Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-10-04
"voTE BEFORE YOU PRAY.

In an address before a Methodist
conference in Chicago last week Bish-
op Joseph G.. Berry ventured little
further into the practical than is com
mon at such sessions. vote first and
pray afterwards was his advice.
Eve must take holosaof civic pro
blems,'' he said. 1--WE must not spend
all our time praying torsGod, but we
must go out and destroy the evil In
stitutions of the land, We must do
things. eIf we want ITO solve the
liquor problem we must go to the bal
lot box. \ would have all church peo-
pie go into politics, not as body, but
as individuals. That is the way to
make the world better
Il know of three men who went to
prayer meeting on a night when a
great issu for the betterment of a
city was at stake at the primaries.
/ They prayed that tseir side might win.
The next day it was found that the sa-
loon element had won by three votes.
1t may be heresy, hut say that those
men should have teen at the polls in
stead of at Braye-, meeting"
Heresy or no heresy, the bishop is
right. Men who stay away from the
4 polls to go to prayer meeting and
thank God that theY are not as other
men are might just as well stay away
rom prayer meeting, too, for all the
BOD their prayers will do them.
rayers without actions avail nothing.
Some men protest that they will not
over themselves by getting into poll
les, but they are not helping politics,
themselves or anyone else by keeping
'oof from it and while others are vot-
g, going to the sanctuary and pray
4. that the wickou shall not win.
> trouble is that politics gets the
'ng kind of reform It
itchy, because so many peorle who
OF keep we'll Informed are inclin-
the belief that politics does need
-.le reform, and they accept the dem
agogue at face value. The only true
reform is not via demogogue but
through the voter. If men would vote
less for reform" and more for what is
right and because it is right there
would be a greater Improvement in
the results
Another thing that was put before
1.-THE conference in strong manner by
Bishop Berry was the question Of
amusement. He said:
The boys and girls are drifting
away from the Sunday schools. The
amusements Of the world are on the
increase, and the children want recre.
alton. They need it. Where are they
going for recreation? What are they
going to do. tell you church that
has legislated so specifically and dog
matically against dancing, card pIay-
ing and kindred amusements is in duty
obliged to furnish some other amuse-
ments for its young people.
It is the duty of you ministers to
solve this question as much as it is
to lead the prayer meeting. We must
reach the boys If we want to reach
the men. We must study boyology.
Above all you must love the common
people, for they, after all, are the true
aristocrats."
How easy 1t is to tear down and
leave somebody else to build I'D. How
common it is to take something away
and put nothing in its place. Over at
Des MONIES the conference adopted a
resolution demanding of the legisla-
ture that 1t pass law prohibiting
SUNDAY aseball and other Sunday
famusements. They do not tell
What Is to be done with the
masses on that day. Every
methodist church has legislated
against dancing and card playing.
What have they done to put something
in its place? The outsider often hest
.tates in criticism upon an ecclesiasti-
zeal body. but here it comes from the
bishop, one of the highest officers of
the church.
The mother sent the daughter out to
see what Johnny is doing and tell
him to stop it, The church has not
asked what the young people are do
Ang. but tells them to stop it. is
everything SO demoralized in this