The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-27

had to possess the spirit OF the martyrs:
but not OF martyrs who could merely SUI
fer. not OF martyrs who could oppose only
passive endurance 10 wrong. The pioneer
preachers werred against the forces OF
spiritual evil with the same fiery zeal and
energy that they and their fellows showed
in the conquest of the rugged continent.
They had In them the heroic spirit, the
spirit that scorns ease If IL must be pur-
chased by failure 70 Go ,, duty, me h spirit
deavo- If the goal TO be reached is really
worth attaining.
CRITICISM UNMERITED.
Great is our debt 10 these men and scant
the patience we need show toward their
critics. At times they seemed hard and
narrow 70 those whose training and sur
roundings had saved them from similar
temptations; and they have been criticised.
as all men. whether missionaries. soldiers.
explorers or frontier settlers, are criticised
when they go forth TO do the rough work
that must inevitably be done by those who
act as the first harblngers, the first her.
aids of civilization in the worlds dark
places. II is easy for those who stay at
home in comfort, who never have 10 see
humanity in the raw, or to strive against
the dreadful naked forces which appear
clothed, hidden and subdued In civilized life
1T is easy for such TO eriticise the men
roundings, make ready the way for the
higher life that is TO come afterwards; but
let US all remember that the untempted ard
the effortless should be cautious In pass
ing too heavy Judgment upon their brethren
who may show hardness. who may be
guilty of shortcomings. but who neverthe.
less do the Great deeds by which mankind
advances. These pioneers OF Methodism
had the strong, militant virtues which go
TO the accomplishment OF such great DEEDS.
Now and then they betrayed the shortcom-
ings natural 10 men OF their type; but their
shortcomings seem small indeed when we
place beside them the magnitude OF the
work they achieved.
And now friends, in celebrating the won
derful growth of Methodism. in rejoicing at
the good Ii has done 20 the country and TO
mankind, need hardly ask body like this
to remember that the greatness OF the faI
thing IL they use il only as an excuse Tor
inaction instead of as a spur to effort for
noble aims. speak to you not only as
citizens. The pioneer days are over We
now all of US form parts of great civilized
Nation. with complex industrial ana SO
good and for evil. The instruments with
which, and the surroundings In which, we
work, have changed UNNECESSARILY from
what they were in the days when the rough
backwoods preachers ministered to the
moral and spiritual needs of their rough
backwoods congregations. But II we are 10
succeed the spirit in which we do our WORK
must be the same as the spirit in which
they did theirs. These men drove FORWARD
and fought their way upward TO success pc
cause their sense of duty was IN .neir
hearts, in the very marrow of their bones.
1t was not with them something 10 De con-
sidered as a mere adjunct TO theology.
standing separate and apart from tneir
daily life. They had ii with them week
days as well as Sundays. They old not oi-
vorce the spiritual from the secular. Tney
did not have one kind of conscience tor one
side of their lives and another for announcer
DUTY OF THE CITIZEN.
we must have the same spirit in U.S. We
must be absolutely practical. OF course.
and must face facts as they are. The
pioneer preachers of Methodism could not
have held their own for fortnight IL
they had not shown an intense practical
ity of spirit, IL they had rot possessed the
broadest and deepest sympathy for, and
understanding of. their fellow-men. But
in addition to the hard. practical. common
sense needed by each of US in life, we
must have a lift toward lofty things or we
shall be lost, individually and collectively
as a nation. Life is not easy, and least
of all Is il easy for either the man or the
nation that aspires to do great deeds. In
| the century opening the play OF the III
fnitely far-reaching forces and tendencies
bids fair to be even ffercer in it's activity
than i'm the century which has just closed.
and fine moral sense show themselves
weaklings; If they possess only that clois-
tered virtue which shrinks shuddering from
contact with the raw facts of actual life; III
they dare not go down into the hurry
burly where the men of might contend Tor
the mastery; if they stand aside from the
pressure and conflict; then as surely as
the sun rises and sets all of our great
material progress, all the multiplication OF
the physical agencies which tend for our
comfort and enjoyment, will go for naught
nd hQC0ma
sham and mockery.
IF we are to do as i believe we shall and
will do, If We are to advance in broad hu,
mainly. in kindness, in the spirit OF
brotherhood, exactly as We advance in our
conquest over the hidden forces of nature
it must be by developing strength in virtue
and virtue in strength. by breeding and
| training men who shall be both good and
strong. both gentle and valiant-men who
scorn wrongdoing and who at the same
| strength to strive nightly for the right
| Wesley said he did not intend to leave al
| the good tunes to the service OF the devil
He accomplished so much for mankind be-
cause he also refused to leave the stronger
| manlier qualities to be ayailed of only ir
| the interest of evil. The church he founded
has throughout its career been church
| has known no distinction of persons. II
| has been a church whose members, IL true
to the teachings of its founder. have sought
| for no greater privilege than to spend and
be spent in the interest of the higher life
who have prided themselves. not on shirk
ing rough duty, but on undertaking IL and
| carrying it 10 a successful conclusion.
II come here tonight to greet you ant
/ to pay my tribute to your past because
| you have deserved well of mankind. be-
| cause you have striven with strength and
| courage to bring nearer the day when peace
and Justice shall obtain among the peoples
| of the earth
At the conclusion of his address the
| President was heartily applauded. The
hymn See How Great a Flame Aspires'
was then sung. During the singing Presi
| dent Roosevelt retired from the hall.
On leaving the meeting at Carnegie Hal
| President Roosevelt was saluted by Capt
| Schmittberger, In command OF the police
| detail. The President stopped. shook tn.
| captains hand and after a few words IN
| an undertone entered his carriage and was
| driven to the University Club. accompanied
| by Secretary Loeb. Surgeon General Rixey
| and Commander Cowles, escorted as before
by mounted police. The presidential party
| left for Jersey City at midnight.
| The train bearing President Roosevelt
| left Jersey City at 12:45 a. m. on the re.
| turn to Washington.