Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-01
MEN AND RELIGION:
AIN INTERPRETATIONS
BY MYRoN JERMAIN JONES.

new impetus to the real solution of the
social evil.s in other places problems OF
employment. OF the living conditions. OF
the larger social life of the community
have been fairly met and the solution of
fered. 1t fs fair to say that in larger and
districts, new enterprises have been
opened and old ones revitalized which but
for this movement would have waned.
The rediscovery Of men with talents and
the desire to help in practical ways has
been one of the best services rendered.
AS Mr.. Bridgman says: Talents buried in
the brains and hearts Of business and pro-
fessional men have been unearthed and
put to USE
Social Justice and Orthodoxy.
When Jane Adams had finished her
| address before the congress last Tues
day Fred B. Smith. the campaign leader.
stepped to the front of the Carnegie Hall
| platform and said:
! the question with me the other day as
| to the orthodoxy of Miss Jane Adams.
| II this kind of gospel is not evangelical
I think we had better revise our defini-
] ton Of evangelical. Three years ago !
was foolish enough to think that l would
| like to annihilate enthusiastically such
men as DR.. Washington GLADDEN.. DR..
Walter Rauschenbusch and other church
Lcu WHO were eAptOlttIiS tue lie" SOopSA
| of social service. I have been compelled
| to change my notion completely in the
last three years, and the last winter has
| revealed to me as never before the need
| for emphasis by the Christian life Of our
| time on social justice. They told me II
could never be done; that we would
smash up on the rocks of socialism; that
the churches wouldn't stand for it. ! am
| here to indorse every word that DR.. Glad
| den. Prof. Rauschenbusch and other
speakers on this platform have said on
| the social service program. Take social
service out of the men and religion for
ward movement and it's appeal to the
mind Of this generation would have been
nullified.'
| This theme of social justice has in
spired the ablest platform addresses, has
| been kneaded in by the institute discus
! sion and laboratory method. and it is
being rounded out on the printed page
! in most convincing and elaborate fash
| ion.
| Charles Stelzle said this to me in an
| swer to my question as to whether the
tives on the one hand and radicals on the
other: 1--WE have had wonderful sea-
| son. The audiences, great and small.
have never failed to respond to the en-
| phasis on social justice and to the fear
less but reasonable demands in the name
of Christianity which our social experts
| have made in the communities visited.
AS one has said. Men and religion has
| sounded forth from sea to sea the mes
| sage that religion is for men and that
1 men are for religion 1t has cleaned
and is drafting a masculine strength Of
the nation for great tasks, upon whose
thorough and speedy accomplishment de-
ponds the very life of the republic
| Individualism and Combination.
Bryan. speaking for the United States,
i md IT,
ronto Globe, speaking for Canada, sound
| ed the opening note of the conservation
| congress under the topic Of ''Chrstianity
and Governments" it was clear that the
prevailing theme for the six days conven-
| ton which closed in New York Wednes-
day night was to be social and patriotic
| This does not signify in any sense, how
| ever that 1t was mass meeting and not
a congress. The real problems Of the de-
mocracy, perils that threaten the Amer
lean Christian type, tasks that await
Christian statesmen rather than amateur
| sociologists, came out in every one OF the
seventeen sessions held. Everything
| about the congress seemed to give evil
dence Of new Christianity. big Chris
| tianity. Men we're thinking continentally
| They were seeing big government big in
dustries. big railways, big business-why
not big Christianity? Why, instead OF
| be well regulated combination in the
| religious world?
| Indeed, SO vast was the field Of service
! covered and so really tremendous were
| the formal addresses and reports of COM
! missions that one states to discuss the
| sign ficance of this congress without a
greater opportunity to digest the contents
| OF its discussion The reports of the sew
eral men and religion conservation COM
missions are to fill seven fairs zed vol
umes and to be issued by New York
publishing house. Features of these re-
ports can only be limited at in a few alb.
stracts.
The first commission to report was that
on publicity. It was the last commission
to be apo nted. Little did the promoters
of the men and religion forward move
ment expect. when they outlined the ten
tative program two years ago, that so
important development in the religious
life of America would come as that in
volved in the thorough discussion of the
church and the newspaper. DR.. TalcoH
Williams. director Of the Pulitzer School
of Journalism at Columbia University.
delivered trenchant address which went
straight to the heart of things and did not
mince words for a moment. In part Dr.
| rector Williams said:
"The Duty of Publicity"
Tho newspaper bears the same rela-
ton to religion which 1t has to all social
agencies-the duty Of publicity If this
duty Is fully discharged the church is
not only set in fnll light before the COM
munify. but those in the church and its
officers are preserved. through publicity
l tot to- 60,