Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1905-03-02
PUBLIC OPINION.
by DIR. II. X. HINDE.

| y
expression,in some Legitimate way,
of a sound public Opin-
ion. AS little as we may be aware
of the fact, public opinion is the
power that moulds and controls
the affairs of all modern govern
ments-especially that Of Repub-
lies like our own.
1t has been a century and a half
since any ruler, like Louis XIV,
dare say, Il am the State" The
time has come when even the
Gar of Russia, and all the Empe-
rors of Europe realize that they
must lend Il listening ear to pub
lie opinion. When our Declara-
tion of Independence says that
"rulers derive all their just powers
from the consent Of the governed"
it makes a questionable statement.
The consent of the governed does
not make Il measure just. 1t is,
however, true that to be effective
all governments must follow the
general direction of public opin-
ion. This opinion of the masses
is not always OutspOken and un-
conscious, but nevertheless a ST.
lent, and irresistible force which
no tyrannical ruler dare disregard.
One has we'll said that "legisla.
ton is, in a general way, the crys-
talizatiOn into statutes of public
opinion" Legislation in oppOsi-
ton to public opinion is usually
negatOry and leaves dead laws in
numbering our statute-books. In
view of these important truths
how responsible becomes the duty
of each individual citizen in max
ing his contribution to this power,
which we call public opinion, which
is but the aggregation of these
several individual opinions, that
constitutes the force that directs
the affairs Of our government. In
the light of this responsibility how
sacred becomes the fact of individ-
ual citizenship in a community or
government. No Christian can
shirk these responsibilities with
out doing violence to his conscience
- and manning his Christian charac-
= ter, The difficulty with many
Chris tians lies in the fact of their
: drawing Il too strenuous line be-
tween what they call the secular
/ and the religious or sacred. AS Il
matter of fact there is no such
classification of duties for the
, Christian. All duties are relig-
iOus and sacred duties.
What men are pleased to call
! secular avocations or duties are to
the Christian man also sacred
when followed and discharged in
} the fear and love of God. Indeed
: there is no kind of work in which
any man has a right to engage
|, that may not be denOminated Sa-
cred work; and for the reason that
in pursuing any legitimate calling
we are only cooperating with God
as he would have the affairs of this
world carried on. Does this hold
good in the matter of politics
Yea, verify; and this is the point
that this paper is intended to en-
phasize. When the line is drawn
between things sacred and things
secular, politics is always classed
on the secular side and the general
conception is that politics is essen
TALLY and hopelessly prOfane. This
is a great mistake. There is moth
e ing more essentially sacred, among
f the functions of life, than citizen
q ship in a republican form of gov
ernment, and we have seen that one
( of the most important
- functions of citizenship is the for
$ nation of a sane and wise public
= opinion.
And the man who refuses to dis
charge this function of citizenship
is disloyal to his government and
to his God; he is either a sinner
or coward.
When Christ said, "Render tC
!. Caesar the hings that are Cae
sar's," he was talking to the sub
g ject Jews, under authority to pay
,, taxes aud obey the laws of Rome
: They had in no sense a govern