Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-01-03

10 thy Father come, and wait;
lie Will answer every prayer;
God is present everywhere
by itself; it is a spirit, an atmosphere,
ard principle which must pervade all
There is a great difference between
the relations which religion must hold
to national life and the relation which
religious and ecclesiastical organiza-
tions hold. The very separation be-
tween church and state upon which we
insist in America makes the more nee
essary the deeper permeation of our
whole national life with the spirit of
morality and religion.
You cannot escape from religion in
history and in human affairs. 1t makes
no difference whatever whether the
name Of the deity be in the constitution
Of a nation or not, the fact of the re-
ligious impulse and motive remains
You might take the mention Of religious
names from all history but you coIld
never tell the story Of the life of a peo-
pie If you refuse to recognize this
mighty spirit.
The tide in human affairs, the move
ments that mark human progress or re-
cessiOn, these are Of far greater impor-
lance than names and dates, buildings
and administrations. And back of these
tides are mighty forces, great, all COM
polling motives. These forces we call
tradition, religion, patriotism. The
true historian looks for the forces.
We are what we are to-day because
of deep convictions that our fathers
held, because of aspirations and ideals
which they cherished, because of the
atmosphere of spiritual beliefs in which
they lived and because they counted
these things of such value to them that
their lives weighed as nothing in the
balance. Ideals have ever dominated
the world and determined the real CON
ditiOns that should be.
The ideals of liberty, the conception
of human rights, the conviction as to
the freedom Of the conscience, these all
constitute essentially religious princi
pies. They are born Of the recognition
of man as other than clay, as a being
Of spiritual heritages and possibilities
Men lived and died for these only as
they conceived of their high duty to
humanity and of the infinite justice
that Is over all.
No greater folly could befog our
minds to-day than to think that we can
attain national prosperity and perma-
nency apart from spiritual ideals. He
does not love his land who desires moth
ing better or greater for her than that
she shall be rich in bushels Of wheat
and billions Of gold. Greater than our
need of things is the need Of the strong
hand Of the nation to hold them and
the wise heart to administer them.
The foundations Of a nation are laid
in human lives; what they will be in
form and whether they shall endure de-
bends on the character OF the men and
women of the nation. They onl9 build
wisely who build from the base up, be-
ginning with character, setting the
foundations firm in religious motives
and moral ideals. In the final clearing
house of history nations have no cur
rency other than character.
The most we can do for America is
70 make good Americans, men who hold
principle and ideals above all else, who
SO love honor and hate the lie, so look
to the things that are higher and turn
from those that are lower, so catch the
vision of infinite values in individuals
in society, and in their own lives, that
no bats or brides Of the pits devtsing
can turn them from the path of duty
end light, and so this spirit nillng all,
all move together to the fulhllment OF
the purposes of the most high for this