The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-01-01

in new moral and political wilderness. That area has long since been subdued. | Those are no longer new applications of the principles of righteousness. But
 other areas which are new have come | into sight. Issues have arisen in our day which call for new applications of
 the principles of righteousness. From
 that day to this there has not been a time when moral principles clamoreu for new application and recognition as | they do to-day. Only few have aWak- ened to the real meaning of the chal-
 lenge which the indignant community is offering to political corruption, to corporate greed and to constituencies graft. But those who have awakened
 to it's meaning find themselves caught
 up in a moral passion not unlike that which filled men in the days of the civil war. And others are rapidly catch ing the contagion of it.
 The wrongs which are taking more l defined shape in the discussions of the present day are by no means confined | to the few conspicuous persons whose names chance to be drawn into the dis cussion. They are wrongs which be- long to the whole people, and are only l the special modern forms of the old taint which has always been cropping out in human nature. But they must 1 be dealt with in their special forms, and not merely as general sinful state. It will not be sufficient to pun ish few conspicuous victims, nor will it answer for a few prophets to declare the wrath of God.
 The only adequate remedy is for the people themselves to see the great wrong and to feel what a dangerous thing a great wrong is when it is en- trenched in 8 whole nation-and, hav- ing seen this, to revolt from 1t, to get right with God, and order life and con- duct by a higher righteousness.
 There is sin in high places, and we are partly responsible for it and must help to remedy 1t; but not so much by attacking the sin in high places as by attacking the sin that is not in high places-the sin that is in our own hearts-and getting our neighbors to do the same. It is the sin that turks in the lives of us common folk, half con- cealed and half denied, that is paralyz- ing us. We are not awake to it's awful reality. We do not half believe that it exists; and if 1t does exist we are ready to apologize for it, because there are other considerations which seem to us so much more important-our comforts, our gains, our distinguished reputa- tions. Are we prepared to attack wrong in whatever form 1t appears there? If so there is hope of better days; if not, the future is dark in every way. The individual, the home, the church and the nation stand or fall together But the church is the institution whose duty it is to make these things clear and call the people back to conscience and to God
 This, therefore, is the keynote of this anniversary. It is not merely note of pleasant reminiscence. It only recalls the moral tension which brought this church into being, in the hope that an- other rising moral tension may help us once more to respond worthily to the Ce1ll Ol SOll6ClCllNC anu LII AOus
 Through the faithfulness and true de- votion of all its members, let this church be the moral and spiritual pow CT in this community which every church ought to be. By virtue of our fellowship with Christ and our allegi- ance to Him, let Us feel as He felt in the presence of the great realities of life. He did not stand limp and ex- pressionless in the presence of sham righteousness and those who made mer- chandise of the temple franchise. One can see His face change color and hear His voice rise with terrible earnestness as He calls hypocrisy and vanity and impurity by their right names, and drives them to cover.
 If it is asked what definitely does this mean, this call of conscience and of God, the first answer is that it means enough of honest thought and care on the part of each one to make out it's meaning for yourself. There is no con science so weak that it does not point to some duty waiting to be done, some wrong harbored against a feeble pro. test, There are unbrotherly jealousios that ought long since to have been drowned In the sea of Gods love. There is wrath that has survived the going down of many suns. There is petty selfshness and coveting. There Is in- dolence which long has stood as the only cause of absence from the place of prayer and worship. There is greed of gain which has skimped the free will offerings, or delayed the payment of debts overdue, or haggled prices, or oppressed the poor, or kept back part of Well-earned wages. Need I prolong this sorry list? Prolong 1t yourself, and check up honestly the items that belong to you, and apply the teaching and spirit of Christ to them.
 At the most they are negative quali- ties. They are things to be gotten rid of. The positive measure is getting right with God. Christ is Gods way