The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-02-10
"CLVIC RIGHTEOUSNESS. "
TIMELY ADDR BY S. F. THRASH ER AT DWIGHT PLACE CHURCH,

Many Matters of UnusuaI interest at
 the Present Time i'm this City ConsId-
 ered-Me eeting Under the Auspices oi
 the Brotherhood ofAndrew and Phil
 tp.
 manager of the Law and Order league of Connecticut. addressed the Brother hood of Andrew and Philip at the Dwight Place church last night. The church was well filled and the address, which was a timely one, touching top ics of present and local interest, was closely listened to. The topic was Civic Righteousness" The address was as follows:
 CIVIC RIGHTEOUSNESS
 have no apology to offer for appear ing in a pulpit in advocacy of Civic Righteousness.
 If were to look for a text upon which to base my remarks should have to choose between many For in- stance, Prov. 29-2 reads, When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule the people mourn" Or I might take the words of the Master, which seem to me to demand civic righteous ness: Render unto Caesar the things hat r'c and God The things that are Gods. My topic is Civic Righteousness"
 By civic righteousness I mean, of course, such righteousness as expresses itself in ones attitudes and acts as a citizen. There is devotional right eousness expressing itself in prayer and in acts of worship. There is social righteousness expressing itself in the maintenance of right social relations, There is a business righteousness ex- pressing itself in preserving good faith and honor In business relations. There is a personal righteousness expressing itself in individual restraint, extending to mental processes which would not affect others, but which would affect inward harmony.
 None of these by itself is sufficient, nor all of them together, unless they include civic righteousness, or right conduct as @ citizen Why is the call for civic righteousness imperative at this time?
 First must be named the indifference of good people,
 I am sorry to be compelled to name this, for I am not and never have been a railer against the members of the churches or the acknowledged adher- ents of any good cause. The church is the candelstick for the Light of the World' even though it does not hold the light as high as it should. Good people are the salt of the earth, even though the mass of them would not De hurt by a little more savor. l am no pessnist. I do not believe there was ever an age any better than this and believe that on the. whole the world IS growing better. But every age that has known improvement has received 1t through travail and struggle and trum- pet calls from the prophetic few. There is a good time coming" but 1t is to come because we shall be dissat- isfied with the world we ourselves have made and shall resolve to make a bet ter
 There is a vast amount of practical indifference among the mass of good, well-intentioned, Christian people; keeping personally aloof from the things that are evil, but failing to fall upon the evil things to destroy them; leaving undone the things that ought not to be done, but not doing some very important things that ought to be done; singing in church 70 to be Nothing, | Nothing" and going out into the world | to personify that sentiment; moral | inertia where we should expect to find | practical activity.
 For example, the caucuses, the very labora tories of government, the key | fortresses of civic power and privilege. | are left very largely by such men as I I now address to the tender mercies of f politicians. Very largely, as I have in- timated those critical determ ming . gatherings are left to the control of | men who have selfish interests at stake, axes to grind, fish to fry, plum trees to shake. who believe that public office is private snap, and who are working for their own pocket all the time" Null titudes of ''good" people, laW-abiding people professional people, respectable peoples church people, never go to the caucuses or to the polls, and are not enough interested to know what their rights and privileges are under the law Take case in point. How many of you here present know that new pri- mary law has been passed under which the registrars of voters began last Fri day to record the names of those who shall be privileged to take part in the coming caucuses? How many of you are aware that unless you apply in per- son next Friday or Saturday to these registrars or by letter designating the party to which you belong, or with which you intend to vote at the com ing election, you will be disfranchised as to your right to participate in the next caucus?
 If the decent people of New Haven would make it their business to act promptly in securing their rights under this law the caucuses need not be dom mated by the ward politicians and scheming spoilsmen. Some are disgusted and will have nothing to do with improving politics. This is much as if a man should be disgusted because a dead cat is in his well and should hold his nose and con- +ipuo to drink the water instead of