The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-03-26


 from Partixan MisruIe Question of Urgent Importance-What is Most
 Needed is n Revival of Conscience
 Of the Sense of Obligations Received
 -Of Responsibility to Righteousness
 and the People Who Are Down-Of
 Interest in Future COndttiOns--Of a
 Purpose to Serve God by Serving
 Gods World.
 Rev. Dr. Phillips preached highly interesting sermon on "Civic Better ment' yesterday forenoon, at the Church of the Redeemer. Dr. Phillips text was:
 St. Mark, ix, 50: "Salt is good; but if the salt have lost it's saltness, where with will ye season 1t? Have salt in yourselves"
 Dr. Phillips said: This Illustration of the purifying and preservatiye function or Christian men, so impressed the dis ciples that three of the historians re- port 1t in substantially the same lan- gGage. It is apt and pertinent. Noth- ing could more fitly describe the rela- tion of right thinking men to the com munity and the time.
 We are just now hearing much about civic bettermen. Following the line suggested by the text, I wish to-day to formulate two or three propositions for which you are in no wise responsible. They express my own convictions. If you do not agree with me I am sure you will hear me patiently, for you have made this free pulpit.
 The first proposition is: Our civic salt has lost it's saltness The salt of pat riotism, of high civic ideals of devotion to the best interests of the community has gone stale, What we have lost is l the old time conscientiousness regard | ing the public business. We do not feel the responsibility of tbe unit. This | is perhaps one of the necessary results of government by party, but it is no less deplorable. The easy thing is to leave everything to the party man. aEers and register their will at the polls; we have chosen this line of least resistance. l hold this proposition to be self-evident and indisputable It is not worth while to discuss causes; they are many-the prime eouse is doubt less our absorption in personal affairs in an age drunk with lust of wealth but the fact, the condition is what confronts us.
 The second propositioncis: It is vain l to seek an answer to the question, "wherewith will ye season it?" in pres ent methods of procedure Rampant partizanism has stalled the salt of our civil sense; it Is useless to look to par tizan methods for relief When you and I, and others like us, get some real civic pride, not mere complacent sense of superiority because of our an- cestors and our history, and couple with that a quick civic conscience, then, though the city may still be ruled by the dominant political party, the bosses and officials will not dare to misgovern, for they will know that they will be brought to judgment by the people ir- respective of party.
 1 It is not simply reform in municipal government that we need. We need to beautify the city and amake 1t more convenient and desirable for all the people We need better housing for the poor, better care of children, the curb ing of corporate gree-we have the un- slightly "cut' fastened upon us for all l time because our citizens did not act l together quickly and generously. Day 1 nurseries, where working mothers may leave young children, kindergartens, | sumner schools and playgrounds should not be left to private initiative they are legitimate part of the public school system. These and similar needs affect the life of the city; they have a large influence in determining the char acter of future citizens; for none of them may we safely wait partizan ini- | tiative.
 Conscious that something Is wrong and irritated by that consciousness, we have all fallen upon the men we call | the bosses. The bosses are not all cor rupt men, or selfish men. They have the human craving for power and the | shreWdness to see their opportunity and use 1t. It Is easy to abuse them but, what, pray, under present partizan methods would be our plight without l them? We say, the bosses rule the primaries. The trouble Is not in the primaries. but in pernicious ante-prim- ary activity The bosses simply take the initiative that none of the rest of us is willing to take; then we raise our holy hands and say, it is no use going | to the primaries, everything is arrang- | ed beforehand! That condition will re- main so long as city affairs are consid cred a party matter rather than bus iress proposition in which every citizer is interested, We need a leader, some ore who has initiative, who will rally Us and develope workable citizens movement that aims at nothing but 1 good government; but, let us remem. ber that leader will at once become a ] boss!
 We must give clear-headed and right thinking young men chance free from