The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-11-19


A SERMON FOR TODAY.
AS ye would that men should do to
you, do We also to them likewise Luke
That is the essence of the Square
Deal. It was promulgated nearly
nineteen centuries ago by the Man of
Galilee and its principle has never
been improved upon, nor viii it ever
be.
St. Matthew quotes it this way:
Therefore all things whatsoever We
wou1 that men should do to you, do
ye even so to them This is the
Golden Rule.
Many men who wish to take unfair
advantage of their fellows scott at the
idea of the Golden Rule. They say it
is impractical. But is it? Is it any
thing more than the principle Of the
Square Deal which Theodore RoOse-
welt is today preaching.
The man who believes in the Golden
Rule viii not ask any advantage that
he would not wish to allow his neigh
Dor under similar circumstances, and
he is willing to allow his neighbor any
privilege that he would desire If
placed in the same circumstances as
his neighbor. It works both ways,
and that is all there is to it. It is
simply the Square Deal.
The application of the Golden Rule
will stop oppression on the part Of the
trusts It will stop rebates and rate
Determinations by the railroads. It
will put stop to the troubles between
capital and labor It will put an end
to war between nations.
Why is it not practicable? No one
/ will he 4 II. 20
better off with these evils eliminated,
and the man who is a student of
I events can not help but believe that
they are being eliminated. People are
| coming to believe more and more in
/ the square deal. and to see that it is
for the benefit of society in general to
practice it. The trusts and the rail-
roads will be regulated. Labor and
capital are coming to better under
stand one another and they will
eventually get together on common
ground where each viii recognize the
rights of the other The nations of
the earth are drifting steadily towards
arbitration instead of war as a method
of settling international difficulties.
a few years ago an eminent Kansas
statesman said that the practice of the
Golden Rule in politics is an iridescent
dream. But is it? What did the peo-
pie say in the recent elections except
that unfairness and corruption in poll
tics must go? What else does that
mean than that political leaders. must
stand for fairness and for honesty and
right What else does it mean than
that fraud and deception must be
eliminated from public affairs? What
does it mean except a declaration for
the Square Deal and the Golden Rule >
The application of the Golden Rule
to the trouble between labor and can
ital means that each viii recognize
the rights of the other; that thew win
work together in partnership instead
OF each trying to get the advantage of
the other. 1t means that they will
recognize the rights of the great mass
Of people who belong to neither side.
The Golden Rule-the Square Deal
lis the essence of Christianity an
piled to the relations of man to man.
! No man who does not believe in the
Golden Rule can really be a Christian
A Christian is not a member of a
church. but a follower of Christ; and
neither John d. Rockefeller nor anv
other man who does not believe in the
Golden Rule and try to practice it can
claim to be a real Christian
There viii necessarily be naisunder-
standings between man and man in
their personal and business relations
for each will have his viewpoint differ
ent from his fellow; but it is the spirit
with which they try to settle their
misunderstanding that counts. If
they are willing that their opponents
should have a square deal, il they are
willing to accord to others the same
privileges they themselves desire. they
viii be practicing the Golden Rule.