Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-01-27

are opposed 10 the truth, feNllLlng ltS
power upon the minds Of their victims.
The taskmasters Of today would fain
hide the Truth from the wagesIaves,
but in general find 1t imposslble-so
great is the power Of the press and
there are still publishers who have not
sold their moral sense for sordid gain.
In times past, when chattel slavery
prevailed, the master found 1t to his
advantage TO educate his slaves and
thus increase their value, but to his
disadvantage to give them ethical cuI-
tm'G along the lines Of human rights.
The feudatOry lords Of the past estab-
lishcd serfdom and were very willing
that the common people should con-
slider them demigods, not amcnabIe to
the same laws as their subjects.
The same principle apparently
prompted the emperors of old Rome,
yea, and back to Nebuchadnczzar, the
first world emperor, to proclaim them
selves POnhtcp MarimuS and to en-
courage their people to render them
religious as well rs secular devotion.
The natural selhshness Of man has
ever thus prompted him to take as
much advantage Of his fellows as cir
cumstanccs would permit.
am not here saying that the masses
may not have Jared about as well un.
der those fetters Ns If they had been
free. am not arguing that all men
are born equal. am merely stating
the facts as all acquainted with his
tory know them | am putting these
facts as a background, that my text
may shine out the more luminously.
"The Truth shall make you free"
Which Is the Torch Of Liberty2
I can imagine many able men identls
fed with the sciences, each claiming
that his science, or truth, has done
more than any other to break the
shaCkles of ignorance and to set men
free. The artist would tell us of the
power of the picture to influence even
those who cannot read. The publisher
would tell us Of the cnlightenlng innu.
ence OF the press, The astronomer
would lNud his science and tell us Of
It's broadening influence upon the hu.
man mind The gcologlst, historian
and dramatIst would cnch claim for his
art the honor Of setting men free.
But admitting all the claims thus set
hnTnpR uE | mol a.. A.
plea that the Bible has been the great
Emancipator from human slavery,
mental moral and physical All other
torches derived their spark from the
Bible, the Torch Of liberty lighted by
Divine Providence.
The secret Of this great power Is that
the Bible alone sets forth the relation
ship Of man to man. The Bible alone
tells us that all humanity are Of one
blood, all creatures Of the same God,
all amenablc to Him, either for re-
wards for well doing, or punishments
for ill-doIng While the Bible in.
structs that kings, princes and all in
authority should be recognized, and
that honor should be rendered to whom
honor is due, yet It also tells MS that
the king upon his throne IL nmennblo
TO exactly the same laws as his most
mcnln servant, and TINT II he violates
the law he is as sure to be punished.
No other book In the world ever placed
all humanity thus on the same level.
Moreover the Bible points ont that
the present life Is merely schooling
time related to the future life ns cause
10 effect It shows, ns none other book
does, that every act Of life, every spo.
ken word, yen, every wilfuI thought
bcnrs upon our ChnraCter-deyclopm
aud prepares MS for higher things in
the life TO come, II faithful, or contra
riwise, will give us more steps to re-
trace In the upward way, and CORE.
spondingly more difficulty In ever
reaching the reward Of life everlasting.
"Hopo Thou In God"
As we look back into the past, we
see the nations stupid In the hands or
crafty soyerclgns, We see the nation
Of Israel, soddcn with fear Of their
Egyptian Mskmascrs not daring Of
themselves to take steps for liberty
But after they had been delivered from
Egyptian bondage, after God had en-.
tered into Il Covenant with them us Il
uation at Mount Sinai they were
changed people
The thought that God was for them
and had promised them aid worked
wonders, not only with the leaders,
but also with the rank and die True,
they were inclined to gravitato toward
l. l. L L IL