The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1911-12-29
Reaching After The Stray Sheep.

One million dollars are To be spent
throughout the country within the
next eleven months to revive interest
in religion among the masses. j.
Pierrpont Morgan and q number OF
his friends In the financial district OF
New York, have subscribed the money.
In many ways the campaign to re
claim the backsliders upon which they
have embarked is the most significant
and momentous in the history OF
Professionalism ID America.
With the stimulus given to Catho-
licism by its great historical work,
THE Catholic Church In The United
States, which is credited with having
been an important contributing fac
tor in the recent election OF the three
new American cardinals, a return OF
the religious fervour that swept the
country, a generation ago is imminent.
Mr.. Morgan and his associates esti-
mate that there are in the United
States approximately 65,000,000 af1li-
ated and non-affiliated Protestants,
while DR.. Ernesto Begni Of the Cath
Ollie Editing Co., Of New York which
sponsored the new Catholic history,
showing the marked growth Of the
Roman Church here, figures that
there are 100000 Catholics in this
country, excluding the 100000 liv-
ing under the flag in Porto Rico,
Hawaii and the PHILIPPINES. In great
er or less degree, the influence Of
these two bodies is felt in every com
munity in the country. Though rivals
i'm spiritual matters, they are in &C
cord upon many subjects Of mutual
interest notably upon that Of social
! ism, which recent statistics show to
be making heavy strides in the body
! polite.
To Big Business, socialism stands for
disintegration and is incompatible
with the precepts Of religion. Hence
the Morgan religion revival is two
fold in it's object:
First to check the growth Of social
ism, which big Business" regards as
the most dangerous foe of social and
political order; second to bring back
into the fold the great mass Of the
people who of late years have been
steadily drifting away from the in
fluence of the churches.
The first condition being considered
the direct result of the second, the
sponsors of the Morgan movement
propose to get to it's primary cause.
Religion is to be made popular as well
as attractive by being made SYM
| pathetic The complaint of the mas
SEES that the churches are cold and
repellant in their attitude to the poor
and lowly is to be remedied. Patri-
clan and proletariot are to be made
equally welcome. The warm hand of
fellowship, will 60 out in gladness and
joy to all alike. Caste, cliques, and
the various divisions and sub-divi-
sions in which congregations are
wont to array themselves in friend
ship and hostility to one another will
be discouraged. Love and cheerful
ness will be the order of the day ev-
erywhere.
J Thus will the great body of the peo-
pie be drafted back into the service of
the church. To reach mans heart
first arouse his spiritual emotions.
Then he Is invulnerable to the exhor-
I tations OF the socialist or the business
batting muckracker.
| Big Business believes that the re
ligious man is a builder and not a de-
stroyer and realizes that to have pros
perity himself he must help make
others prosperous. The idea marks a
return to homely first principles and
is altruistic in that it seeks through
indirection to foster a sense OF good
will toward our fellow beings and dis
courage the notion so frequently en-
phasized BY the political and business
demogogue that things here on this
earth are going to the dogs"