The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-19
MINISTER TALKS OF
GRAFT ANDGRAF TIERS
Rev. S. G. Smith Advises the
Christian Young Man to
Go Into Politics.

at would make for municipal purity
and cleanness if half of the moral laws
on our statute books were repealed.
was one declaration made by Rev. s.
G.. Smith at the Peoples church last
evening in the course of his discourse
on the topic: Sunday School Poll
tics Versus Graft and GrafterS."
For his text Mr.. Smith went to the
EpiStles of ST Paul, and at the outset
of his sermon he directed the attention
of his hearers to the respect which the
apostle had throughout his writings,
manifested for the civil law and the
state government, although the govern
ment of the Roman empire was not
such as to inspire unqualified APP
prevail.
I'VE have" said DR.. Smith, "come to
regard the state as the widest, the
of all human institutions, and the pow
er of the state is constantly growing.
The church recognizes the laws of the
state in all things. Under the old
English law, a man, in his own house,
could do much as he pleased, but it is
not so now. One by one his rights
have been taken from him, and even
in his own home he might govern him.
self by the ideas of the community.
"There has recently been a great up
heavel in state affairs throughout the
entire United States, and men who
have held the highest positions have
been put down from their exalted
places, and many of them even sent to
prison to be punished for thei rmis-
deeds.
Other Cities May Be Corrupt.
'"These things exist not only in Min
neapolis, in Chicago, in st. Louis, in
Cincinnati or in PhiladeIphia-those
are the places that have been heard
from. The number of convictions does
not necessarily show the extent to
which crime exists. It merely indi-
Gates the relative activity of those in
trusted with the enforcement of the
law.
"The fact that one city has a large
number Of persons convicted of drunk
enness, for example, and another city
a much smaller number, does not be-
speak superior tendency to sobriety
among the citizens of the latter place.
1t may mean merely that the officers
of the former city are more vigilant-
We cannot tell because there have been
no officers convicted of grating and
bribery in certain of our cities. that
there has been no such thing there and
that, municipality, those place are pure
and clean.
Therefore, when a popular magazine
publishes The Shanelessness of Min
neapolis,' I say: No. rather the virtue
of Minneapolis that will uproot these
things and put stop TO them.
Il do not say that all men in politics
are impure and dishonest. In my time
We have had quite a procession of diff
ferent classes of politicians. There
were the carpet-haggers, the foreigner,
the mugwump and the ideal st, and per
haps other distinctive classes, and
among them all were 'grafters.'
Defines a "Grafter."
''The CRATER is a man who goes into
politics for what there is in it for his
own profit, and he does not, in all cases,
work directly for money.
Gould Christian man go into poll
tics? Well, perhaps he could, if he did
not emphasize his Christianity too
strongly. ~ 80 'eNet s+f
s''Could the politician and the Chris
tan unite and make a common cause?
That thing should be possible. There
should be a combination of common
sense and principle in politics.
'"The Sunday school politician is fire.
quently sneered at, and not without
some cause. The Sunday school poll
tician is like horse with good legs and
bad lungs; he can go first-rate quar-
ter of mile, but he doesn't last. When
he finds what he has to contend with
he gives out.
ut is worth while in considering
| graft to find out whence comes the
CRATER There are two kinds-those
who graft upon those above them and
those who graft upon those below
them. There are upon our statute
books certain laws which it is we'll
known are not enforced-that the au-
thoritieS do not intend shall be en-
forced-but that permit of opportunt-
ties for the levying of blackmail upon
the lower world. 1t is in the enactment
of those laws that the puritan and the
scoundrel join hands and come forth
smiling upon the stage together. The
puritan has satisfied his conscience,
and the seoundreI sees his opportuni-
ties. 1t is time for a little plain speak
ing. Let us repeal all the laws we do
not intend to enforce. 1t would make
for municipal purity and cleanness if
half the moral laws On our statute
books We're repealed.
Laws Help CRATER.
eff there were no law on the subject
the CRATER could not say to the gambler
or to the numerous other of the lower
world: If you don't pay me we will pull
you.
"Then there is the business mans graft
The business man does not get money
he gets it. Almost any of the different
groups of business men in this city could
ISiI you now LuuCtt 1t WOulQ cost TO get
piece of business through the city coun-
Gil, or the legislature, and there are men
sitting before me tonight who know of
those things.
Why do these business men pay the
! money? Because they expect to get more
than the CRATER gets out of it. Would
they do this if they did not expect to
profit by it.; do we hear of criminal codes
being put through by the use of cash?
This condition we can only overcome
when the business men are willing to lose
money rather than be bIed, and when We
have come to see that the poor, creature
who takes the money is respectable be-
side the good citizen. the banker or the
railroad man who buys him.
Need of Christian in Politics.
THE Christian man needs to go into
politics. There never was a better time
for the Christian young man than now.
He must put intelligence into it, and he
must put conscience into it. He must
take into politics what he thinks about
In his prayers. There is a chance for a.
| modern martyrdom right here in st. Paul
any day, and as holy martyrdom as was
ever visited upon those devoted men of
THE European countries have cleaner
government than we, for they have learn