The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-08
STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF
THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC.
Doctor A. T. Wolf Tells of Dangers
That Threaten Free Institu-
lions of the Land.

The Reverend Doctor A. T. Wolf, who Is
at North Presbyterian Church. taking as his
| theme. "rlic Strength and Weakness OF
Our Republic" MS text was from Psalm
the heather: and they Inherited the LABOR
Of the people; that they might observe his
| statutes and keep his laws" He said in
part s-. ~. 90 u..,. ...,,o ,-.u,
| can free Institutions lurking about that It is
Necessary Tor every patriotic American to
stand like wall Cor the defense OF his
county and of his liberties
We stand in the presence Of a command
Ing history. Our forefathers brought with
them to this country their Bible. their
saa fssf They
learned the necessity of liberty for the
gospel and of the gospel for liberty. Had
sfsyrd W;orshiped gold instead Of God. or
would never aavs founded this Republic,
which has proved an asylum for the OPP
pressed of ever? land.
The structure of this government rests
upon several pillars. but the chiefest Of
these is the Bible. Its safety and psrpetui-
ty rest sauarely and firmly upon the word
astonishej and awed by the greatness Of
Inc British Government. asked Queen Vic
torfa the eecret Of Britain's strength and
power She replied by handing him an open
Br1tain's greatness
Another pillar of our national strength
Is the church. which stands for all that is
progressive. educational and enlightening in
science. art. literature and thought God
forbid that the time should ever come when
we shall have union of church and state.
The next pillar is free education, free
from either secular or ecclesiastical con-
troll: Let us say to the atheist and the in
fidel Hands OFF the American public
school Never let the hand Of any church
can Tree institutions. Let US maintain our
public schools with the flag of our coun-
Try , floating over them. and the open Bible
reading of the Bible In the schools is sec
.arian do so for a purpose that Is inspired
by the evil one himself. You might as well
saiS OF sectarian sun. moon, stars. rocks
ana ocean as a sectartan Bible.
-, shH strong pillar in the structure
o. .ne Republic is the free press. AnotheS
; strong support of the Government Is the
whose men of affairs are man Of integrity
may endure the shock Of war for years. Let
confidence be established by the enactment
the country, and this nation will move for
ward to greater prosperity than 1t has
ever before witnessed. The elective fran
strength. 1t Is safer to trust the great mass
of the people than few Statesmen, but
the ballot should be placed under wise re-
ballot he casts is not a safe person with
whom to trust the shaping Of the affairs
OF this great nation. Neither should the
sAoh " uO hCliE Ills VOle. NO man SHOULD De
permitted to have the slightest voice in the
control OF the affairs of this nation, which
has cost SO much blood and treasure, who
is at all tainted with treason or ignorance,
or whose first allegiance Is to some for
eign Power.
The last. but by no means the least, ele-
ment entering into the grandeur Of our
country will be what our homes make IT.
NO state can give to its homes what the
homes can give to the state.
.f3uf the rrofue1oy, pf
the giant strides OF progress which We have
made nave not kept us free from dangers.
There Is the great danger Of our becoming
our. churches and dedicate them to the
Most High, but what II there be no sacred
fire on our affairs? We must have a living.
from the divine presence and protection
with those nations that have forgotten God.
Then there is the grave danger that threat
Never was there time Of such asgrega-
lions Of capital as just now. This is the
reign Of the trust This IS the day Of the
looming UP on the horizon, and OF all the
false gods. Mamro on is the worst It was the
god OF ancient Babylon: It was the god Of
It is fast becoming the god Of the Amer.
lean people, The sin of the world to-day is
the sin of Judas Men do not believe in
tbe sro taeX sell hm The great danger is
wealth and ever-growing poverty The love
Of money has reached point where It has
terrible significance. Rome was heaped with
gold on the eve Of her greatest shame. cad
gold was flowing into the Golfers of Spain
when she fell from the proudest among
nations to the most abject These are warn.
lngs to US that God is not Knocked There
are dangers from the saloon and saloon
power; dangers in the elective franchise !!
bestowed by political chicanery on the low
and vicious and ignorant-men who are |
bought with party cash or the promised !
spoils OF office. and who are driven like cat
tie to the polls and voted like automatons |
There are dancers. too. In our very homes !
guard ana defend them as We may with |