The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-03
GRAVE DANGERS AHEAD .
And How the Nation May Be
Delivered From Them,
THE GOSPEL AS A GUIDE
"a Nations Danger and Deliverance f"
the Subject of Powerful Sermon
Delivered by Rev F. B.
Cleland Yesterday.

"A Nations Danger and Deliverance,"
was the subject of the sermon delivered
at the First Presbyterian church yes
terday morning by Rev F. B. Cleland,
the pastor. 1t was summing up of the
situation in which the nation finds It
self, and a warning as to the future,
pointing out as an example, the decline
of the Roman empire.
Preceding the sermon, the pastor read
the fourth chapter of Esther, and chose
as his text the 18th verse. Said he in
part:
we must remember this remarks BILE
fact-the name of God does not occur
at any time in the books of Esther, but
between the lines we read of His mys-
FERROUS thoughts His name is not there,
but we see constant evidence of His
greatness and goodness. The Jewish peo-
pie had been swept away from their
land and been made slaves. Esther, by
some strange turn of the wheel of for
tune, was made queen, and rose to the
summit of human power. Her calling
was to preserve the Jewish slaves from
utter determination.
Our land is subject to the power of
divine providence, as were the Jews
We are surrounded by equal dangers
and perils, and the question is: Can we,
though living as in the kings house, es-
cape determination?
THE great American nation could
never celebrate in the past any such
harvest home as she can today. We
have seen, as by the wave of magic
wand, our country grow into wealth
1T ri
seen in the East with its furnaces and
mills and the argosies that crowd the
harbors In the North, thousands Of
cities and towns have sprung up, and
she reJoices in the plenteous harveStS;
in the inland seas and rivers there
floats the surplus to ready market.
The West is rich with her mountains
scanned with silver and assured with
gold, the envy of the world. The South
is opulent with the mimic snow of the
cotton, with the plantations of the rus
Ting cane, and with the rich returns
from the rice field. Our towns have
grown into cities of great magnitude,
and have been centers of population
scarcely surpassed by any cities of the
world.
We surely enjoy the fruits of pros
perity, but it is in this very appearance
of wealth and security that lies our
.
rolling in luxury end her splendor was
dazzling the world that she became a
Frey to the conquering hordes of the
North. When her days were spent in
gladlatorial shows and her nights in
revelry, it was then that the crawling
worms were slowly gnawing at here vi
tails.
AS did Rome, so has our country
passed successfully through many a
crisis She has beeO thr0ngh fire and
sword: she has defended herslf against
enemies from without and within, caus-
ing the shackles to fall from the wrists
of the slaves. She has had a period of
industrial prosperity and fortunes,
like the mushrooms, have grown in
night. Not only have many of our citi-
zens been enrichd, but the nations of
spoiIs of our land.
But what does this mean? The re-
suit has been almost universal, that
where wealth is accumulated, the
rich become richer and the poor
grow poorer. The rich form the trusts
and the poor band together to oppose
them. Our cities have two levels, the
upper and the lower. The upper class
revel in luxury, while in the other we
see dissatisfaction and discomfort, and
hear the mutterings of anarchy and
vice. We are intoxicated by our sue
cess--beware of our downfall, for We
are living too fast. There is peril when
mills and smelters compel their employ
es to labor seven days in week. 1t ruins
the health of the workers and over
stocks the market. Then comes the
shut down, and distress ensues.
1T is in time of danger that the ma
ton needs a guide, and that guide is
the gospel. Our country has perils. 1t Is
a great undertaking to assimilate the
foreign immigration that is knocking at
our gates Our country is in danger If
we do not make it righteous nation.
What will be our future when our halls
of legislation are filled with mounte-
banks whose only God is money?
THE rum traffic is another grave
danger Large navies and armies sap
our vitality. The trusts are assuming
such an aggressive front that they
threaten our national welfare. Think
not that thou wilt escape, any more
than did Greece or Rome, Turkey or
Spain.
America is on the ridge of destiny,
and it must lay hold on the opportunity
and keep it. Our dangers are lost sight
of in our grand opportunities. Our
wealth and power are increasing. There
has never been a time when our inf
mite opportunities have been as great
as now. If greater America stands the
strain of expansion, 1t Will De only
through the strength given by religion
The banner of Christ must follow the
banner of America. Our perils remind
us of duties. 1t is our duty to give the
gospel of Christ to the world. Now is
the time to speak, not to hold silence
risk our lives for good. A message has
come from above, telling us to tell all
nations of Christ's love-
During the services Miss Macdougall
sang as a solo, Come Unto Me-"