The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-16

M
 there is meaning in It for some
 ! thing far wider than what is tech
 nically called religion. Over all the wide
 earth today a process most divine and
 gracious Is advancing, neither more nor
 less than a resurrection from the dead
 We do the mighty force called Christ
 dreadful wrong when we restrict His op-
 eratons to the field of worship and
 spiritual faith, however august that field,
 far-stretching and beautiful, truly is.
 There are what may be called the by
 products of the gospel, which need to be
 frankly recognized as spiritual. And may
 it not be that these by-products are
 worth more for practical purposes than
 the spiritual agencies themselves which
 gave them birth?
 Take, for instance, the outstanding fact
 of the change in international relations.
 The long shame of the Anglo-Saxon peo-
 pie is surely within sight of it's end, by
 means of the proposed treaty of arbitra-
 tion which will frankly substitute law and reason for the time-dishonored trial
 by battle What better proof can be found of the subtle vitality of the Chris tian faith which underles the peoples Of America and England, manifesting Itself thus practically in William Howard Taft, the Unitarian, most unorthodox, and Sir Edward Grey, who is, suppose, certainly a most orthodox member of the Episco- pal church? He would be brave man who should argue that the proposed | treaty Is sheer idealism, the product Of a religious sentiment. Rather it comes by the interworking of that lofty sentiment with the experience of the unreasonable ness of war and with the grooming of the peoples under the agonizing but increas- ing burden of modern ornaments. From | vast battlefelds, where desolation has tramped on beautiful and precious and most useful men, they are rising today.
 host upon host, smiling upon us, know ing that such dying as theirs was vital izing too.
 The huge armies of the unemployed, the underfed, the il-hoCsed, the an- taught, in Europe and even in this land : sf abundance, rise in hope today, seeing fha3 -esently the cruel necessity which 4 5.-1ls :, to so accurst series of | u.s.ioaa fl end. and peace bring an
 Ear Bf7 Tor despite Sir Oliver | f..4saa aud fears, we have
 a right to ant. not 'nly com ., f{hFen ic Great | rlete pact with oul ara
 Britain, but with our oretf4
 where. The Resurrection is
 reality. not a poets dream, not a nl sesf | future or purely personal experience or | ie Ia ur written on the constitution of all nations. ] Humanity is one, though its vared in- | terests may seem to conflict. In the long run Easter will dawn for the peoples who | through the centuries have sat in the | shadow of death, in the moral Sheol and chaos. I see the sheer curling on the lips of shrewd unbclief. But I see tho | Senate of these United States presently taking this first step toward the sepul- | ehre where the manhood of the future | is entombed. "Roil ye away the stone" says the Spirit of the Christ. By this ' time he stnketh for he hath been dead . many millenniums." answer the political
 wiseacres. But this Lazarus-humanity of
 ours, despite his binding grave clothes,
 is about to walk forth healed and sane.
 There is a resurrection note too in the
 present lineup of the old political par
 ties. Who can tell how long insurgency
 will remain merely insurgent? I am fre-
 quently reminded of the pessimism and cynicism of thoughtful men toward all r the political life of this land. That is nevertheless a great mistake, a sort Of treason For 30 years the division be-
 tween south and north has given all
 kinds of opportunity to the self-seeSer
 and the corruptiolist ard the blatant
 demagogue. But who does not know that a new era has dawned and is rapidly becoming broad daylight? On all sides honesty and patriotism are rallying to
 deal with moral issues on moral grounds.
 and to bring to end that wretched | traffic in pet measures of official schem- CTS which has delayed America these many years Some of us begin to the rays of hope fall on many a neglected, dust
 covered duty in the clearing prospect of party breakup. Why should not the in- , cvitable destinction between progressive
 and reactionist become the recognized
 distinction, carried somehow in the very name of our political parties? The change is coming about, however unwelcome to } the old rank and file anywhere Again resurrection is the song of Ariel. where
 sodden Trinculo and sodden Stephano , quarrel about their stolen gew-gaws.
 steal by line and level' is an excellent
 pass of pate" and by the way, is pre- cisely the classic phrase for graft but ultimately the song wins against the ma
 teralism.
 The other day there was printed in The Age-Herald summary of the re-
 port of Chicago's commission on morals.
 Among it's recommenda tions is a neral
 court That is an innovations: but as , soon as mentioned ir begins to make
 room for itself. If such a court existed here there would speedily be work for it. , Lewdness gets into print and into pie
 lures and into business relations, which
 could be rebul<ed and overcome if we had , the proper authority. How much greater
 the need In such a city as that over grown monster by the lake. Re-examina-
 ten of accepted facts dsenchants tho
 seeker ofter truth; for the truth is too
 ghastly. here and there. But the cheer
 ing thing for this Easter is that sucn
 commisson gets itself appointed. gives
 the time of Chicago's ablest citizens to
 the problem of the neediest and most ig-
 norant and most imperilled. becomes
 arms for the city to throw around the
 ignorant girl-child and man-child who
 play so galy with the neither fires Surely
 again the promise and prospect of the social resurrection! We are certainly moving toward a very near goal-the practical assumption by the community