Evening journal., 1901-09-30


they have encouraged 2awlessness in
their employees By buying up the
powers Of government and using them
for their own selfish ends they have
weakened public confidence in our Gov
ernment They must be taught that
they cannot with impunity buy votes
.corIupt LEGISLATURES and break Jaws.
We shall never be safe until rich as
we'll as poor have learned that the
powers of government are too sacred
to be trifed with and too precious to
be sacrificed to private or corporate
greed for gain Political purity is es-
sential to the preservation Of our ma
tion's honor, yes, of its very life.
Finally many of our people are ir-
religious and therefore are not good
citizens The two things, religion and
good citizenship, so together. They
cannot be divorced nor exist long
apart. 'Thepowers that be are ordain-
cd of God;' when a man refuses to
obey God be will soon begin to be dis
! obedient to the civil authority An
archy is simply atheism and irreligion
reduced to their lowest terms. What
! is an anarchist? He is one who recog-
nizes no civil power which he is bound
to obey. no law-giver, no judge, no au-
thority outside himself And what is
an atheist? He is a misguided man who
acknowledges no Divine Law-giver,
Ruler and Judge. Inhdelity, therefore,
is simply anarchy carried up into the
domain of religion, and ararchy is
simply atheism brought down into po-
llitical and social life. In their essence
and spirit, as well as in their evil re-
suits. the two things are identical.
This is a lesson which the American
lpecp,e have got TO learn. No doubt
one of Gods purposes in letting this
calamity come upon us is to teach us
this lesson. Our people must be made
Intelligent, they must be made moral,
but above all. they must be brought
under the e,evating and purifying in
= fluences of religion, If our national
honor and existence are to be pre-
served Insofar as they become ire
ligious. they are treading the down
ward path which leads to savage an
archy.
"The chief necessity for the preser-
walton of our national greatness is
that we obtain a high standard of pub
Develop a high type of American char
acter. and you do away with the dan
gers that threaten us 1t is not COM
mercial prosperity that we most need.
That will only wreck and ruin us, if
we make it our chief end and aim.
What we need most Is character. Ele-
vate all our people to high type of
Christian citizenship. and our nation
will be truly great. The poet was per-
ectly right in his definition of national
greatness. and we may well lay to
heart his weighty words:
4" NVhat constitutes a State?
} Not high raised battlements or Ia
bored mound;
: Thick wall or mOated gate;
= Not cities proud with spires and tur-
rets crowned;
: Not bays and broad armed ports
Where. laughing at the storm, rich
b navies ride;
Not starred and spangled courts,
! Where low-browed baseness watts
perfume to pride;
No. Men, hlgh-minded men,
With powers as far above dull brutes
endued
n forest. brake, or den.
r As beasts EXCEL cold rocks and BRAN
bles rude:
p Men who their duties know,
But know their rights, and knowing
dare maintain;
% Prevent the ,ong-aimed blow,
3 And crush the tyrant while they rent
the chain.
These constitute a State
"The true greatness Of our lat
President lay, net in his share in bring
! ing material prosperity to our land
not in his successful conduct Of 4;
b great war. not in his triumph Of di
plomacy and finance. It lay in hi
: sold and upright Christian manhood
4 It is this. as exhibited on the battle
e field. in the halls Of Congress, in tn
3 council chamber. in the Presidential
p chair. In the home. and on his death
a bed. which has won the confidence an'
q admiration of the world His rea
4 greatness consisted not SO much Il
4 what he said or in what he did, as il
n what he was. The same is true of on
r national greatness. It will depend upol
n our national character. If we can in
z. duce the American people to attaii
n that high plane Of Christian life an
d conduct upon which our martyre'
0 President lived and moved. our ma
d tional greatness viii be abundantl
n secure"