Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-16
TALKED TO OHURCHMEN
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AT SERV-
ICE LAST NIGHT.
Holds Informal Reception at Grace Re-
formed Church After Mid-Week
Prayer Meeting.

President Roosevelt was present last
evening at the regular midweek PRAYER
meeting of the Grace Reformed Church. on
10th street between Rhode Island avenue
ana street northwest, of which he is a
member. When the services were over he
delivered a brief address to the members
OF the congregation and the Sunday school,
He also held an informal reception before
the meeting broke up, shaking hands with
everybody present.
Sometime ago the President expressed to
the pastor, the Rev. j. NJ Schick, his desire
to meet his fellow-members of the church.
and last evening was set for the occasion,
the pastor sending out Invitations to all the
members to be present. AS a result the
edifice was filed to OVERLOOKING The Presi-
dent arrived during the service unattended
save by his colored valet, and took his seat
in his pew.
AT the conclusion of the prayer service
the pastor introduced the President who
spoke follows:
DR.. Schick and my friends and neigh
bors and fellow-members of this church,:
AS the doctor has said. l first asked for
this privilege and the doctor kindly ar
ranged that it should take place. 1 wanted
to have the chance of saying to you how
very greatly l have enjoyed meeting and
Worshipfng with you Sunday after Sunday
and how l have appreciated the compan-
ionship with you. When 1 was still gov
ernor, after l had been elected Vice Presi-
dent, the doctor wrote that this was the
only Reformed Church in Washington, and
that he thought he could claim me as a
parishiOner. 1t has meant a great deal to
me to be able to come down here Sunday
after Sunday and to be with you and es-
pecially for the very reason touched upon
by the doctor in the few words which we
have just listened to-for the sense of
brotherhood.
Necessity for Brotherhood.
Il think that any man who takes an in
terest in this great country of ours must
realize that the one all-important neces-
sity of our school, industrial and political
life is the necessity of the realization of
what brotherhood means. We cannot de-
Velop our civilization at all unless we de-
velop it upon the basis of each recognizing
in his fellowman his brother whose interest
he must have at heart. No scheme of legis
lation, no kind of administration of the
government will atone can atone for the
lack of the fundamental quality of each
being in very deed his brothers keeper.
do not mean to talk about every seventh
day, but to feel 1t in the Intervening six
days, to feel it on the part of the en-
plOyer with his employees, on the part of
the employees with the employer. Three
fourths, probably nine-tenths, of the labor
troubles that sometimes assume so ominous
a form. would vanish If you could interest
the people on each side to approach the
for his fellows as he cares for himself. do
not mean for a moment to neglect his own
interests. l want a man to take care or
himself for if he does not somebody else
will have to take care of him.. | want him
to remember that in addition to taking care
of himself he has got to try to do his duty
by others. If he will approach his fellow
men in the spirit which makes the use OF
the word brother a genuine term instead of
a term of hypocrisy, the difficulty of deal
ing with the great questions that arise Will
be minimized if not entirely done away
with.
81 hope to see the steady growth of the
Christian spirit in this country, not merely
among our congregations, among the mem
bers in their dealings with one another, but
among the members of our congregations In
their dealings with all mankind, in their
dealings with their fellows, with the men
and women round about them, and in no
way can we so spread the power and IN
fuence of our church, in no way can we SO
effectively bear testimony to it, in no way
can we so help in its growth, as by showing
that we have been according to our aplll-
ties, doors of the word as well as hearers,
not bearers only.
The members of the church and the sun
day school crowded around the President
when he had finished speaking. The pastor
stood beside him at the foot of the pulpit
and introduced each individual. The Presl-
dent greeted each one heartily, paying spe-
cial attention to the children.