The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-30

the men and women in 1t are slipping
 backwards. It is Killing itself by
 inches. It will die of sheer exhaus-
 ton; 1t win wear out both the brain
 and body of the individuals in what it
 n pleased to call the March of Prog
 ress. Society has become a relentless
 machine. which crushes cut all that
 should make life worth living. I do not know how you have attained your position, but I can guess that 1t has partly been through the ruin of other
 men. and that you have done much that your deathbed. Take the tradesman who sells adultrated gods. and calls
 1t the custom of the trade: take the artist who paints popular pictures. the authors who writes popular books, the | musician who composes popular music,
 the lawyer who prclongs litigation, | the laborer who shirks his work and robs his master of an hour every day, | take even the lowest of all. and the most honeet, in that he does not pro- | fess to be an honest man-the crim- inal--the common type of all--the man | who steals"
 He paused, and his whole body quivered with emotion. His hands
 were clenched. His eyes glowed with | the Ire of enthusiasm. His very atti- tude breathed out destruction.
 "Yes?" said Mir. Lampirthy softly. What Is the evil genius of all these l men? What has destroyed their hones- ty, has prostituted their art, has made them forgetful of their better selves? Only the desire for money-to be got honestly, if possible, but got ct any price. This Is the boasted result of all
 the centuries of civilization, and this alone. Men are no happier, nobler, pur-
 CT more unselish. more artistic. more learned, save in science than they were in the time of Julius Caesar. They have railways. telephone, motorcars, and all the various toys which science has contributed to the advancement of money-making and pleasure. But they have nothing else, and they have
 lost much. And the evil that is threat | ening the whole race with mental
 and moral destruction is the pursuit of money. But I have sworn to God
 to destroy this idol, and by Gods help | I wills"
 | For few minutes there was silence. Father Francis stood erect as a soldier,
 and his face. haggard, wild. and un- kempt, was clearly defined against the
 background of pale blue ll-paper. The millionaire sat calmly in his chair, | the embodiment of passive resistance.
 You are a dreamer" said MT. Lam- | pirthy, 'an idealist. There is nothing l practical in what you say. What do you propose to substitute for this |
 in the modern social system? If you | destroy, you must replace, rebuild"
 By the help of God, I will replace
 and rebuild" said Father Francis. II I will shatter the idol and set up the | worship of the true God. There is on- | ly one force which is strong enough to
 combat this evil. and until recent years | 1t has held It's own. Not long ago 1t was more powerful than kings or
 parliaments or wealth. It was the one | thing which men feared and honored. | and for which they were willing to give
 their lives and happiness. It is the be- | lief in a God-you can call 1t religion, l if you will"
 r"Religionw snapped out Mir. Lampir- l thy. There are many kinds of re- | ligion: even in Christianity-there are | Catholics. and Anglicans. and Noncon-
 formists; there Is the Greek Church and | believe the Salvation Army has done | much good. Yet all have failed"
 Yes" replied Father Francis. "All
 have failed. But it was not always so.
 At one time the Church was a power
 second to none in the direction of hu-
 man affairs. Then it became a fyrant. l Then men rose against it and over
 threw 1t. It Is now a mumbled creed,
 a house divided against itself. In an-
 other hundred years it will be a ruin.' And how do you propose to infuse I life into this dying giant?" How do you hope to succeed where so many