Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1905-02-01
President Roosevelt Made a Seasible
and Interesting Talk to Lutheraas
SPEAKS AT CHURCH DEDICATION
Mr.. Roosevelt Declares That the Iutt-.
eran Church in the United States
Is Already Of Great Power and in,
Destined to be One Of the Two or
Three Greatest National Churches
Washington.

Roosevelt delivered an address Sun
day at the re-dedication of the Luther
Place Memorial church, which was se-
rlously damaged by fire just one year
ago Sunday night while a sociabIe
given in honor of the 18th birthday
anniversary of the pastor, the Rev
DR.. j. G. Butler. was in progress. The
church has been entirely restored and
was occupied for the first time since
the fire Sunday. The President spoke
in part as follows:
From the standpoint from which I
am obliged SO continually to look MT
matters. there is peculiar function
10 be played by the great Lutheran
Church in the United States OF Amer
lea. This is a Church which had ft.s
rise TO power in. and until it emf
grated to this side OF the water, had
always had its fullest DEVELOPMENT i'm.
the two great races in northern and
northern middle Europe-the German.
and the Scandinavian. The prime duty
or those already in the land is to sea
that their own progress and deyelop-
nent are shared by newcomers from
dangerous thing for any man to tear
loose from the soil. in which he and
his forbears have taken root and to bs
translated into new land He should
receive all possible aid in that new
land; and the aid can be rendered
MN most effectively by those who can
appeal to him on the ground OF spirf-
tual kinship. Therefore the Lutheran
church can do most in helping up-
wards and onwards so many of the,
newcomers to our shores: and IL seems
TO me that it should be the duty of this
Church to see that the immigrants. and
especially the emigrants of Lutheran
ialth from the old world may be not
suffered TO drift off with no friendly
hand to him out OF the Church com
munion. The Lutheran Church i'm this
country Is OF very great power now.
numerically and through the intelli-
gcnce and thrift OF its members. but it
WIZ grow steadily to even greater
power. 1t is destined TO be one OF twn
or three greatest land most important
national Churches in the United
States; one of the two or three church.
es most distin"fively American, most
dlStlnctively among the forces that
are to tell for making this great
country even greater in the future
therefore peculiar load of RESPONSE
lily rests upon the members of this
Church.
1t Is an important thing for the
people OF this nation to remember their
rlsht; put 1t Is an even more import
ant thlng for them to remember their
uutleS. In the last analysis. the work
or statesmen and soldiers. the work OF
the public man shall go for nothing
If it is not based upon the spirit of
christianity working in the millions oe
homes throughout this country. so
that there may be that social thar
spiritual. that moral foundation. with
out which no country can ever rise to
permanent greatness For material
weitbeing. material prosperity. success
IN arts, In letters. great industrial tri-
uhphs, all OF them and all of the
structure raised thereon will be as
eVaheScent as dream. If it does not
rest on the righteousness that exaIteth
a nation.
Let me congratulate you. and con-
gratulate all Of us, that we live in n
iahd ana at n time when we accent
IL as natural that there should be AN
lnter-denominational service OF thanks
giving. such ceremony as is to take
place this afternoon, in which the
pastors of other churches ioin to CON
graduate themselves and you upon the
rebuilding of this church The forces
OF evil are strong and mighty In this
century and in this country. as thew
are IN other countries. as they have
Deen in all the past centuries: and
the people who sincerely wish tn do
the Lords work will find ample on
portunity for all their labor in igbt.
ing the common enemy and in assum..
ing toward their fellows of q different
confession an attitude OF generous
rivalry In the effort to see how the
most good can be done to our people,
as whole.