The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-12-17

m o dern Paul,
- - sounding through
the palaces Of the rich, the huts of tho
poor, the sacred aisles Of the church,
the courts of law, the marts Of trade.
and the halls Of pleasure.
For although this nation never
stood at such an altitude Of prosper.
ity as 1t does to-day. there are mum.
berless foes to her perpetuity that
need to be watched and exterminated.
What are some Of our perils?
Present Day PeriIs.
Materialism Is the Moloch to which
this age is offering sacrifice.
Sunday Is becoming a social day in
an unheard of measure to past gen.
GRAFTON. We are gradually but certain.
ly opening the doors of traffic and
amusement on Sunday, our railroads
being the leaders in this regard.
Drunkenness among women is in
creasing.
The laxity Of the marriage relation
is nationwide peril.
There is a large infusion of the
gambling spirit in our commercial life.
There Is race to get rich at all haz-
| ards. The increase in social extrava.
| gance Is noticeable everywhere.
Nine-tenths of the law-breaking in
America is Matched in the saloon. The
liquor counter is the block on which
| hundreds of our beautiful American
things are annually assassinated.
| Spirituality is freezing to death in
the church.
The gulf between the masses and
the classes is growing wider. in the
church and in the State.
| This is a dark picture, but it is the
consensus of opinion of the wisest
thinkers in our land, men who see the
perils, and are lifting up warning
voices everywhere.
Does it foreshadow our doom as q
nation? God forbid. The fact that
the peril is so widely recognized is our
safety We have grappled with and
settled many great issues in this
country, and what the fathers have
done the sons can do. To be fore
warned is to be forearmed.
Criticism Easy.
A person could go into a watch fac
tory and from the standpoint of a
complete watch find something to
criticise in every direction. 1t takes
time and skill and patience to make
watch. And it takes time and skill
and infinite patience to make what
the world will acknowledge as rep
resentative man. Character is thing
of growth, not of bestowment =
OF course, there are people in the
church who ought not to be there.
But when a fisherman sweeps his net
around, and then pulling it into his
boat finds that he has a great haul of
mackerel, he does not pitch the whole
lot overheard because he has taken a
few lamper-eels and swapping turtles.
No. He rows ashore, after he gets
through fishing and sorts his catch
afterwards. So the church in this
world is set to catch men, not sort
them. On the beach of eternity they
will be sorted out by One who is un-
erring in His judgment.
Church Factory.
Is not the criticism largely due to
the fact that the objector fails to re-
alize that no one church can be ex'
pected to reconstruct the world. In
this great mission there Is work for
each denomination. 1t is like a great
factory where many hands are en-
ployed. 1t is the business of the
Methodists, warm hearted and fiery
to stir the blaze. 1t is the business OF
the Congregationalists, sturdy and
logical, to hammer the rivets. It is
the business of the Episcopalians, to
whom the beauty of piety appeals, to
make the exquisite case. 1t Is the
business of the Baptists. having strong
predictions for water, to wash OF
the works. So that, after awhile, this
whole world disordered, run down, and
out Of gear, will become q perfect
timepiece, ticking away the centuries
Of millennial Joy. How Inconsistent
is that critic who takes q single wheel
or rivet or case Of watch and finds
fault because 1t is not a perfect piece
of mechanism.
It is all very we'll to criticise the
church for its coldness and indiffer
ence, and aloofness from the lives ol
men, but / notice that when scarlet
fever puts its hot hands into the home
nest, and the roses In the child'l
cheeks turn into the white lilies ol
death, no one wants to put away the
sacred dust without the consultations
of the church, and the benedictions oi
piety. No carping then! No secular
songs! No acrimonious criticisml
Then We turn instinctively to the only
organisation which stands pointing
through the open portals. with thu
emblems OF piety In her hands and thA
| llayhk ~ AkArultv In har 0VAa