The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-02
ALUMNI DAY AT
 OLD BIRMINGHAM W. H, Sanford Delivers Ad- dress At 0wenton School MESSAGE TO YOUNG MEN Urges Them to Stand On Side of Right In Great Moral Battles Now
 Being Wased In the
 Nation.
MESSAGE TO YOUNG MEN

| was neld on the college campus or grauu- ates of the 's9 to 07 classes, inclusive.
 At 10 a. m. business meeting of the alumni was held, at which the president, | Charles E. Rice, submitted a report In which recommendations were made for | the appointment of a committee to as sist Dr. Mccoy in canvassing the state for new students, and also for securing football coach next season. Commit tees also reported with plans for the collection of geological specimens for use in the college, and for the enlargement ofNthe library, etc.
 At 1o:9O a. m. William H. Sanford of Troy delivered the address before the alumni. MT. Sanford, among other things said:
 MT. Stamford's Address.
 TWO have advanced to that state in | our national life where the question of the sharpest Issue is whether this gov ernment shall be controlled by the moral and the virtuous, or whether 1t shall be controlled by the immoral and the vic- ious. To put 1t more plainly, 1t is an | issue of morality on the one hand and immortality on the other, and speaking, l | senting the people who believe in high l morals and higher life, I shall ask the | question, What part has the Christian citizen in the affairs of this govern ment? and insofar as I can I will un- dertake to answer this question.
 And this leads us to ask another ques- tion, What is government
 'In its legal sense 1t might be ex- | pressed as an organization of individuals 1 designed for the protection of it's mem- bers. Selfshy used, 1t Is sometimes supposed to be a body polite for the sole benefit of those who gain control 1 of its machinery and use it's laws for | the benefit of their own interests. In 1 its higher conception however, it is that organized form of social beings con trolled by men for the purpose of elevat- | ing society to that highest state of civ- ilization exempifed by action.
 What, then is a citizen? In a legal l sense he is member of the government in which he lives who uses his best infiu ence and the powers given to him by his Creator for the betterment of his state, his government and his people 7
 This brings us to inquire, What is the | relation of the one to the other?'
 "As water never rises above it's source, so no government ever rises above it's citizenship controlling its affairs
 How can it be expected of men who live on a low plane of life, whose minds and hearts are given to the development of selfish ends to the corrupt practices ! of ward heelers, that they should place upon the statute books laws for the en- forcement of higher code of morals.
 "The enactment of laws to put into l effect all the ideals of Christian civil iaaton can never be had, unless the representatives of citizenship shall be 1 such men as properly represent the ideas and ideals of the moral element of the state. I grant you that there are many laws upon the statute books looking to the prevention of evil, and the betterment of the moral condition that are supported by men who would I have preferred to have voted other wise if they had dared. yet even these laws or many of them have been ham pered in their execution, either by ignorance in their passage or the selfish design of those who had charge of tn cir construction and enactment.
 Growth of Saloon Interest.
 "The saloon interest has grown to be such a political power in this nation that they are now claiming to have the vested right to continue it's sale, and last year it was announced that s5O,- 000.O00 could be had to meet and over come the great moral wave which has swept over this land and is striking this business from the fair escutch con of our country
 sThe moral sentimen t-of this state has been so high and so thoroughly in- spired that laws have been passed to free us from the evil effects of the | saloon, and now the saloon seeks to carry its fight to the people and by beclouding the issue so as to get the people of the state to cry out, Personal libertyp Union of the church and the state! and by uniting the good men thus hoodwinked with the vicious eIe- ment, they may again fasten their fangs upon the government of this 1 state.
 If this government sh ould demand of the young men of this state that tn ey should march to battle and face the cannon roar and the musket thunder of the campaign have no doubt that they would bear themselves as becomes the sons of those heroes who fought for south ern rights, for southern homes, and for southern liberty, and I say to you, and I would that my voice might reach the minds and hearts of every true American today, that he is now | called upon to enter into a battle that sometimes requires more moral cour- age than it does to face the enemy on the bloody battlefield of his country.
 T say that the government is for the benefit of those whom 1t seeks to con- trol, hence the necessity for keeping it in the hands of good men.
 q may next say that ignorance does more to keep back the wheels of prog ress than one would at first suppose, but by no means do mean to say that the ignorant are necessarily the vicious. Coming now to the third cause in the group mentioned I say race prejudice has large influence in the production of crimes of all kinds and Is a great hin- drance to our own progress do not in- tend to enter into discussion of the race problem at any length, but should