The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-05-11

Virginia, declared with ietelsntI 80
their effects, Il can truly say 'a' e1,ert
! Young man in Virginia whom
800 expected to find a p II
not an avowed unbelleVer. Re a..
s;rmed that III College or W1lllaii
and Mary, which had been 1ou1lueu -
ralieio1s motives and for Chrlst1an
ands as it's first charter showed, had
haco,,1e the hot bed Of French pom
t;os and infidelity." Yale College had
s~,1ccunbed to the same evil l1lliueiiIe'
and when in 1875 the great Il1notns
institution he found it in the mos
wretched condition as to both lalll
and morals. DIR. Lyman Beechef VINO
entered the college as a student apou'
that time said it was IN a most une
cody state" and he adds. most OF
Re class before me were infidels, and
called each other Voltaire, Rousseau
D~.AIIemhert. etc" Our nation can
never pay the debt it owes 10 ~;
Dwight for the warfare ne "aseo
against infidelity in Yale Coilege ouIo
ING all the years Of his presidency. he
drove it from Yale and his SAVING IN
fl1ence extended to other institutions.
He might be called in some sense the
saviour of his country IN that perlious
hour. The poorer Yale Of DR.. DWlghts
dav did more for the country than
does the richer Yale of today.
Washington also in his Farewell
Address lamented the moral condl-
tons which he saw around him. ana
he warned his cOuntrymen againS.
he dangers of irreligion and infide1ity.
Manifestly he vas aiming his words at
current conditions, then SO threatening
to all thu was good. when he said.
"Of all the dispositions and habits
which lead to political prosperity, re-
supports. In vain would that maj
claim the tribute of patriotism who
would labor to subvert these greatest
pillars Of human happiness, these
firmest props of the duties Of men and
citizens. The mere politician, equally
with the pious man, ought to respect
and to cherish them. A volume could
not trace all their connections with
both private and public felicity. Let
it be simply asked, where IS the Sc
curity for property, for reputation, for
life, if the sense of religious obligation
desert the oaths. which are the in
m of investigation in Jul
courts OF Justice? And let us with
caution indulge the suppOsltlon that
morality can he maintained without re-
ligion. Whatever may be conceded
to the influence Of refined education
on minds Of peculiar structure, reason
and experience both forbid us to ex-
pect that national morality can pre-
vail in exclusion of religious liberty"
It is not surprising that the Father
vi t1lS 1odil1l NdS Tic Z kCCiIlC vi
the most conspicuous leaders Of the
political thought of that period were
most aggressive in their opposition to
all things religious. General Dearborn,
who was the Secretary of War in the
administration of President Jefferson,
on one occaSiOn in abiding to the
churches said, so long as these tenn
pies stand, we can not hope for order
and good government" Washington in
his Farewell Address" traversed
with - ~ y, n &c o,,ol> -
cious sentiments because he saw the
need Of sounding a note of alarm.
The General Assembly of the Pres
bNterian church in 1898 bemOaned the
situation in these words: per
ceiVe with pain and fearful aDprehen-
sion a general derelictiOn of religious
principles and practice among our fell
loW-citizens, a visible and prevailing
mplety and contempt for the laws and
institutions of religion, and an bound
ing infidelity, which in many instances
tends to atheism itself. The prolfigacy
and corruption of the public morals
have advanced with a progress pro-
p~OrtlOnate to our dec1enSiOn in reli-
glon. ~Profaneness, pride, luxury, in
justice, ntemperance, lewdness and
every species of de~baucherv and loose
indulgence greatly abound"
Behold to what length the evil leay-
en- which was working among the
educated classes operated to the cor
fuption OF private ana morals
among all classes. 1t affected the
whole life Of the nation and threaten
ed even the stability of all its social
and political institutions.
l have dwelt at length upon the eff
feet OF educational institutions m order
that l might warn our people against
a powerful effort which certain very
astute men. backed by millions of
money, are now making to captuhe
and control u colleges and UNIVERSE
ties. While We sleep they work.
An educational trust has been form
cd, n it is operating to control the
1~nstltutlons Of higher learning in the
Inlted states, and to dominate esne-
clallN the colleges and universities of
the South. :
When the war was over General Lee
eXhorted the troops to go home and