The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-02-13
SOME NEW MORAL VALUES
PEA CED ON ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC
 LIFE BY NEV CONDITIONS.

ent Condition of Public Affairs-Our
 Position as n Nation the Result ot
 World Wide Causes.
 At Center church yesterday morning
 the pastor, Rev. pr. Newman Smyth,
 preached powerful sermon on Moral
 Problems Presented to Us by the Pres
 ent Condition of Public Affairs" The
 text was Second Co1ossians, nineteenth
 verse: And not holding the Head, from I which all the body by joints and bands
 having nourishment minstered, and knit together, increaseth with the in-
 crease of God" Dr. Smyth spoke in part as follows: "The man who said
 this had been busy sowing the seeds of
 new civilization which developed in
 the course of years into an increase
 with the increase of God Interpreting
 this as descriptive of the whole Chris-
 tian civilization we find that it is de-
 scriptive of modern Christian civiliza- tion, which has increased and will in-
 crease with an increase like the growth
 of the body. Our whole Christian civil-
 ization is increasing with an increase that is divinely wrought. Contained in
 the process of the increase of Christian
 civilization as divinely wrought, there is
 one special truth and that is that if at
 every new period of the development of I life and civilization a new valuation is
 put on the common forces and elemental powers of life and civilization, the same holds true in the life of an individual. A young man enters Hpon his career,
 throws himself into his profession and
 new value is put on every power of
 his manhood"
 | Never does any occasion call forth the efforts of nation, but an added
 value is placed on every quality it has. Over 200 years ago the first expansion | of the life of the New Haven colony | took place and it was an experiment strongly opposed by the leading men of l the colony. The expansion was into the larger life of the state of Connecticut and it was only after three or four years that these same men agreed to it and
 New Haven entered into the larger life of the whole state. Now all the forces
 that work for righteousness are receiv- ing not less but greater value as the life of the community broadened into the life of the state and 50 in the epochs of history there occurs, so to speak, re-
 assessment on the valuation of the forces of the people.
 Accepting as an actual fact the con- dition of affairs as they now exist With out entering into the causes that pro- duced it, many of us believe and accord- ing to the philosophy of history we are compelled to believe that the wave which has run so high during the last year and lifted our national existence from its moorings, sweeping it into an unknown sea is not like the mere wave produced by passing excursion steam CT, but rather signified the sweep of one of Gods tides, of which the cause is found in the conditions which obtain over the whole ocean around the world. We are all agreed that the ratification of the treaty was the beginning of a new policy of our national life. I think that the heart of the people is one in this respect, that whatever our policy, it's aims should be in accordance with our fundamental principles as free nation
 If we give to the people of the Phil ippines any liberty we ought to give them substantial blessings, real free" dom blessed in the beneficence of right eousness. Now reflect what new value this new state of affairs puts on all the forces of our life as a people, first on the essential principles of our govern l ment and free institutions. These | ought to shine before us with even more Loa It1y Go fn q ne ctitl1ti0Da q are concerned they may require some new forms to conform to the new con- ditions Everything that has in it the power of life must have the power of | adaptation.
 Men sometimes argue that because we have failed in so much to carry out the spirit of our laws at home in our own self government, therefore we are not in | a capacity for larger task and must | fail if we take upon ourselves a greater responsibility and that we will do bet ter at home with new endeavor and fresh | heart to throw ourselves as never be- fore into all the responsibilities and du- ties of citizenship at home. We should | see to it that we have an honest civil service at home..
 "The whole nation is overshadowed with this larger responsibility and the average, the common man, knows that to meet as he would meet his country's he must be better citi- zen. And so this occasion is one of great joy, inspiring the thought that our greatest problems do enable us to appeal with voice more commanding. and, earn estness more strenuous to all that is in our own local government. It seems to me that the occasion with which we are confronted puts an in- creased value on all the needs and forces which may not be allowed to fail in this hour of the nations opportunity. There are some of the vital elements in the fife of the people which we should love md value as never before. The present occasion puts a new moral value on the army and the navy of the United States, such as they have not had for many years past In our history. Those who remember how an army of two and one- half millions of men in few months, brief time passed utterly away from the sight of men and merged and mingled ts clements of manly power in the in- lustrial life and victory of peace which crowned the civil war, they will not be afraid that we will fall down and wor- ,hip any image of power of militarism,