Los Angeles herald., 1908-10-12
SHOWS NEED OF
MORAL STRENGTH
DR.. LOCKE TALKS ON "C0NSE-
GRATED BACKBONE"
cRITICISES COMMERCIAL AND
POLITICAL TENDENCIES
Spinal Column Prime Feature of Man.
( hood and Loss of 1t Means Re-
version to Most Primi.
tive Type

At the First Methodist church yes
terday DIR. Charles Edward Locke
preached on the topic, "Consecrated
Backbone" taking as his text: BE It
known unto thee, o king, that we Will
not serve thy gods, nor worship the
golden image which thou hast set up.
Daniel 3:1S. He said in part:
"At the unveiling Of the battle monu-
ment at Bennington, VT, few years
ago Benjamin Harrison, who was then
the honored president OF this repuDlc
spoke eloquently of the courage of the
Green mountain boys and Of the ma
terial wealth of our nation, and cloSeo
| by saying: Out of all this there has
been brought sturdy manhood, which
is better than riches, which, rather
than wealth, has brought the security
our country rests upon.'
'If one had been in his maturity In
1916, 1872 or 1860, Irresistible tides might
have made him courageous, but In the
prosaic, unromantic days of peace
there are more tests of real bravery
without the sustaining influence of an
aroused patriotism.
1T wonder If the tendency OF the
times is not to eliminate unique per-
sonality. May 1t not be possible that
our educational processes, like the
lawnmower of the gardener, look more
for symmetry than luxuriance. But,
after all, is eccentricity necessary to
strength? The Quixotes may be pic
turesque, but 1t Is doubtful If they ever
exert any permanent influence. The
danger lies, however, at the point OF
people losing rugged courage and stir
ring convictions in the looping Off and
smoothing down process of pursuing
their education in large groups and
classes, instead of the scholar sitting
at one end of a log with his learned
Mark Hopkins at the other.
1.-THE gospel of honoring ones convic-
tions even to self-denial and sacrifice
must be persistently preached, that in
vincible character may be developed
and that the remarkable idiosyncrasy
of standing firmly and sternly by the
right shall more than ever characterize
our people. 1t Is truer, as our material
resources increase, that our nations
wealth consists more in sturdy man
hood than in fertility of soil or mines
of gold.
Man Made to Stand Erect
physically a man is an animal with
a. vertical backbone. In the building
of the physical man years were occu-
pied by the Creator in lifting the ami
NAL from the downward look until 1t
would stand erect and look up. When
that eventful moment came God
Fment of clay and blood, and the animal
became living soul.
$50 the moral man must be a Verte-
brate. A spinal column is necessary TO
his manhood. When he loses it there
Is a reversion Of type, all the divine
processes are stultified and nulitied, and
man goes back to the pit from which
he was dug, to the slime in which he
wallowed, a mass of pulp and corrup-
ton.
"But as man leans upon his spinal
column and finds a secure rock for his
feet, and trains his hands to fight for
his rights, and develops sympathy IN
his heart and wisdom in his brain, and
keeps his eye on his star, his PERSONAL
ity Increases in divinity and humanity,
his Maker trusts him and his fellows
love him.
"It Is consecrated backbone for which
we plead. Courage in the good cause.
The staunch defense of the right against
the wrong The activity of wrong
doers is worthier of a better cause.
The sacrilegious Saracens of these
modern days are not without zeal; 1t
is, therefore, consecrated backbone
which the modern crusader must pos
sess IL the white banners and the red
cross of his chief Captain shall float
from the battlements of our modern
holy cities.
.'Consecrated backbone in business.
There is much that passes for shrewd
financiering in these days which, if
conducted on a small scale, would be
called by the severe old Saxon term of
stealing, and would land the manipu-
lators on the hard floor of a prison cell.
mans high destiny lies in the path
of integrity. Young Adam Clark lost
his place as linen draper because he
declined to stretch the goods in the
measurements to the disadvantage of
the purchaser. But that discharge, on
account of honesty. opened his way to
become one of the greatest commenta-
tors. oh, for a generation of Daniels
who will not worship the golden image
that has been set up! There is a