The age-herald., 1900-06-18

optimism, that in catching some glimpse of the possibilities that lie in the lap of opportunity forgets the difficulties and harJlships that must be encountered before the possible gan become the actual. ..
 "The privileges of the times carry with them perils that threaten the civilization of which they are the visible exponents
 '1. The first of these perils to which I call your attention this morning is found in the extension of American sovereignty, across the seas.
 Represents No Political Creed
 q hold no brief for any political party. I am here to represent no political creed. But I would be derelict to my duty if in presenting this theme today I failed to point out the fact that there are problems growing out of the establishment of Amer ican sovereignty across the waters that affect the very fundamentals of constitu-- tional liberty And these problems are yours. The new era of American history has dawned. We may shrink from the new responsibilities it brings but we can not, dare not, shrk them.
 Let us not for a moment say. that these problems may not be wisely solved; that the great institutions of Christianity and civilization built up by this people at such sacrifices are to perish in some great and awful cataclysm.
 I've should hold fast to our faith in the spirit of American citizenship, in our ca- pacity to govern wisely and we'll the new dependencies of our country but let hold this faith only because we have faith in the power and working through moral ideals, and the resolute loyalty of brave men to great principles because we believe also that the present generation of Ameri- ca is not to lose its grasp upon the spiritu- al forces of life, is not to be swept alto gether away from the spirit of the Puritan fathers who came to America seeking not gold but God.
 Spirit of MaterialIsm
 g. "The spirit of materiaism, commercial ism, mammonism, has thrown it's shadow across our civilization, and in many circles of life become we'll nigh dominant. Hun dreds of thousands are lowing down to the bright god of wealth and success, men and women who have determined to succeed, without regard to the means, and have never settled, first of all, what it is that constitutes true success. Before this spirit of materialism it not to be wondered that there has been gradual but terrible widen- ing of the gulf between the rich and the poor In the presence of these evils, whose reality no thoughtful man can question, evils aggravated by the enormous power placed in the hands of individuals by the sudden accumulation of vast fortunes, there are those on these shores hailed as the home of liberty, who have come to regard the very institution of modern civilization as the machinery for plunder; and have learned, even in America, to cry out upon liberty itself as 'mockery, a pretense and a curse.'
 Divorce of Christianity and Patriotism
 3. "The third great peril I shall note this morning is the divorce of Christianity and patriotism. This is in part at least, due to that lawful and righteous divorce of ecclesiasticsm and politics; to the triumph in our country of the principles of civil and religious liberty Chat have been) embed ded in the organic law of the nation.
 Whoever under the guise of Christian civilization strikes at this fundamental principle of true liberty the absolute and irrevocable separation of church and state in America tarnishes the name and furls the flag of Protestantism in dishonor.
 'The pendulum has now swung to the op- posite extreme. It is ecclesiasticism and politics, not piety and patriotism that should be divorced While freedom from the dominion of priestcraft and ecclesias- ticism is one essential element of both civil and religious liberty, a disregard of the application of the principles of the EnSpel to in anarchy or oppression. Respect for the majesty of the law is one of the crying needs of the times. But how can this re- spect be obtained or maintained unless those elected to make or enforce the law themselves obey it? The ermine of the law makers should be as spotless as the ermine of the judge.
 T want to speak frankly here this morning: It seems to me intolerable and we'll nigh incomprehensible that Christian men placed by God to build, and entrusted with the defence of the walls that protect home and country, should make such gulf between their civic and Christian duties as to vote for any man for a posi- tion of public trust who is notoriously cor rupt, or himself violator of the laws which it would be his sworn duty as an officer of the law to enforce. It is a dis grace and a menace to our civilization when men whose lives are rocking with impurity dare to ask for positions of au- thority and trust To elect such men to office is to put a premium upon iniquity at the polls whose deadly influence the laundering of whole codes of morality cannot counteract.
 '1 have thus endeavored to sketch in brief outline some of the problems and perils of the generation to which you be- long.
 Accumulation of Wealth
 Tn the midst of such temptations to acquire wealth without regard to the means of its acquisition, the seductiveness of an ambition that seeks it's qualification