The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-08-07

am sure, will not be so common IN the
coming days when the fruitage OF the
citizenship movement of this young
peoples society has eliminated, and
when the ballot-the scepter OF po-
litical power-has been put in the
hands of these young men and young
ladies. For then the people will
have learned what our voters in the
church failed to learn in the individ-
ualism of their religious life. They
will have thoroughly learned, before
going to the polls in the twentieth
century, that patriotism and piety
both call to the polls and primaries
as loudly as patriotism ever called to
war, or piety to prayer. The most
radical cure for political corruption
is the exaltation of the ethical char
acter of political actions. A noble
sentiment came into my life asa
young man from Gail Hamilton, who
said, speaking of the sacredness of
political duty, 'the eve before cleo
ton should be vigil. The election
itself should be a sacrament"
Let us have not only an idea of what
government ought to be, but a very
specific idea of what the Young Peo-
Piles Christian Unions part in max
ing it what it ought to be, should be.
That was capital sermon preached
by street preacher in London, who
had for his text: "They that have
turned the world upside down have
come hither also" He said: Firstly,
the world was originally right side
up; secondly, the devil came and
turned it wrong side up; thirdly, it
must be turned right side up again;
and fourthly, we are the chaps to do
it,"
In the first answer l have made to
the question, What are our country's
needs? l have spoken of the ideal
government, which includes Chris
tian citizenship and craftsmanship,
but now turn to our country's needs,
from the standpoint of realizing
those ideals. And the second need
of our country is better citizenship
a Christian citizenship. Good citi-
zenship is not enough in these try
ing times. 1t must be Christian citi-
zenship. In Washington City, as
many of you know, generation or
more ago, they started to build a
monument to the father of his
country, but when they built only
one third of its height, they found
that they had laid too weak foun-
dalton, and that if they added any
more weight the whole would sink
into the sand, and so for a generation
the monument remained incomplete.
At last a man arose who was able to
take out the inadequate foundation
without disturbing the monument,
and little by little put stronger
and broader foundation in its place.
Thus they carried the monument up
to it's full height and brought forth
the capstone with rejoicing, crying,
"Grace, grace, unto it."
The structure of our political life
must likewise have an adequate foun.
datiou. In these days when great
corporations have brides to offer,
such as the world never saw before,
both for Legislators and voters-in
this day when demagogues are more
skillful than ever before in sophis
tries, we must have, as our founda
ton, not only an intelligent citizen
ship, but eminentlY Christian
citizenship. Mrs. Harriet Beecher
Stowe, of whose book it is said that
it was the first draft of emancipation,
of whom a confederate brigadier gen
eral said CALAMITY, Lee surrendered
to Mrs. Stowe at Appomattox, MRS.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, who could
not drop a ballot into politics, but
who dropped in a book that out
weighed the majority of the ballots
of that day.-Mrs. Stowe said one
day, on her Florida plantation, to her
uneducated negro servant who had
at least legal right to vote, "Sambo
don't you think | ought to have a right
to vote as well as your" He replied,
claw, Missus, does you think that
women has sense enough to vote7"
(Laughter.) am not asking for wom-
ans suffrage, but l am asking that
those who vote, whether men or wom-
en-, black or white, native or foreign,
shall have "sense enough to vote"
(Applause.)
Since 1890 | have been advocating
what / hope you will also urge. that
just as soon as possible we shall pass
laws to take effect on the first day of the
twentieth century, giving everybody
full warning by passing them soon,
that all new voters. native and foreign,
ro,,at aftar the dawn Of the tuant;ath