Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-07-01
DAY WE CELEBRATE
|Dr Davenport Would Have Less
 Noise and More Prayer.

Beginning next Sunday the First | and Second Congregational churches will hold their worships together l while the pastors are away. During July the services will be in the First church and during August in the | Second church. The Rev Dr Ander- son, pastor emeritus, of the First church will be the preacher. The ev- ening services will be omitted.
 H At the Second Congregational church yesterday the pastor, the Rev John c. Davenport, D D. talked on the Fourth of July. The following are a few paragraphs from his ser- mon which help people to better idea of how to observe the national holiday:
 II "The Fourth of July, as John Ad- ans predicted would be the case, has | during all these years been celebrated Iwisn shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations,f from one end of this continent to the oth- er.' As time has gone on the cele- bration has become more and more noisy, distressing to the sensitive, dangerous to the nervous, sometimes fatal to the sick and feeble; while for those who participate in it's usual celebrations 1t has become notably a day of accident and disaster, leaving many a mangled and dead victim in it's wake and many another mangled and suffering one, perhaps to endure lifelong disability, as its legitimate result.
 Perhaps 1t does little good to pro- test, unless the protestant be armed with official authority or invested with unusual influence. But I have long felt that such celebration of our national birthday is unworthy of us. It might have done fairly well while America was yet a child and had not seen fit to. put away childish things. At time, too, when inven- tion had done little of its deadly work in furnishing all manner of perilous pyrotechnics and explosives well nigh as dangerous as they are noisy. The principle. First that which is natural and afterward that which is spiritual, may well be ap- piled here. Is it not high time for us to evolve into little more fitting lEay of celebrating the nations birth?
 "The Fourth of July in this sev- enth year of the new century brings us peculiar reason for gratitude and for hopefulness. It Is an era with us of quickened moral perception. There In hn fctn nf the land when the demand for men of worthy character to rule over us was So pronounced; never time when public opinion drowned with so stern and persistent scowl upon the off, cial that betrays his public trust for the sake of private gain; never a time when reputation for brilliancy and social standing and all the glamour that wealth filings about the individual counted for so little in the face of dishonesty and corruption. The last year or two has seen the ut ter downfall of men who have been striding the mountain tops of popular favor, because glimpses of defective moral character in their case have been brought to light. And the sift- ing process is going on. Light is being thrown into all the dark cor ners of official action and official mo- tive. Our president, standing in the pure light of conscious integrity, has made such endeavor as the world has never before seen to protect the peo- pie from the grasp and oppression of illegal combinations, or of legal com binations acting illegally. And his moral eagerness has set the pace for many another official and stateman.
 How can the Fourth of July be better observed than by making 1t a day for the discussion of problems that confront us and for the new girding of ourselves to work in sym pathy with all who seek reform?
 "Our own commonwealth demands the best thought and truest purpose of all it's citizens. With amazement We have seen legislature overriding again and again the veto of a gov ernor who brings to the problems of state administration the insight of trained and successful business man. and a purpose that no man who knows him can possibly suspect of seif-seeking or of insincerityt We have seen his endeavors to save the public money from reckless and need less use sneered at and disregarded. We have noted the eager endeavor made to legalize on our Lords day every form of amusement and many phases of commerclalism. Evidently the rescue of our goodly common wealth from that which in many ways would demoralize 1t, requires the force of public sentiment which every right minded citizen should seek to upbuild and sustain. And the Consideration of these matters fur nishes appropriate occupation for the thought and oratory of the Fourth of Duly. Not that the social and picnic features of the day may be eliminat- ed. but that they can be made use of for the extension of truth and the inculcation of righteousness and the development of a real patriotism. That Is not real love of state or of country that does not look ever to- ward their improvement and their [highest good. My only plea is that Instead of deyoting ourselves 90 fully to the old childish method of keeping the Fourth. we make it of value in the furtherance of righteousness.
 Our patriotic and hereditary soci- ties might we'll unite in promoting a Ihigher sentiment regarding the ob- wF hn A ~a4aM4-...