The daily sentinel., 1908-02-08
TIM PREAGHERs AND
THE PHARISEES.
3 *+N+ &c +%4*<*+*l

And now comes the Rev. A. c..
Dixon, pastor of big Chicago
| church, who declares in an interview
that Roosevelt is like unto the Pro-
phet Isaiah crying the nations sin.
Later in the prayer meeting, Mr. Dix
on uplifts the president another
notch and puts him In the class with
John the Baptist. the forerunner of
the Redeemer. While he was at his
comparisons he might as we'll have
run the whole gamut from Elijah to
the Nazarine and give him the attri-
butes OF divinity itself.
President Roosevelt may be, as
the preacher declares. the first pres
ident to apply uninterrupted Chris
tan principles to every day life;
certain 1t is. Roosevelt is the first
president to call attention in mega
phone tones to the uninterrupted
moral activity. Washington showed
some indications of applied Chris
tianity in his service to the nation,
though he missed innumeraable op-
portunities to speak of his own good
ness. Lincoln's whole political life,
his very death itself. paralleled in
public service the self-sacrifice. the
moral leadership, the inevitable end
of the Savior of mankind-yet we do
dent which suggested any compari-
son with his greater prototype or
reflected on the wickedness of others
in a day of wickedness.
To the lay mind, Roosevelt's
weakness Is his evident belief that
he is one of the few men in public
life or private prominence as leaders
who Is above human weakness,
whose opinion is final. whose dictum
is above the law because it is SO
much better than the law. He has
accomplished much of good-his
enemies concede that; he has smit-
ten some of those in high places who
deserved punishment; he has achiey-
ed following that worships him
foolishly. and he has worked over
time in pursuit of his own desires.
Yet, il one desired to be historic
ally accurate in comparison, Roose-
welt would remind one of jeremiah
and his lamentations much more
readily than of any other biblical
character. Dreams of woe, visions
of disaster, sorrow that all others
are so sinful, pathetic regret that
after him there may possibly be no
good left in the nation-these weigh
upon him and pervade his utter
ances.
Talk about John the Baptist.
Wouldn't Bryan do better for the
modern voice in the wilderness?
Isn't Roosevelt applying the program
Bryan outlined In 1896? In 1904
wasn't Roosevelt supporting Cortel-
you in his raid on the corporations
for campaign funds? In 1900 didn't
Bryan refuse to accept contributions
from these same Interests" while
the party of Roosevelt was fairly
wallowing in the cash they had shak-
en- out of the corporations for the
election, among others, OF Theodore
Roosevelt? And isn't 1t a curious
fact that preachers of the Dixon type
have never been able to discover that
Bryan aroused the public conscience
to a degree that enabled Roosevelt
to accomplish the only great features
of his program in spite of opposition
| in his own party?
This may be the day of prophets
in the Republican party, and Roose-
welt may be second John the Bap-
tist. but the critical will believe
rather that 1t is the day of Pharisees
who thank the Lord they are not as
other men; who play politics with
one eye on the gallery and the other
on the delegates to the next national
convention; who are consumed with
a regard for the public welfare, but
hesitate to discuss such trivial things
as tariff which sustains the great
est of the nations oppressors and
makes possible the corruption the
Pharisees deplore SO deeply.
Go to, Dixon; get over among the
publicans who confess their sins and
repent them. and see how wide a
line of demarcation separates them
from the Holier-than-Thou with
heir big sticks and megaphones.-
Editorial in Salt Lake Herald.