The Greeley tribune., 1912-02-29

will mention two.
In the first place there is the diff
ference in the degree of interest
which reformers feel. If | have
brought group of reformers from
the audience to the platform and
find that they all believed in n cer-
tain reform, and if had a ther-
mometer by which could take the
temperature as reformers | would
find that they would vary all the
way from just above freezing, up to
boiling point. daughter When
reformer is just above freezing
you have to deal very tenderly with
him, for little change in his tenn
perature and he drops out of the
class. but when he is at boiling
point he is at work and the main
purpose of a speaker on reform ia
to raise the temperature 1t Is
much easier to increase the enthus-
iasm of one who is already with
you, than to convert a man to your
side who is really against you
But the second difficulty is a
more serious one: 1t is the hon
est difference of opinion among re-
formers as TO what reform is most
important-as to which reform
ought to be secured first If we
were to bring ten of your citizens
upon the platform; the ten recon-
mended to me as the most earnest
of your reformers, and if upon eX-
animation | find that the ten agreed
upon ten reforms as desirable,
would find that not half Of them
would agree as to which one of the
ten was most important. and prob
ably no two of them would agree as
to the relative importance Of the
ten reforms, and this difference or
opnion-honest difference among
reformers, delays reform, because
If the reformer is honest he is apt
to be obstinate and because he is
conscious that he is disinterested
he is not prone to compromise and
it is not an easy thing to keep re-
formers together. If you have tried
it | need not dwell upon this fact.
Now | am not here to urge any
particular reform. | am here rather
to point out TO you what the world
is doing | am here as | said, to
encourage some, to stimulate others
to activity, but | am going to dwell
for just a moment on this point,
that | may call your attention to
one thing.
Now | have known honest, we'll
meaning people, to be so much in
terested in one reform that they
would absolutely refuse to partici-
pate in the securing of any other
reform; that is, they would insist
that the one thing in which they
were interested was so important
that they could afford to sacrifice
the opportunity to help secure
minor reforms in order to throw all
their influence in behalf of this one
reform, however remote it might
seem from the present. and | have
known people, and honest people,
too. who were so sure that they had
found a cure-all that when they
could not get the people to accept
it now they We're willing, aye they
were anxious, yes they would even
help to make conditions worse in
the belief that after while those
worse conditions would bring peo-
pie to Il point of desperation where
they would accept the reform which
they now reject | have never been
able to bring myself to endorse this
course of reasoning; | am not Will
ing intentionally to help to make
any condition worse, no matter how
sure | NAV feel that out of that
worse condition some good may
come. am restrained by the fear
that if | helped to make conditions
worse. | may not be able to make
them better afterwards. and | am
not willing to take the responsible
ity therefore for the making OF any
condition worse and | illustrate my
philosophy in this way: II ever
get it into my head that could
raise a man from the dead | shall
try it on dead man, | shall not
kill n man first in order TO expert
ment. (Applause.)
Elijah. that brave prophet OF the
early day had the courage to STAND
before the king and rebuke wicked
ness in high places, even bllJah
grew faint and frightened when be
was fleeing from the wrath OF a
wicked woman and when he
thought that all the prophets OF the
Lord had been put to death, and II
was not until he was assured that
there were seven thousand who had
not bowed the knee to Baal that
his hope returned. Peter the her
nit. whose zeal and eloquence STIR
red continent to crusade, had
his hours of doubt and fear; ana SO
to you who have labored long ana
waited until hope deferred mas
made your heart sick. | give TINS
cheering message, that God is stu
on his throne and that the world
moves forward.
want to show you now 'he
world is making progress along
three important lines. and progress
along each of these lines is eleNat-
ing men and bringing down 10
mans level the material things that
have made him their bonded ser
want.
We do not have to go back many
generations to find very different
idea on the subject OF educa'loi'
from that which is now entertained
A few generations ago ana our own
God never