The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-02
FOR RIGHT AND LAW
PREACHERS POSITION SHOWN By
REV. BAsCoM ANTHONY.
THEY STAND FOR GOOD
A RAP AT THE CRITICS of THE
MINISTER'S.

Recent Years-PrOtests VIII Not
Cause This stand to BE Abandoned.
Will BE n sad Day for the Country
when Its Ears Are Shut to the
Eternal Truth-COmpIiments to
Those That Think Preachers win
Hurt state Fair.
.eWoe unto them that call evil good.
and good evir' was the text from
which Rev. Bascom Anthony at Trim
ity Church last night preached SER
mon, showing the position of the min
listers in current affairs. and the duty
OF right thinking citizens to give to
. them their support.
II wish to discuss this text in the
light of recent events" Mr.. Anthony
said. "for within the last two or three
years things have occurred that never
in the history of the country have
happened before, any they are of such
a nature that there is hardly city
or town, or even a village boasting
population of five thousand persons,
where it has not been necessary for
the better element to get together to
see to the proper enforcement of the
law. 1t is a sad state of affairs, but
it is true.
MANY instances have been shown
where those elected for the execution
of the laws not only connive at crime
but get rich by it; where they not only
yet a 'rake-off' as il is called but fat
ten by fostering crime. l am happy to
say that throughout the length and
breadth of this country the preachers
have taken a hand in these matters
and are making fight for right and
decency. This course on their part has,
of course, brought out protests from
certain parties who are fond of Using
the term 'priest-ridden.' and some
have even talked of the cat o. nine
tails These would drive the preachers
back to antiquated subjects. They are
not willing that a preacher should talk
of anything modern, even everyday
living. Well, the preachers are going
to continue just in the line that they
have started.
1.-The ward heeler and the boss poll
tician is the production of the last
twenty-five or thirty years; he is the
creation of modern days. Time was
when each office in this country
was filled by man the people respect
ed; when in order to hold Office he
had to be a man. That time has run
out and by reason of this very state
of affairs it becomes incumbent upon
every individual citizen to rise up and
insist that officers of the law be law
abiding men.
Read the text. 1t rubs out modern
distinctions, even where money is con-
cerned, for moral distinctions are not
of the earth.
There is no man in this country but
win admit that the things that the
t..se le- fe. ,,lro .
world the brighter, better, purer and
happier Right isn't right because the
preacher says so; not even because
God says so; ii is an eternal principle,
il was right before God announced it
as being right. The same statement
applies to wrong.
TT will be sad thing for this eoun-
try when she shuts her ears to these
men who are taking a stand, not for
earthly things. but for eternal truth
the truth of Gods own word. I've
got no respect for your moral Dhiloso-
pliers, that IS those that found their
philosophy upon the so-called nat
ural principle There are too many
standards, and there is nothing back
of them. There is only one rule of
morals, and that is the word of the
eternal God. Ministers having this
authority are better qualified to speak
on morals than are members OF the
medical profession to speak of dis
ease, or those of the legal profession
to speak of law. for there is no su-
preme court to reverse it's own decis-
ions in the case of the pulpit; God
has spoken but once.
1T is not strange that God should
have stopped to pronounce the curse
implied in the text for he knew that
in the world. would be many men that
would dc. evil because there was money
in it. Too many men are asking:
Does it pay instead of is it right
In some places this amount of money
even becomes the standard of citt-
zenship.
These things are just what the
preachers are protesting against, and
yet from many quarters of this very
city are heard protests against the
preachers. Those that object are
afraid that the preachers may inter-
fere with some of their plans, for the
State Fair, and for prize fights. Now
what have the preachers stood for, a
single thing except the enforcement of
the law? Have they asked any man
to go one inch beyond the plain let
ter of the law? Hasn't the constant
earnest plea of the preachers been that
If it's a good law let's enforce it, and
If it's a bad law let's repeal it? Isn't
this so2 II you admit that I'm right
then you put yourself in a mighty bad
light when fighting the preachers.
DO you know what an anarchist is?
He's a fellow that's against the law,
and, therefore, according to the die
tionaries, the fellow that's against the
preachers is an anarchist. If that's
treason make the most of 1t. There Is
no escape from that proposition; any
man that assaults the position of the
preachers is lining himself up with the
law breakers, and is taking a mighty
bad position.
II despise the whole liquor business,
but you have never heard me say, nor
will you hear me say. anything against
those that conduct ii legally. If they
keep within the law I've got nothing
TO say. It's the fellow that's outside
of the law that has been attacked
isn't it a sad admission when fell
lows get uneasy that the preachers will
hurt the State Fair? Isn't it a sad ad-
mission to be made by men that wear
pants-pants and suspenders, not the
short buttoned-on affairs called knick-
erbockers? A sad admission to stand
up and say that their very hope of sue
cess lies in the violation of the law
Right is right and the preachers and a
large number of the best men of the
town are for the right. If a thing is
right let's do it, and if a thing is
wrong let's put it down. They can't
gainsay our position, so let's stand by