Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-27
TAFT IN THE PULPIT.
President Delivers a Sermon
in Mormon Tabernacle.
TEXT, "A SOFT ANSWER"
Like Roosevelt, Is Inspired by Vast
Audience There.
APPEALS FOR PUBLIC AMITY
Gives Roosevelt High Praise and
Says 'Avoid Acrimonious
Discussion"

SALT LAKE CITY. September 27.--In
the pulpit of the famous Mormon Taber-
nacle in this city, where four years ago
Theodore Roosevelt, then President
preached long sermon on right living
and the duties Of good citizenship, Presi
dent Taft yesterday faced an audience
which he said inspired HIM to try to fol-
low In the footsteps Of his predecessor.
Mr.. Taft did preach a sermon, text and
all.
The immense audience in the nag
draped edifice, the splendid musical
program of operate and patriotic selec-
lions, the enthusiastic cheering as Presi-
dent Taft appeared and the quick re-
Spouse Of the audience to the points
which he endeavored to impress upon his
hearers inspired him, the President de-
clared. with higher thoughts of country
and patriotism.
| The Presidents sermon was an appeal
for amity between the people, for at
tributing the best rather than the worst
| motives to the actions of others when
possible to do SO. and not to harbor
| hatred luminosity.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath,
but grievous words stir up anger" was
|
of Proverbs. The sermon was a homely
utterance, largely made UP of relation
of stories to give emphasis to the points.
From the tabernacle the President was
driven to review about twenty thousand
| school children. At one point along the
line a thousand or more children had
been arranged In a living flag. red, white
and blue caps and capeS serving to out
line the national emblem. I.
At the Unitarian Church.
Thence the President proceeded to the
Young Mems Christian Association, where
he made brief address to men. Last of
all the President attended services es-
pecially arranged for him at the Unitarian
Church. After this unusually busy Sun
day morning he left Salt Lake City at
noon for Ogden, where he enjoyed an
eighteen-mile ride through Ogden canyon
ana made his third address Of the day at
! Lester Park.
When Senator Smoot introduced the
President to the audience in the Salt Lake
| ia bernacle the cheering was so great that
Mr.. Taft could not begin his address for
several minutes. The President said:
Il thank you from the bottom of my
| heart for this expression of welcome and
good will. / have been impressed since
coming into this magnificent structure
| with the thought that you have gathered
| here in part to hear me and that had
| nothing to address to you worthy of such
a magnificent presence.
81 am told that my distinguished prede-
cessor, under the inspiration Of an au-
dience like this, delivered an address in
| hours in length. Now, he had the ca
pacity. he had the spirit, and he had the
mission to make such a preachment of
moral force and inspiration. He knew
| how to appeal to the best that Is in q
man and a woman and arouse them to
| lift themselves to higher standards and
higher ideals.
Tribute to Roosevelt.
But 1t has not been given to me to
exercise that great influence which was
his and which shone forth from him as
ne stood before men upon a platform.
And yet I have felt that on this Sunday
morning it was necessary for me to make
such effort as I could to follow him in
something that may sound bit like a
sermon. And as sermons are begun with
, quotation of a text having more or less
give you the words from Proverbs, "A
soft answer turneth away wrath, but
srievous words stir up anger
ut is text that has forced itself upon
| my mind during the last ten years with
especial vigor because ! have come into
contact with oriental peoples and with
| those descended from the Latin races of
Europe. and have had a chance to COM
pare their views of life and their meth
| DDS of speech and their social conven-
| ions and amenities with those of the
| inglo-SaXon race.
I'VE Anglo-Saxons are, we admit, a
| reat race. We have accomplished won
ders in hammering out against odds that
| civil liberty and popular government and
making them practical and showing to
the world their benefits. But in so doing
and in the course Of our life, it seems to
hat
| our fellows of southern climes have stud
led and made much of, and that is the
forms of speech and the methods of
everyday treatment between themselves
and others. At first that seems super
fetal to us, who prefer mo- and yes and
abrupt methods and communications in
| the shortest and curtest sentences, but we
| have much to learn from people Of that
kind Of courtesy and politeness.
1.-THE truth is that a mans life in his
! family, with his wife. with his children,
| with his mother, with his neighbors, is
not made up Of grandstand plays and all
| that sort of thing. 1t is made up by
series of little acts and those little acts
and those little self-restraints are what go
to make up the mans character And so
say that our friends of the southern
| chimes and our oriental friends have
touched point in philosophy, the phil
| losophy of life. that we may we'll learn
| from them, and introduce into our lives
more courtesy and more politeness more
/
happy by the little things of life, which.
after all, constitute nearly all there is in
life.
"Avoid Acrimonious Discussion"
NOW another collary from the text
which 1 would like to draw is that we
ought to ascribe to our neighbors and to
| those with whom We come in contact as
high motives we can. We ought to
| avoid this acrimonious discussion that
consiens everybody who Is opposed to
our view to perdtion and to having the
most corrupt motives and ascribe to
those who stand with us only the purest
| motives Life is too valuable to waste
| in anger and the charging and denuncia-
| ton Of our fellow men when they don't
| deserve it.
1.-The truth is, this matter of hatred
| and resentment which accompany the
| attributing of bad motive to those who
| differ from you is a waste OK nervous
strength. of time. Of worry, without &C.
complishing one single good thing. /
don't know how it has been with you, but
it has happened time and time again
| with me that some man has done some
| thing that did not like. that I Thought