The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-07-15

man in that position have the courage
of d Cromwell and the independence of
an Andrew jackson, aud the public
spiritedness of a John Frederick ODER
lin, and the piety of an Edward tav
son, he will have no surplus TO throw
away. Pray for these men. Every
mar likes 10 be prayed for. DO you
know how DR.. Norman Mcleod be-
came the queens chaplain? IL was
by a warm-hearted prayer in the
Scotch kirk in behalf of the royal fam
lily. m Sabbath when the queen and
her son were present incoguito.
Yes, go further. my friends, ana
nray for your police. Their perils and
temptations are best known 10 them
selves. They hold the order and peace
of your cities in their grasp. But for
their Intervention you would not be
safe for an hour. They must face the
storm. They must rush in where II
seems to them almost instant death.
They must put the hand of arrest on
the armed maniac and corncr the muir
derer. They must refuse large re-
wards for withdrawing complaints.
They must ]unravei intricate plots and
trace dark labyrinths OF crime and de-
velop suspicious into ccrta;utics. They
must be coo! while others are frantic.
They must be yigilant while others are
Somnolcut, 1m"personating the very VII
lainy they want to seize. in the pO-
lice forces OF our great cities are to-day
men of as thorough character as that
of the old detective OF New York, adj
dressed to whom there amc letters
from London asking tor help ten years
after he was dead-lettors addressed %
Jacob Hayes, High Constable of ArtN
\ ork." Your police need your az
probation, your sympathy, your graft.
tude, and, above all, your prayers. Yea,
| want you to go further and pray every
day for prison inspectors and Jail Keep
crs, WORK awful and AcnctiCent. Rough
men, cruel men, impatient men, are not
fit for these places. They have under
their care men who were once as goodies
you, but they got tripped up. Bad
company or strong drink or strange
conjunction Of circumstances flung
them hcadlong. TO down that prison
corridor and ask them how they got in
and about their families and what their
eurly prospects in life We're, and You
will find that they are very much like
yourself, except in this, that God kept
YOU while lie did not restrain them.
Just one false step made the difference
between them and you. They want
more than prison bars, more than Jail
fare. more than handouts and hop
piers, more than a yermin-coveredcou couch
to reform them. Pray God day by day
that the men who have these uniortu-
mates in charge may be merciful, Chris
tianly strategic and the means of refor-
nation and rescue.
Ny word now is to all who may come
to hold any public position of trust in
any city: You are Gods representa-
tiyes. God, the King and Ruler and
Judge. sets you in His place. Oh, be
faithful in the discharge OF all your du-
ties, so that when all our cities are in
ashes and the world itself is IA red scroll
Of flame, you may be in the mercy
and grace OF Christ rewarded for
your faithfulncss 1t was that feel
ing which gave such eminent
qualifications for Office to Neal Dow,
mayor of Portland, and to Judge
Mclean, of Ohio, and to benjamin f.
Butler, encouragement of New York,
and to George Briggs, governor of Mas
sachusetts, and to Theodore Erellng-
huysen, senator of the United States,
and to William Wilberforce, member of
the British parliament. You may make
the rewards Of eternity the emoluinents
OF your office. What care you for adj
verse political criticism if you have God
on your side? The one, or the two, or
the three years OK your public trust will
pass away, and all the years of your
earthly service, and then the tribunal
will be lifted before which you and |
must appear. May God make you s o
faithful now that the last scene shall be
to your exhilaration and rapture! 1
wish to eNhort all good people, whether
they are the governors or the governed,
to make one grand effort for the saliva
ton, the publication, the redemption OF
our American cities. Do you not know
that there are multitudes going down
to ruin, temporal and eternal. dropping
quicker than words drop from my lips?
Grogshops swallow them up. Gambling
hells devour them. Houses of shame are
damning them. Oh, let us toll and pray
and preach and vote until all these
wrongs are righted! What we do we
must do quickly. With our rulers, and
on the same platform, we must at last
come before the throne of God to an
swer for what we have lone for thu