The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1905-06-01

together celestial rabble best represented in the
mythoogies OF Greece and Rome with the dim
religious background of the Gods who were no
Gods; the awful iates OF the Oriental world The
business of the dignitaries in this Pantheon is, in
the intervals OF its own quarrels in the upper
story. above the clouds, to amuse itself with pct
ting or tormentng the swarming millions of "hu-
trash" in this vale of tears below" And un-
less that celestial crowd has greatly mendcd its
tricks and manners; ;" if following the example of
royal visitatons to our Republican shores, it
should appear some fine Monday morning in the
Greater New York, every soul OF them would be
in Sing Sing, each awaiting its turn to mount the
electric chair before Saturday night Or if they
landed in New Orleans they would all be lynched
before shutdown of the same day amid the APP
pause OF the American people
Eighteen centuries ago. when the whole civil
lied world was gathered up in the fist of Roman
Emperor awaiting his assassina-
The Christian ton earth to become a
for every God in the Pantheon. a wandering
Human Being. prophet, away off in province
obscure than any island in
the Oriental seas today, in plain talk with a
group of plain people about him, laid down the
law Of life which yet, only half understood and
less than half applied has already created what
we call Chrstendom. In two sentences, contain
thirty-two words, all of which could be engraved
within the golden circle of the American eagle
value ten doars-Jesus said: Let him who is
greatest among YOU be your servant. Even
the son OF man came not to be ministered unto
but to minister and to give his life for
many" Just in proportion as every so-caed
Christian people has squared up" to this SUI
preme law of human life, this absolute constitu-
ton of human government it has become per-
manent nationality; and today only any nation
is working on that line is it a vital power in the
progress OF mankind
Now, the plain people OF the South for the
first time in political power, and fast becoming
supreme in Southern society, is
s. IAN taking its first lessons in the art
They FollowH of republican government, &C
cording 10 the ideals of the
fathers. These ideals, hundred years ago, were
the highest conception then reached of the meth
cd OF solving all race questions laid down by the
greatest teacher and statesmen, because the Saw
Tor of mankind. l am not here to tell you what
success or failure has attended this beginning,
under the sort of Southern leadership that APP
pears, on the first Monday OF every December, in
the Capitol at Washington. Only let us not
imagine for moment that the acts of half
dozen Legislatures, and the vaccinations of the
gospel OF sociology of which Orator John Temple
Graves is the prophet, TO be the permanent de-
cisons of the fifteen millions OF our white South
ern folk. For every white man in the South
.oday has become in an eminent sense one of the
plain people and in the outcome shall see
there, as everywhere, the survival of the fttest.
Nobody cares what company gentleman in
Virginia or Texas chooses to keep II he manages
to keep outside of the revised statutes" But
every gentleman and lady in this Republic will
some day find out that there is no permanent class
or caste in this Nation, made up of every shad-
ow of a shade of color aud every variety of race
and previous condition" on the face of the earth.
SO our friends can be excused from lying awake
o nights scheming to preserve the purity Of the
Anglo-Saxon race" by remanding twenty mil
lions now under the American flag to the condi-
ton of the old European serfdom that Russia is lying
awake o nights with hideous dreams, just now,
agonizng how to change to a new Russian citi-
zenship. If these admirable people will read their
New Testament through the spectacles Of the
common Christianity and realize that they
have today the grandest opportunity on earth in
the education and training Of their ten millions
OF colored citizens, not to be Ango-Saxons, but
to become the best that the Lord OF us all had in
mind at their introduction upon earth, they can
safely leave the business of evolving the
American order of society in His hands. For in
this Republic the best society means the
ciety of the best people of all sorts and condi-
tons. This uppermost of all upper classes" lives
with its doors and windows open, four square to
ali corners. Anybody from anywhere may come
in and live and be happy, as long as he under
stands and tries to live up to the conviction that
all his superiorities loaned to him by God for
the sake of the "genra welfare" And he will