The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1906-05-29

In the rabid days OF suspicion, accu-
sation and investigation, there comes
like a refreshing basis Of sober sense
in a desert of n-baked historical
sensationalism, talk by Rev. Dr. Ly-
man Abbott to the people in the
BROOKLYN Eagle" We have heard
the cry of Stop thief!p SO long that
every man is suspicious of his brother
and we therefore accept with feeling
of relief this assurance from a teacher
of truth that all men are not born
rascals, that all is not yet rotten IN
Denmark" This keynote of our times,
sounded by DR.. Abbott, is opportune
Not over-optimistic, but practical and
earnest, he portrays the situation OF
society in America as it exists.
There is no congregation: no extern
uation- only the facts are presented.
And no man is better qualified to pre-
sent the facts than DR.. Abbott. He
says: The great majority of business
men in America, from the least prom
inent to the most prominent, are hon
orable and high-minded. The frauds
and depredations are exceptional, and
compared with the great volume Of
business done, are very exceptional.
At the same time it is true that a ma
ton, like an individual, has the defects
of its time and its surroundings. The
enterprise and the energy and the am
bition of Americans leach anxious to
do more than his neighbor and more
than eager to beat his own record
lead at times to methods that are not
honest and sometimes to methods that
are tlagrantly dishonest. Moreover:
competition easily passes from the le-
Ultimate to the illegitimate and be-
comes war; and the moment a bust
ness man considers commerce to be a
form of warfare he distinctly falls in
to the spirit expressed by the motto,
sAll is fair in war To these two
causes, then-the spirit Of war and
unrestrained competition-are due
most of the dishonest methods exhib
tied in American business circles. Pol
itical corruption is not so great in
America at present as it was in Eng
land in the eighteenth century, nor is
it so great in America as it is in some
other european countries to- day.
While it may be true that our Courts
are sometimes inclined to follow prece-
dents rather than high principals, be-
lieve that the judiciary Of this country
will compare in character with that
of any other country, and that there
is no land where the average citizen is
more secure in the protection OF his
rights and in the certainty that JUS
tice will be accorded to him than he is
in the American Republic. Our stan
dards are higher than those OF Une
Revolutionary fathers, and II the
American nation continues to have
the growth that it has had in the
past, the standards of our children
will be higher than ours. Our fathers
did not see the American standard as
we see it to-day. Our standards OF
liberty are higher, Our fathers car
ried the public school system not SO
high. I think, as the modern grammar
school, so our standard of education is
higher than theirs. Their children,
up to the beginning Of the nineteenth
century, did not carry on missionary
work either at home or in foreign
lands, with few exceptions to the
rule. Our standards of religious life
are the highest they have ever been.
AS long as America is living nation
it will be a progressive nation, and
as long as it is a progressive nation it's
standards will grow faster than its at
tlinments. y