The age-herald., 1899-07-30
Christianity Applied to Government
 WILLIAM J. BRYAH--Z
BY WILLIAM J. BRYAN

S5h4N4G&NsBS4dhbasd7 @eBBN8e38G'8H3@S the ends of government and reducing favor itism to a science threatened the nation with bankruptcy if deprived of control.
 If the prophet Amos were to revisit the earth and witness the increase in tendency upon the one hand and the piling up of immense fortunes upon the other, he might exelaim as he did of old. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fall, making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein?"
 What is the attitude of the Christian to- ward the trust? Can he be monopolist? Can he run a corner in loaves and fishes without breaking the Golden Rule? Will Standard Oil and the Water of Life mix?
 If a trust magnate can purchase religious responsibility by liberal contributions to church expenditures, what proportion of his ill-gotten gains should he surrender in order to atone for the violation of laws, human and divine?
 No church would extend the hand of fel- lowship to a physical giant who occupied a mountain pass and enforced tribute from all who fall into his hands A monopoly does not differ greatly from the giant in method and may be infinitely more potent for evil. Monopoly Is bondage: it unbridles greed and furnishes to avarice destructive weapon. Human nature has not changed much since the days of Pharaoh; the indus trial monarch is as tyrannical as the poiitl- cal monarch. Give to strength an oppor- tunity and oppression will be the result whenever a selfish interest is to be subserv- ed. Can the spirit of the meek and lowly Nazarene be discerned in those who water stock, issue bonds in excess of the value Of the plant drive rivals into bankruptcy by trust methods and then prey upon society at large?
 Conditions have become so alarming that church organizations are beginning to sound note of warning. At the General Synod of the Reform Church held It Iii fin, Ohio, last month the committee on the state of the church reported the following resolution:
 "The danger to be apprehended from eer- tain agencies, which are slowly but surely revolutionizing the entire social fabric by the absorption of the wealth of the country in the hands of a few, the steady enlarge ment of the poor classes of people and the gradual diminution of prosperous ana happy middle class, the hope of every thriV- ing state; the rapid increase and intensif- cation of all those social and industrial agencies which tend to make human life a burden of despair to the many and material paradise to the few-all these things cannot but exert a baleful influence upon and prove a constant hindrance to
  earth"
 The resolutions might with propriety have concluded with the familiar quotation from Timothy: But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil which, while some coveted after; they have erred from the faith and pierce themselves through with many sorrows
 The forcible annexation of the Philippine Islands is defended by some on the ground that our nation is performing a religious duty. While stopping to elaborate the fact that a large number of the Filipinos are al- ready members of one branch of the Christ ian church. it is worth while to inquire whether wars of conquest are in line with Christian precepts.
 Rev. James l.. Darton secretary of the American board of foreign missions, denies that an American protectorate over non Christian countries will aid our mission aries. He says:
 "Hitherto our missionaries have gone to the ends of the earth carrying on their work. and it has never been charged upon them that they were the forerunners of the colonies to be planted, which in turn were to lead to a protectorate from the home country, if not annexation. Missionaries from England Germany and France have been open to these charges, and thereby their influence has been greatly narrowed and thir efforts msinterpreted while our own missionaries have been entirely un- hampered."
 The Christian religion is essentially re- lgion of the heart, and love is it's supreme manifestation. The Kingdom of Heaven has been lkened unto grain of mustard seed, which by its internal, vital force grows into great tree, and to little leaV- en which gradually leavens the whole lump.
 xs,,1r hot 1act ti17x leads us away from the Declaration of h. dependence, away from the constitution and away from the traditions of the past. There are some who even think that our nation is commanded to go forth with the Bible in one hand and the musket in the other, prepared to read the former to those who escape the latter.
 We have been warned against false prophets and it will be our own fault if We are led astray. A test has been given us by which we can distinguish between the spurious and the true. Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. l Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?"
 By their fruit we shall know them. When we are told that religious duty requires us to deprive remote races of the opportunity for self-government, we have a right to
 
 careful to observe their religious duties at home. We cannot expect philanthropy and benevoence to inspire imperialists in their foreign policy if wrong, injustice and special privileges have been the fruits of their do- nestle policies. If they have sacrificed others for their own benefit here, are they likely to make sacrifices for the benefit of others abroad? Will they be more consider ate of subjects than they have been of elti- l zens? Or is it the enchantment of distance that transforms selfshness into altruism? Lincoln was once asked whether he thought the Lord was on his side, and he replied that he was anxious to be on the Lords side. We cannot change eternal principles to suit our own convenience or to advance our own plans, but we can strive with singleness of purpose to know the truth and when we find that which We be- lieye to be the truth we can adhere to it.
 Let us not mistake temptation for oppor- tunity. The sight of new territory may be alluring. the glory of an empire may be fascinating, but the price demanded is too great