The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-09-22
UNITARIANS MEET.
Church Conference Addressed
by Carroll ID. Wright.

Atlantic City, N J., Sept 22.-Over
1000 delegates were in attendance at
the opening session of the National Con-
terence of Christian churches today An
address of welcome was made by MAYOR
F. P. Stoy and was responded to by
President Carroll D. Wright, as follows:
There is great deal of discussion at
the present time relative to the supposed
decadence of the church. of church az
tendance, and of a real religious Spirit
cannot assent to the suggestion that
there is any decadence or lessening of d
true religious spirit, taking our com
munity as a whole. There is, to be sure,
great change in the theological
thought of the people. In the half hour
at my disposal 1 cannot discuss this,
nor the mooted question as to church at
tendance, nor the religious spirit of the
age in a pietistic sense, but there seems
to me to be SO many evidences or the
growth of real religious sentiment,
without regard to these other matters
that 1 take this occasion to present
them, and I speak only of our own
country.
The influence of the church must be
acknowledged, whether people attend it
In as large numbers as formerly or not.
There is so much in our life to develop
the highest principles of. right and
wrong, outside of mere church attend
ance, that it is difficult to differenr1ate
accurately. The evidences, thererore,
which occur to my own mind as posi-
tive, emphatic, and conclusive are such
as are drawn from the attitude OF the
public conscience, public action, ana ID
recognition of the great principles which
underlie all religion. without reference
TO UNCONVENTIONAL creeds or theological
distinctions.
The public conscience today is more
acute, more sensitive, than at any time
in the history of mankind. We see this
exemplified in so many directions that 1
feel it is almost a truiSm to repeat the
statement, yet | know there are many
IA n ~ 70 to tn cnr-f
public conscience of today is dull, lacks
SenSitfveneSS. and is not as alive to the
great questions of right and wrong, as
they affect the public, at some for
mer period.
We see the evidence of the truth of
my assertion in the question of crime. 1
think it is the general belief that crime
is largely on the increase; that civiliza-
ton, instead of purifying the public
mind, is leaving it demoralized and more
open to criminal practices to an in
creasing number than formerly; and the
statistics of crime support this conten-
ton. The difficulty is. however, that we
do not stop to distinguish what is crime
today and what was crime 40 or so years
ago: nor do we stop to consider the
question as to the more perfect statistics
of today brought into comparison with
the very imperfect and crude statistics
of half a century ago The statistics
comprehend not only the persistent
crimes but those crimes which have
been established by legislative enact
ment, and increasingly SO. during the
last few years. If we look beneath the
figures shall find that the crimes
that have remained persistently so I'M
der the criminal code during the last so
years have not only increased but have
relatively decreased. This is the true
test.
criminal statistics of so years ago crimes
relative to liquor selling did not appear;
today they constitute large proportion
of such statistics. In one of our COM
monwealths where there has been varied
experience under the liquor laws. it is
found that, while during a period of 20
years the total sentences for all crimes
increased 10 per cent, and for crimes not
including drunkenness and liquor Of
lenses only 20 per cent. the sentences
for drunkenness and other liquor Of
lenses increased nearly 160 per cent, as
against an increase of over so per cent
in the population.
This is a positive evidence of the in
creased sensitiveness of the public con-
science. This new conscience is con-
stantly elevating misdemeanors that
were offenses against individual con-
science into offenses against the pub
lie conscience, and making them pun
isha BILE as crimes. So if we simply
read the statistics of crime, some of our
most staid and worthy commemorative
are on the road to ruin at rapid pace,
but an analysis of the data proves the
contrary. If the public conscience had
not been stimulated by high religious
conception of the rights of the COM
munity and of the development of the
Individual this state of affairs would
not have occurred.
Growing out of crime there comes
penology 1t takes but a very slight
and superficial examination of the sub
ject of the treatment of criminals to
convince any one that this treatment
today can not be compared, with any
Justice whatever, with their treatment
half a century ago. We now believe
that the criminal must be restrained be-
cause of the desire toapunish him. The
old doctrine of the fall of Adam has
been eliminated from pathological
science. and we are dealing with the
criminal as man morally diseased.
| He is the subject Of proper care while