The Newtown bee., 1901-09-27

be diminished. But remember this, the evil is here amongst us already. The three assassins of our three mur- dered Presidents were all born on our own American soil What does this mean? It means that
 OUR AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP ITSELF IS
 CONTAMINATED.
 1t means that the conscience of American citizens is scared.
 Most of all we must look at ourselves. Look at the freedom with which we have allowed each other to criticise and denounce and defame those high in position and honor. Look at the unrestrained sensationalsm of much of the public press. Look at the in- decent advertisements found in maga- zines and newspapers. Look at the general lack of respect to everything established, office, law, age, even re- llgion and God Himself. Look at the introduction and adoption of the Con- tinental Sunday with it's pleasure seek ing but without it religious restraints. Look at the ways in which the leisure class invent unique methods of entertainment, look at the strain ed relations between capital and labor, between employer and en- ployed, involving sometimes so many thousands of workingmen that the whole nation would be crippled in it's business unless some speedy settle ment were found by mutual conces- sions on both sides; "think in our day of elective government how men have come to think that we elect our rulers and therefore they are not ordained of God, and how we have come to think that God is not our ruler unless we elect Him so to be;' look at the habits of men who attend a class of theatres which they themselves deem not suitable for their wives and sisters and daughters: look at the way in which men and women fritter away their precious time in the indulgence of luxury and the enjoyment of ease; look at the readiness with which men and women ut the affairs of daily life before the claims of religion; look at the alarming increase of divorce upon trivial and unscriptural grounds, lead ing to marriage after divorce, con- trary to the Word of God and disci- pline of this church, bringing the family into confusion; look at the loss in large measure of the old idea of the home and parental authority and tilial obedience therein; look at the freedom which over-indulgent fathers and mothers allow to their sons and daughters to go where they will and when they will and with whom they will, without the safeguards sanction ed and required by high public opinion and necessary conventionality, so that it is not any wonder that so many young men have lost forever their per- sonal purity and many a young woman's name has an interrogation mark after it. Some of these things are enough to make the angels weep. All of these things constitute a heavy indictment against our age and people for political and soclal sins.
 Such is the emphatic call of God or this sad and solemn occasion to the people of this free America to open their eyes to see their own sins and 1 shortcomings, to awake from their slumbering and indifference, and tc rise to nObler living and greater self sacrifice and truer religion realize in short, here in this favored land the Fatherhood of God and the brother hood of man. Brethren, the head of the nation lies dead but the republic lives on, and 'the Lord God omnipo tent reigneth.''
 "CHRISTIAN RULERS AND MAGIS- 1 TRATES.'
 A SERMON BY REV o. o. WRIGHT 1 PREACHED IN ST JOHNS CHURCH l SANDY HOOK. SEPTEMBER l3. 19O1 ! Text, Romans l3: 3 (R. V), 'For rulers are | not d terror to the good work. but to the evil ; l The attempt to murder President Mckinley, last week, in the midst ot throngs of admirng citizens, rejoicing