lures. Now, is there no hope? With the mightiest agent in our hand, the glori- ous gospel of Jesus Christ, shall not all our cities be reformed and purified and redeemed? I believe the day will come. am in full sympathy with those who are opposed to carrying politics into re- igion, but our cities will never be re- formed and purified until we carry re- igion into politics I look over our cities and see that all great interests are to be affected in the future, as they have been. affected in the past, by the character Of those who in the different departments rule over us, and propose to classify some of those interests.
 In the first place, remark commer- cial ethics are always affected by the moral or immoral character of those who have municipal supremacy Officials that wink at fraud, and that