The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-10-27
PROBLEMS OF THE CENTURY
Discussed at Friends Church by
BENJAMIN Trueblood, of Boston.

BENJAMIN TrueblOod, OF Boston.
Benjamin Trueblood, of Boston, one OF
the delegates of the New England Yearly
Meeting of Friends to the Five-Year Meet
ing of the society being held in this city,
preached the night sermon at the First
Friends Church, Alabama and Thirteenth
streets, yesterday. Mr.. Trueblood is now
secretary of the American Peace Society.
with headquarters in Boston, and to this
society he devotes all of his time. The
work of the society is to secure the dis
armament of the nations of the earth, and
is prosecuted from the Boston office by
offers of service in arbitration, whenever
there is any trouble likely to arise between
nations.
Mr.. Trueblood represented the American
Peace Society at the conference held at
The Hague, and is a member of the Inter-
national Peace Bureau now maintained in
Berne. Switzerland. He is also a member
of the international Law Association. of
London Mr.. Trueblood was for number
of years president of Penn College, of Iowa.
The subject on which , Mr.. Trueblood
Problems of the Twentieth Century which
the Christian Church Is Called Upon to
Solve" He. spoke for more than an hour
in a clear, convincing, forcible style The
sermon. Mr.. Trueblood classes the four
| great problems Of the century as the tenn
perance question, the industrial problem.
| the race problem and the problem of the
| abolition of war.
In describing the leading characteristics
| of these problems the speaker said that
| ture OF each.
THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION.
The temperance question was raised by
| the prevalence of drunkenness and vice.
! the result of excessive drinking of strong
and poisonous liquors, he said. That the
| United States is rapidly becoming as in
| temperate as some of the older European
| countries Mr.. Trueblood declared to be a
| fact The drinking habit Is growing and 1t
is the duty Of the churches to use their
| put to the liquor evil by appealing to the
| civic pride of citizens of the larger COM
munities. Mr.. Trueblood said. and by the
| action of Christians who realize the stua-
ton in appealing to the lawful and right
| eous citizenship to demonstrate against the
| licensing of the evil
In leading up to the discussion of the
| four problems Mr.. Trueblood, taking a text
| from Revelation, spoke of the two-fold
| aspect of the work of the church, the in
| ward personal work of the members and
the outward social work for the benefit of
| mankind. He spoke of the power of God
to the individual and the moral force to re-
| constitute and govern the organizations Of
| men. The social economic and political
organizations were all alluded to as recep-
| tive of the influence of God. He spoke of
| salvation as being a cosmic process: that
| the salvation of man has been ordained
| by his Maker and Is a contamination of a
| perfectly arranged plan of God. Mr.. True
! blood said that individual salvation in it's
| largest sense cannot be completed until
| society in its customs and institutions is
| saved.
Returning to the liquor problem, Mr..
| Trueblood declared that the one solution
| Is the total abstinence OF all Christian peo-
| pie from the use of any liquor whatsoever.
| The churches should declare that IL is the
| duty of men and women TO abstain from
| liquor and should see that they do abstain
| Christianlike manner to endeavor to
| stamp il out The destruction of the saloons
of the country and putting an end to the
| of the church work, he said. 1.-The men,
| bers of the church should use every prac-
tiesbie , means at hand educational. social
| and political, Tor the destruction of this
gigantic iniquity.' said Mr. Trueblood.
INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM.
The stand which the church should take
on the industrial problem should be based
on the following facts. Mr.. Trueblood said
1T should be accepted and believed that
manhood and womanhood are above all
considerations of profit and wealth, and
this belief made the basis of business deal
| ing. Wealth and power have right to
| take advantage of poverty and weakness
TO promote their ends, and Christians
| should see mat tney DO not seek Sucn
| right. 1t is the duty of those who have
/ attained 10 the comforts which superior
opportunity or intelligence gives 10 aid
those lower down to rise.
''In the relations of employer and employe
the principles of brotherhood and brotherly
sharing and mutual service should pre-
| vail - Industrial war is wrong from
all points of view, and arbitration should
be employed In the settlement of all differ
ences where direct friendly negotiation
fails Industrial tyranny and indus
trial slavery ought not TO be permitted by
the State"
In discussing the attitude which tn.
church has taken on the race question Mr.
Trueblood declared that these truths should
be always present In considering the cues
ton: That God has made of one blood al
races: that all races are therefore unites