Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-12-21
Outside Point of VIEW.

This is pre-e,ninently the age OF
colnbina ton. Incidentally trusts. n
some bad teatures that go with this
idea Of consolidation. That the theory.
per SO. is not a bad one is easily admit
ted. Outside of business circles. the
same idea is worked into fact in our
state and national government arrange
mems. The present administration of
our pension bureau. compared with the
crude methods adopted at the close of
the rebellion is a case in point. Last
October the Congregational churches
held their fourteenth biennial owen
tion convention in Boston. What leaders
of the denomination say was the most
important conference in the history of
the denomination The session conclud-
ed a series of meetings which extended
over a period of ten days.
Two things n particular in the opin-
ion OF the leading clerical delegate TO
the council. stamp the Boston meeting
Of the council as epoch making so far
as Congregationalism is concerned
namely. the vote TO centralize the
source of UNCONVENTIONAL activity. au-
I thority and power. and the unusual
number of affiliated. Congregational So
~cierieS holding their annual meeting in
connection with the councils %triennial
session.
While a substantial majority of the
! council members favor the ceEtraliza-
ton plan. a considerable part OF the
minority consider the action TO be OF q
revolutionary character. The minor
ity members point out hat when he
national council was organized AT OBJ
erin. o. half a century ago, il was
IN no sense an administrative body. hut
would exercise merely an advisory
function.
But a sentiment in favor Of central
ization of power was there and will in
crease and grow as It was in business
circles The world over.
Another form Of this growing idea OF
combination, shows in later day talk
over church unity. At Baltimore, in
his sermon at the Cathedral. Cardina!
Gibbons praised the sentiment favor
able to church unity expressed by the
recent %triennial convention Of the Pro-
testanl Episcopal church held at Gin
cinnati. Q.
L join with them" he said. in pray
ing that the day may be fastened
~ - III : = bSoINS I4iot t!4.4c -AI34A *
one fold and one shepherd Will be full
filed. Unity Of faith is a most splen-
did evidence Of the mission of our Di-
vine Saviour. II We should have unity
of faith 50 that all may be bound TO-
gether by the one tie Of faith and be
Subservant TO one hepherd-God.
My dear brethren, common sense
alone. without divine revelation. ought
20 impress upon US the absolute neces-
sity of unity of faith. Where only a
this unity be found: My brethren, in
the Holy Roman and Catholic Apostolic
church. of which the Pope Of Rome. the
representative Of Christ. is the head"
Assuming that the cardinal has a
strain of Irish blood in his physical
makeup. one is inclined to read some
between the lines where only can this
unity be found?
At BlairsvilIe. Pa, in his pulpit Rev.
w. L. Barrett, pastor of me First Pres
byterian church, publicly retracted the
statement made in a recent sermon. up
,on which G~overno!-elect John K. Tener
basad a suit for criminal libel.
The minister said that the statement
he made in his pulpit Oct %. to the ef-
feet that the then candidate for COVER
| tIoi lIt1 pSSi seen III ali liIlOAlCdlSO
condition al kittanning was based up
on Information given by Rev. W. A..
Roulston of Nandergrift.
A letter was read from Mr.. Roulston
in which he explained that he took an
other man for Candidate Tener and
that when under misapprehension he
related the incident to Rev. Mr.. Bar
rett. he did so without malice and
without any IDEA that it would be pub
licly stated. In view of the retractions,
it 10 announced that Mr.. Tener's suit
will be Withdrawn. All will agree this
preacher acted a Christian in pub
licly retracting his false statement.
And equally true is it he made such
a. libelous statement in good faith. and
on creditable information Of the other
preacher that he mistook another
man" we need more charity to con-
denim his offense. And this whole
business brings up the one old ques-
ton. is it the greatest good to the
greatest number, to nav our preachers
in the pulpit make political addresses.
It is true, generally. questions Of NOR
atty and good government are univer-
sal when our preachers feel 1t a duty
to take an active part in political cam
paigns. But just the same, some Of US
doubt whether the pulpit and the
church is the place for such work.
M%AM~e