The Springfield herald., 1912-08-30
SOME pERlLs OF OUR COUNTRY.
Address Delivered by Rev. C. c. Will
kinson at Springfield,
July 4, 1912.

| u
proverbs 14:34.
No one has better right to be
proud of his country than the Christ
ian patriot of America. When he re-
members that the very settlement OF
this continent was undertaken from
religious motives, and that the very
foundations of our governmental
structure were laid In religious tolera-
ton and freedom of conscience. he
has great reason to thank Almighty
God that he Is q citizen Of such q
country. democracy ia the best
form of government ever devised by
man. Ours Is the one truly great
democracy-represe In form
which has flourished in the earth. Its
constitution guarantees to each citi-
|. zen all the sacred and inalienable
rights with which he has been en-
lowed by, his Creator, among which Is
religious liberty. 1t protects him in
the exercise of that liberty. 1t Of
fers him the best chance ever offered
by any government to serve God &C.
cording to the dictates OF his own con-
science.
repeat, that the foundations OF
our government were laid in religious
liberation and freedom of the con-
science. When. in 1920. the May
flower turned its prov westward from
the shores Of Old England. and
plowed Its way through the waves Of
the stormy Atlantic. 1t carried on
board as brave and heroic little
band of men and women as ever un-
dertook a dangerous enterprise for
the sake Of conscience. The Puritans!
The very word has become sacred In
the history of our country. They
were not rebellious subjects Of the
British crown. forced to flee from
their home land for political reasons.
They were loyal to Old England, and
were the best blood she had. But they
were determined dissenters from the
Church of England. which did not al
low them the freedom of conscience
they desired They had some religious
convictions of their own. born Of their
study of the Bible and their fear OF
God. For these they dared to stand
Prosecuted In England, they fled to
the Continent, and found temporary
refuge In Holland. But here they
were among a people foreign in Ian
guage and customs. They ionged for
q place where they might enjoy that
religious freedom for which they had
sacrificed so much. without danger OF
losing their identity as Englishmen.
The New World offered them this
chance. When, after a stormy and
dangerous voyage in their little ship,
they reached the wintry coast OF New
England and made their settlement
at the famous Rock of Plymouth. they
sounded forth a note to all the world
that America was dedicated, first OF
all, to religious federation and the
fear and worship of God. 1 am proud
that am a citizen of a nation thus
conceived and dedicated.
The wise man has said that Fright
eousness exalteth a nation" I can
not follow In detail the development
Of our country You are familiar with
its history. Has America been ex-
allied? Has she grown to command
ing place among the great powers OF
the world? Indeed she has. Has she
been blessed and honored of God? A
thousand, thousand fold. But the same
wise man has said also that "Sin Is
reproach to any people" I must turn
now from the bright and optimistic
view to a sterner side of our national
life. While America calls forth our
praise and wonder, yet there are evils
at work within her which. If not de-
stroyed, will, in spite of all her fair
promise, bring her down in untimely
ruin 1t is of some of these evils that
feel constrained to speak to-day. The
true patriot, as well as the true
prophet, warns his country of Its per-
lis. There Is just the following diff
ference between the pessimist and the
true optimist: The pessimist sees the
dangers and perils of his times, but
has no hope of remedy. He does not
believe that things can be better. The
true optimist sees them also. quite
as clearly as the pessimist. but faces
them bravely with hope and faith that
they can be remedied. / hope belong
to the latter class.
There are great evils at work with
in our nation which it would be folly
to disregard. They are evils which
strike at the foundations of our ma
tional existence. They must be RENE
died, or we are doomed. Power with
out purity spells ruin In the history of
empires. Wealth without honor brings
weakness and decay. National pride,
founded upon superficial idea Of our
strength and greatness, will pave the
way for our national downfall. A peo-
Pile resting securely in their material
wealth and prosperity. and forsaking
God and virtue, are inevitably doomed
to the fate Of all nations which for
get God and serve pleasure and lust.
America has her perils. We must
know what they are and destroy them
from our midst or go down. into the
grave of all the dynasties which have
built on the quicksands of mammon
and wickedness.
One of our greatest dangers lies in
our untold wealth. America is the
richest and most prosperous nation on
the globe to-day. She Is fabulously
rich. One single street in New York
City is said to be worth more than
the whole Roman empire in the days
of its greatest glory. Someone has
figured 1t out that II all the wealth
which this nation produced last year
could be coined into $50 gold pieces.
and these pieces were laid on the
ground, edge to edge. they would form
line from Alaska to New Orleans,
| then up to New York City, then
across the continent to San Francisco,
and enough would be left to dump
lot into the Pacific ocean. This is a
money-mad age. Our boosted cIviliza-
ton is enlisting men in mad race
| for gold and wealth. Commercialism
| is the life and blood OF our age. The
love of money is getting a mighty
hold on the American people. From
| tho tramn tn the millionaire eyery-