Arizona republican., 1902-11-27
..ood Governs in the Affairs of Men"

.tUod Governs in the AIfairS CT Meh'
 If may be. as occasionally claimed that Thanksgiving day is losing it's significance for the multitude. and that the tendency is toward making 1t pecu- liarlv a holiday for sports and toWaru the exclusion of the devotional spirit which prompts man to give thanks to the Almighty for the blessings of lie We doubt. however, whether the masses are becoming less religious III the true sense A loOsentng of the tles of orthodoxy does not mean, necessar- ilv. q lessening faith in Heavenly Father, and a fondness for healthful ,anes does not imply a lack of rever- ence for holy things, or an absence o1 thankfuIness for heavenly care.
 In reality, the American people ap- pear each year to observe ThanAsglvins more completely than ever beiore' ana ii is noteworthy that the cynicism for which this age is said to be distin- guished never undertakes to cheapen the day or ridicule the motives upon which this strictly American holiday IS founded. Indeed. it is safe to say that if it were possible to arrive at the popular view, it would be found that the belief in God is substantially uni versal. and that there is unanimous approval of the official policy of setting aside this date for thanks to the Su- preme Being for His blessings. In this respect there has been no change in the current of popular thought since the early days of the republic.
 Many of the founders of the govern meLt. notably such men as Washing ton. Franklin and Jefferson, were far from being orthodox in their beliefs. Yet. these men were as children in their implicit belief that God directly governs in the affairs of men. Addie- pateG atheists have made much of the fact that Franklin, who unquestionably had the greatest intellect of the revolu- tiOnary period, did not subscribe to any creed. and they have attempted to show that he was without belief on religious questions. The truth is, that there was no more devout spirit than his in all the great cOncourse of pa triots who framed the constitution. Thanksgiving proclamations of the present day follow so closely the ideas expressed by Franklin in the cOnstitu- tional convention on the subject of divine guidance in human affairs, that il is worth while on this occasion to quote from Madison's secret journal of the constitutional debates. According to Mir Madison, Dr. Franklin said:
 MT. President: The small progress we have made after four or five weeks close attendance and continued reason ings with each other-our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ayes-is, methinks, a melan- choly proof of the imperfection of the human understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wis dom. since we have been running about in search of it. We. have gone back to ancient history for models of gov ernment, and examined the different forms of those republics which. having been fOrme1 with seeds of their own dissolution, now no longer exist. And we have viewed modern states all around Europe. but find none of their constitutions suitable to our ciTcum- stances.
 Tn this situation of this assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to dis tinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened. sir. that we have not hitherto once thought of hUmbly apply ing to the Father of lights, to illumi-
 
 ginning of the contest with Great Brit ain, when we " ere sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were en- gagged in this struggle must have oD- served frequent instances of a super intending Providence in our favor. To that kind Providence We owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of esta blishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?
 ."I have lived, sir. a long time. and the longer I live the more convincing prOofI l see of this truth-that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured sir, in the sacred writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it I firmly believe this: and I also believe that without His concur ring aid. we shall succeed in this po- l!tiCal building TO better than the builders of Babel. We shall be divided by our little local interests; our pro- jects will be confounded. and We our selves shall become -apTcach and by-word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter. from this unfortunate instance. despair of establishing governments by human