The Portland daily press., 1899-04-10

past ten years there has boon no speciai
increase In tho membership of the
churches in this city. Excepting at the
Mills meeting and the revivsis OF 1894 g,
there has teen no increase In the nen-
Der ship OF the church Ten years AGO
the rs Methodist. Baptist and Conereca-
tional churches In Portland, had 900
msmbcre They had added lust Is to their
mem bership in the past ten ye,rs.
repeat that the conditions existing in
Maine today are exceedingly alarming
The church seems paraiyzed and lawless-
ness is on the increase. Why are the laws
trampled under the fleet Of these privi-
legged fewP A few months ago I saw
your boys go marching down Congress
street on their way to Augusta ready TO
of err their lives for their country. As
they passed me In Monument square
tried TO cheer them on, but my voice
Glove In my throat when thought Of
the great sacrifice these boys were pre-
pared to make for us. And yet we now
read In the papers that there were men
who were SO greedy for gain that they
sold these soldiers Of ours who were bat
Ting for the Tag we all love, meat which
was unfit to eat. Before the war we
needed ships TO enlarge our navy. The
government sent agents abroad to pur-
chase suitable vessels In Europe. Those
agents were preceded by some of our
countrymen who obtained an option on
tn e ships we needed and held them for n
higher price and finally sold them TO US
at an enormous profit Why did men do
this to our soldierss Why did they do
this to us in our needf Because they
were greedy for gain.
Our Sunday has been almost lost for
lust of pleasure and greed for gain. Men
do not engage in this rum business be-
ca use they wish TO wreck homes or cause
sufYering. II the men who sell this
liquor should be brought into this
church before us now. we would find
that some Of them Mt least are omen
hearted men who would frankly tell rs
that they sell liquor because there IL
more money In that business than In any
other. They have greed for gain and
the selling Of liquor Is very profitable
business. Greed for gain and lust for
pleasure IL ut the bottom OF this whole
business Shalt we consent that the con-
stitution OF our state and the laws shall
be tramplsd under foot because OF this
lust of pleasure and greed for Gains
There IL no hope for MS in dealing with
the political parties 1t Is impossible to
make any progress in that way. The
political leaders care onlv to have their
party successful and nothing for the en-
forcement Of the liquor laws. The party
in power by consent practically end orses
| the breaking OF this law. What then Is
the remedy
Men who IRE greedy for gain combine
and appeal to the political leaders for
protection. Our only hope is In unihca-
ton. unite the best elements among the
| citizens of Maine and resort to the same
methods Then we will be recognized by
the political powers. Heretofore we have
not pulled together. The existing con-
ditions today are due to lack of effort and
to q failure to unite. We have gone from
| bad to worse. but there Is enough moral
I - H. - . H. atn1 gDfN
! and united.
This is what the Civic league 10 orga-
nized to accomplish. Sometimes when /
think Of the great work l have set out to
do. my heart goes way down In my
| boots but then ] think God is great and
he will support me. In the past Coo has
| wrung blood ont of our hearts because
the black man. The Declaration OF Inde-
pendence for which we fought with Eng
land. stated that all men were created
equal and should be free" In the face
of that we kept In SLAVERY the black
man God was not dead. and He didn't
round our iron heel on the neck OF the
black man there came the agony of the
six ties which ha,bed this country in
blood. And 1t WAS not until we hal
| freed the black man that this blood
ceasei TO flow. God seemed In some
way to make us purify our country and
| somewhere ahead, don't know how far,
| there is going to be agony as great as that
Of the Civil war, perhaps not, in the
shedding OF blood, but in the agony of
the heart ard misery of the home because
We have permitted the doors of this
great evil to 90 unpublished.
What is the remedy The people are
to vote for whom they please They
can vote for honest men as well AS for
those who are not honest. All officials
must answer to the people. They are
the sovcreigns and creators. That Is
where to begin the battle. So leng as
county attorneys and sheriffs are in
league with the law breakers. SO long
will this state of things exist Why,
you might 60 to the grand jury room
and beat your bands to sbreds again st
Its doors without effect 1t Ia folly
for private Individual to attempt TO
carry ont a public prosecution l have had
experience and have found 1t to be follv
to ATTEMPT anything of this kind. You
have the right to petition, but your Pc
titions will be laughed at.
The only remedy Is to be found at the
ballot box. We mts st make ourselves
felt us political power. In Waterfalls
once q man was nominated for mayor by
a Republican caucus, which was packed
for the purpose. He was not a fits man
for the office and the Civic league went
to the political managers and told them
so They were laughed sS, hut the Demo.
cratic candidate for mayor WAS elected
over the Republican candidate. and now
the managers OF the Waterville Civic
league are consulted regarding the nomi-
nee Of the Republican party.
The Maine Civic league will put these
matters before the people. The church
must gird itself aud take the field. She
is the pioneer and should head this move
ment. The churches of Portland today
have absolutely no influence In political
matters or in forcasting the policy of
the political parties. The league win teach
people to attend to their political duties
and unite in n three.fold effort: To
acquaint themselves with what is re-
quired of good citizen and to inculcats
a reverence for all laws and to bring
about the best possible laws with the
best possible officers to enforce them.
The league viii not go out as prose-
outor, but 1t Will endeavor to bring
about the election Of men who win prose-
cute all violations of the law.
There are mon in every community
who hold their party higher than they