Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-08
Sboulo Respect Law.
Personal and Corporate Violations Pointed Out BY
DR.. E. H. Dek in Address to Christian
Endeavor Convention.

in the eye and lie deliberately, and if dis
covered in their lying will simply laugh
instead of hanging the head in shame
Under the euphonious name of "swiping.'
boys and girls rob one another in school
of luncheons PENS and often money. and
think 1t a privilege of scholarship. Scores
of our children, black brown and white,
write and pass in class notes coarse
a9d obscene that refined teachers hesitate
TO pass them on to principals for consid-
erat on. Not only our ignorant immigrant
population, but also our American-born
children, are dangerously educated so
long as their moral awakening and train
ing is made secondary to their moralsand
religious education.
'On the Fairgrounds the first consdera-
ton should be not the making of an ath
lete. but man. The moral training
which comes through brave attack, sub
mission to the umpires ruling and de-
votion to the college is worth hun
dred times more than mere personal bril-
Lance in play and team victory. In ex-
aminations the moral test for both pupil
and teacher must be ever kept in mind.
To funk pupil is as gross a moral fault
as to cheat in examination. Impartiality
on the part of teacher and honest work
on the part of pupil are reciprocal moral
duties Above all, the youth of our COL
leges must be forced to see that mans
value to society depends upon social serv-
ice, not personal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. The
duty of the educated man in politics must
be inculcated before We may hope to look
| for better civic conscience and integrity
in the conduct of government.
THE fundamental idea in the training
of the civic conscience within the sphere
of the church is that the state is a divine
institution. Citizenship Is a sacred
thing. Not until We cast our ballot as
thoughtfully, as conscientiously, as
prayerfully as we come to the holy
communion has the churchman fulfilled
his full religious duty. 1t Is largely
because we look upon our civic duties
as purely secular. that much of the in
difference and malfeaSance in public life
has an existence. 1t is because of the
good men who are bad citizens that we
find ourselves in the slough of political
corruption. Fearless resolve, persistent
demand for clean government. the unsul-
lied palm that once tched for advantage,
and the uplifting of the whole political
motive into the sphere OF religion, are the
desiderata in our church life which must
be secured before we can hope for pure
administration in our cities and common
wealths. The kingdom Of God of which
Christ spake is a political ideal quite as
much as religious Ideal OF society. The
magistrate as we'll as priest Is to be
minister of righteousness. In this as in
every other moral regeneration the church
should be as a city set upon hill; as
salt which preserves from corruption: as
leaven Transforming the inert lump OF
the commonplace. l fear many of our
prophetism and power. Let us resolve
| to make the Sunday school and church
the training ground for better citizen
ship. A divorce of state and church in
this Is fatal to the nation.
X X
1T is in the midst of life itself that
our true training is secured. We show
the mettle of our pasture in the thick
| of actual life. 1t is easy to be moral
and clean locked up in cell or study.
1t is in the friction and temptation Of nc-
tual public life that our final training In
political Righteousness is secured. What
is the present situation in our country?
The fundamental need in our American
life is respect for law. All about us
is personal and corporate law!essnesS.
both secret and public. The violent in.
dividualism and class wars being wnEed
all tend to increase the spirit of den.
ance to law and disrespect for courts
| of justice. Is 1t because We the peo-
| pie, make the law that we think We
can break it with impunity7 Ia this
an inevitable faint of democracy? l
in political circles roots itself Ia q COM
| mercial life that Is honeycombod with
gambling in stocks, colossal and rapa-
cious mergers Of industrial interests
and social animalism that wefships
comfort and money above sincerity and
honesty. The first step in the training
of the civic conscience which Ia needed
today Is the enforcement Of evary Sig
nifcant law on our statute beehs,
Every law looks blue TO the man who
wishes to violate 1t for personal ads
| vantage The first duty OF every eiti-
zen is to keep the law himself and
| then see that other men respect the
law. ,
Justice to all individuals and all
classes must be our national wateh-
word. There Is no diviner thing In
the sphere Of government than justice.
The rich man and the poor man. must
each receive an Impartial confederation
in our courts. Neither labor unions nor
corporations mus be permitted to rule
our land. The Square deal should
be meted out to both. Nelther dare
defy the law without arousing the spirit
of hatred, distrust and anarchy. The
Iawlessness Of law is more rcprsheasi-
BILE than the lawlessness of the mob.
The bought legislature, the vaeiliattns
senate, the squirting governor. the
corrupt Judge. are the melting causes
to Industrial war, class hatred and muir
der. See that our courts are kept clean
and strong and just. We need a. gen.
Grafton of men brave enough to be
poor Wealth is healthy only under
the condition that 1t has been secured
honestly. To buy a senatorship is no
less a crime than to steal a handful OF
diamonds from jewelers. case. When
prison stripes instead of fines are worn
by a number of our labor and capital
istic leaders the public will have peace
and plenty. Further. we must not rec
ognize a dual standard of morals for
certain individuals. A man must be
not only a decent husband, but also a
considerable and honest railroad presi-
dent. The Ten Commandments cannot
be annulled by any board of directors
or heads of departments. In the train
ing of the civic conscience we must
Isremember that the standard of civic
morality is of necessity always aivanc-
ing. Statutory law is always u little
behind the Decalogue.