The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-31

vote. At the present rate of city growth. in generation's time there will be 20,0o0,0o0 more people in our cities than in the country outside the cities.
 "Do you realize what that win meant
 Ambassador James Bryce, a farses- Ing statesman. and one of our most friendly critics. said a few years ago.: .'rhe one conspicuous failure of Amer can institutions is the government of her great cities.' And we know 1t is true.
 It is comparatively easy to govern. small city. It Is increasingly diff fcult to govern that city as 1t grows of our larger cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Fran cisco have become a stench in the nos trils of the civilized world. Not long before Mir. Bryce was sent to Washing ton as Ambassador from the Court of St. James. a company of Americans called upon him as they were about to sail for their homes. He said to them:
 "Go back to that splendid world across the sea. but don't you make failure of 1t. You cannot go on for twenty five years longer as you have been going on in your great cities without putting us liberals in Europe back 500 years.
 The proper government of the city is primarily a political problem, but in the settlement thereof, the Chris tian citizen will not shirlx but will bear his full share of the burden and heat of the day. The evangeiization of the city Is primarily religious problem. but it's solution would powerfully af- feet the political problems. Thus the political and religious problems of the city act and react one upon the other. If the political control of city be allowed to remain corrupt or incompe- tent, it will greatly handicap all ef- forts to evangelize and uplift the life of the people, whereas if the spirit Of genuine Christianity comes to domi- nate the life and character of the citi- zenship, we can rest assured that the problem of good government will be quickly solved. Political conditions reflect as we'll as react upon moral conditions.
 The mission of Christianity Is to save the whole man--mentally. moral 1y and physicalIy--and brings to us the message, not alone of the Father hood of God, but also of the brother bod of man. Tn a certain very real sense, we are "our brothers keeper
 One explanation for the backward ness or CnTtB BtldIllty III O0A Aeh 6 SA N@N-~- of recent years Is that the material progress of the past century has been greater than in all the previous ages of the world put together. Steam, electricity and machinery have made a new world, with new conditions or work to meet those conditions. me church has not stood still, but the ma terial world has been travelling at faster gait, and We as Christians nave AH zNhanU6d situation. and adapted our methods of work so as to meet thd vast opportuni- ties and responsibilities of the hour In fact, the most of us have been so absorbed in the great panorama or material progress and the contest for our share of 1t, that we have lost sight to a very large extent of our religious opportunities and. obligations, ana oe- pended upon the preacher to do every thing.
 The new needs of the new civiliza- tton have opened our eyes to the opu- lence of Christs teachings and the sui ficfeucy of Christ, for every age. The new problems of society have led the church to search for the social teach ings of Jesus, and We find that those teachings ft modern conditions like a key its Its lock. During the centu- ries this light has been beating upon blind eyes, but now when our need is so great, now whAn the great, sinsick world stands bewildered upon the brink of this wonderful twentieth cen- tury, with mighty social problems which science and philosophy have ad- mitted they cannot solve.
 And 10. the church has heard the call, and is awake. and stirring with new life. The air is moving in the tops of the trees, and soon there shall be showers of blessings. Not only our bishops and pastors; not only our good women, who were first to confluence inc great work; not only our Epworfh Leag and Sunday Schools, but at last many of the strong laymen of our churches--the solid business men who occupy the field of political life of to- day-have heard the call and have en- iislei for the service. God gr mt that ere long all of our splendid body of