Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1909-1915, 1910-07-01

REIMBURSEMENT OF the moral point OF
view. The speaker began with refer
ence to the story Of Rip Van Wrinkle,
his disappearance in the mountains
and return after twenty years, to find
modern village in place of the simple
community that had existed before.
He briefly presented the changes that
have taken place, and showed how
with the gathering of men into larger
cities had come the organization of
manufacturing on a gigantic basis,
with a system of merchandising that
no longer knows the individual custom
er, thus introducing great problems
which had shifted the emphasis from
the individual moral code to the social
one. At present there exists a confus-
ed public opinion, backward church,
and an old faith politically and relig-
iously strained, while many men find
themselves unable to see clearly the
new republic that is to come. These
changes the speaker traced back
through history of one hundred
years, as shown in the experience Of
England, Germany and America. In
England complete industrial revolu-
ton had taken place, while in America
there had been an evolution, develop
ing rapidly as the population moved
westward, and in Germany a new EN-.
pire had been set up on an old founda-
ton. Out Of these had come great
industrial state which stands out in
contrast with the political state. The
industrial state growing faster than
public opinion, always moving ahead
of law, created an exceedingly difficult
problem. The strong men who hava
arisen from time to time under modern
conditions often felt themselves be-
You'd the law, and while closely af11liat-
ed with political and social life, never
theless used the political state to ad-
vance the interests of their industrial
affairs. AS a consequence, the moral
code which applied to individuals
somehow or another had outgrown the
new social demands.
The speaker defined the moral code
as body of regulations worked out
through human experience and ap-
piled to the manners and actions of
men as social beings in their relations
to one another. The Sermon on the
Mount is beautiful expression of in
dividual relations as shown in per-
sonal righteousness, moral law, pay
! ment of debt, clean speech, and sacred
ness of family life.. These are applied
in righteous precepts and find their
way into legislative statutes. The
great sins of today are not primal, but
indirect, in their results. Thus, 1t is
no longer necessary to kill directly;
it may be done through violation Of
regulations, through bad sanitation,
through adulteration, and in number
less other ways that might be mention.
ed. Thus, society, and not individuals,
comes to be the one sinned against
Consequently as nations have moved
into the larger Industrial life, the old
code that met their needs IL the simpl.
er days no longer: fits the new pro,
blems, partially because the interpreta
ton is from the old point Of view Our
adherence is to the past, and we, at
tempt to apply doctrines and points
of view, that were distinetlymade fol
the past. Our emphasis has been lpor
person al righteousness instead of upo1
social virtue. It is possible to con
form to one without conforming to the
other. in the mere letter Of the law,
The lecturer said that the meaning
of his point of view might be express
ed more forcibly by the lpresentatior
Of a number OF Commandments. Thus
Steal not from thy neighbours purse
nor take that which belongs to hin
when thou weighest his goods. =
Make not the product 60 farthe1