The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-10-01
A RETURN TO FIRST PRINCIPLES

A RETURN TO FIRST PRINCIPLES
Minneapolis Journal: Since the
sudden, awful, binding blow by which
this nation was stricken through the
assassination of President Mckinley,
there has been a very notable change
in the tone of the newspaper press of
the country on the subject Of the re-
lation of the nation and individuals
to God as the moral governor of the
universe. Newspapers which have
rather prided themselves upon their
lifting skepticism and contempt for
what many hold sacred, have been
subdued and disposed to recognize
that the calamity which SO suddenly
removed the head of the richest and
most powerful nation on the earth
had a meaning which must be inter-
preted n could not safely be evaded.
In the very height of a national pros
perity of which the nation had hardly
dreamed and which is bringing untold
wealth and dominant influence to this
nation, the land was filled with weep
ing and mourning and turned from it's
material idols t6'the living God.
During the latter half of the century
recently closed, the tremendous pro-
gress of the human race has turned
the heads of men and the disposition
has been. to exalt themselves to the
quality of Deity, achieving, control
ing. Even science has gravitated from
it's legitimate field and become spec
ulative and prolific of metaphysical
theories, postulating a First Cause
absolutely not u~nknowable, or insist
ing upon a mechanical theory of the
universe, by which mere automatic
mechanics, becomes the motive force
and God is ruled out of his own uni
verse. Or, the ~rationalistic skeptic-
ism which has taken possession of
many pulpits, aspires to reconstruct
the Deity and eliminate the super
natural from the scriptures, remand.
ing to the domain of fable all teach.
ings therein pointing to divine inter.
position in human affairs and CHASING
them with the beliefs of an age of
ignorance, %credulity M superstition.
Or, the tendency takes form, not of
an assault upon the supremacy of
God in the universe, but presenting
him as a Deity too amiable to en-
force his own moral laws and over
looking the sins of men. The whole
tendency is to eliminate the idea of
mans direct responsibility for his &C
tions to God. Your nihilist and your
anarchist have decided to leave God
out of all human calculations. They
reject the idea of God. They have
adopted the teachings of the German
philosopher who said: when l look
ed up to the Unreasonable universe
for the divine eye, there glared down
upon me an empty, black, bottomless
eye socket, and eternity lay upon
chaos and Illuminating it," Czolgosz
is a type of this class. Nihilism and
anarchism are twin products of the
"hottomless eye socket" theory. A
good many other people who shrink
from the names "nihilist' or "anar.
chist" are on the way thither through
the collapse of their faith in a uni
verse-controlling God to whom they
are responsible. The hold loosened
upon God, men are ready to listen to
the startling formulate Of skepticism
based on mere unverified hypothesis
and gradually accept them as demon
strated truths.
God does not leave the world to
be preyed upon by unbelief and anar-
chy, it's product. He has spoken to
this nation to call it back to a O
milton of his just claims as the SUI
preme directing and governing force,
and to the recognition of lawful, con-
stituted human authority out of in
subordination and defiance of law and
he has called a halt upon the process
Of dereligioning the political and Soc
ial life of this country-a process
the existence of which few will have
the hardihood to deny, and which is
undermining the integrity of the
great republic.
This is nc pessimism. 1t is deplor-
able truth, and the national safety
lies in continued recognition of God
as the moral governor of the universe.
and the bringing of the children and
youth of the nation more under eth
ical teaching which does not studious-
1y exclude the idea of God and human
responsibility to him. There is no
neutral ground to take on this sub
ject, for the welfare of the nation and
it's feality to God are so welded to-
gether that they cannot be separated.