The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-11-29

any consideration be more significant
 and emphatic than the characters of
 the present chief magistrates of the na- tton, the state and the city? Remem-
 bering that all these political organiza-
 tions are subject not only to all the ex- | igencies of partisan manoeuvering, po-
 litical history and theory, but also to | the unaccountable exigencies of crimi-
 nal assault, it Is indeed gratifying that 1 as people we should find ourselves not
 only unembarrassed by the elevation of bad or incompetent men to positions of l chief authority, but that In all these po- | sitions we should find by the natural
 order and course of events men of transparent honesty and conspicuous ability. The people can look upon these | representative men and not be ashamed. We are not afraid to trust
 them, and we have the best of reasons for believing that they are acting open- ly and honestly.
 We have a name and character for strenuousness on the ethical side, and
 we are not afraid lest he may lose his head or his heart. We have young
 governor who found waiting at the
 threshold of his office a severe moral
 test of political policy. He did not hag-
 gle or hesitate. He met the issue
 squarely and openly. His answer did
 not look in the directions of the winds
 and the currents, but was distinctly
 ethical, and fit to be repeated in the
 home, the church and the school We
 have a mayor who brought both eXpe-
 rienee and integrity to the rescue of
 the city at time when ethical in
 stincts were of particular value for the
 reading of the compass and steering the
 ship out of the shoals When these
 men have occasion to utter a proclama-
 tion for day of special prayer, or
 thanksgiving to Almighty God, the
 Christian community does not suffer
 that very sensation as from words spoken by dead lips,
 It may be said that under our form of
 government these things are the least that could be expected of our chief
 magistrates; yet it is needless to say that it is type of virtue which has not always been exemplifled among them in the past, and is not likely to be always in the future. But the conditions are odSil ti.ol we dlG lluW ldNOIcu III liiiS respect, and nothing can do more to keep it so than a due appreciation of the importance of this fact and a frank expression of that appreciation. This is no place for the eulogy of public men even if it could be done with discrimi- nation and good judgment It is, how ever, an occasion when the Christian conscience of the community may prop erly voice itself in approval or disap- proval of the general conduct of it's public servants. For as a people we stand before God this day in 6 peculiar sense. and we have set for ourselves the task of giving formal expression to the best sentiments of grateful appreci- ation that we have.
 Again we may note that the princi- pie of ethical openness which charac- terizes American life has now world wide significance which it has never before attained. The fact that as na- tion we have spoken in Cuba, in the Philippines and in China, commands the worlds attention to see what sort of voice this is which is not added to the council of nations. It has not in all cases been as clear in its ethical tone as some of us could have wished Yet, considering our complex people and government, it was probably as little mingled with undertones as we could expect. Let us be glad and thankful that in that national voice an ethical note was distinctly heard. That is a new note in the worlds council, and one which can never again be silent Long after the Maine with it's precious cargo lay silent in the depths. long after the cries of our martyrs were hushed in Pauting-fu with the anger they evoked, still the quiet, firm voice of the nation was heard, and it is speaking yet, saying to oppression, Tn the name of humanity, hands offs' saying to ir- peoples, Tn the name of God, let there be peace"
 The same voice has become familiar in the worlds diplomacy for the health of the nations. In the past internation- al diplomacy has been a synonym for walking in craftiness' with "the rid len things of shame" But we have ev- cry reason to congratulate ourselves as | a nation, and to believe our honored | secretary of state when he says, as he | did in his recent speech in New York: |
 ''I can say without hesitation that we have generally told squarely what we | wanted, announced early in negotiations | what we were willing to give, and al- | lowed the other side to accept or re- feet our terms. We have been met by the representatives of other powers in the same spirit of frankness and sin ,erity.
 "The comparative simplicity of our diplomatic methods would be matter 1f necessity if it were not of choice Secret treaties, reserved clauses, pri- 5ate understandings, are impossible to IS. No treaty has any validity until atfied by the senate; many require the ,ction of both houses to be carried into fleet. If we are not permitted to boast of what we have lone, we can at least say word about what we have tried to do, and the prin- 'iples which have guided our action. The briefest expression of our rule Of conduct is, perhaps, the Monroe doc rine and the Golden rule. With this imple chart we can hardly go far vrong."
 From this point in the worlds histo- y it is not possible for us to estimate he good consequences which must fol- ow, when a nation as great as ours in- reduces this element into it's diploma y and exemplifies the principle by it's wn initiative and it's own aggressive