The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-01-30
AUDIENCE CHARMED
BY DR.. bATTEN
SECRETARY FOR NORTHERN eAP.
list CONVENTION DELIVERS
STIRRING ADDRESS.

science and brotherhood of the North
ern Baptist convention. spoke before
a large audience last evening at the
Baptist church under the auspices OF
its brotherhood. He was introduced
by r. H.. Smith, who was a member
of his church in Lincoln. Neh., before
he came to Missoula. DIR. Batten is
an effective speaker, graceful, fluent,
concise and lucid. He uses a simple
diction and his address bristled with
telling epigrams.
The speaker first said the main
activities of the Kingdom of God are
evangelism, missions, education and
social service. No one of these is
more important than any other for in
saying of each n that 1t is Christian
you use a superlative term, He de-
fined social service las the application
of Christian principles to life and it
embraces all forms of effort that con-
sciously and deliberately undertake to
transform living conditions in to what
they should be-" Relief work, he con-
tinued, is essential to Christianity, for
Christianity is as much love for ones
fellow man as it is owe for God.
They make a mistake who say phil
anthrophy is all there is of Christian
ity, blu not half as great a one as
those make who say there can be
Christianity without philanthropy.
But a more important form OF So
cial service is prevention. Everything
in the world has a cause and, there
fore, crime and poverty nav causes.
Some people say God fixes the death
rate; that some men. criminals, for
instance. are made OF clay different
in kind from that of other men. Not
so. We no longer grant that God
makes some men criminals and de-
crees that they shall be bad" The
speaker said criminal nature Is good
stuff badly handled. Criminality has
human causes. You are not criminals
because some Christian influence
shaped your life. Just as the United
States health officers transformed the
yellow fever district of Panama with
the highest death rate in the world
into a health resort with about the
lowest death rate in the world by re-
moving the cause of the disease. so
society can prevent degeneracy by re-
moving the causes of 1t. When chill
dren born in tenements are allowed
to grow up badly nourished, uncdu-
Gated and diseased in mind hy evil
associations, they acquire a bent
toward criminality, and the fault is
ours. 1t is Christian to nurse the sick.
but it is just as Christian to deal
with the causes that make them sick.
1t is Christian to feed the hungry. but
1t is just as Christian to put our con-
sciences and wills to work at organiz-
ing industry so that every man can
earn his W bread"
Vain, Wicked Praying.
The speaker then said that a great
amount OF our praying is a wicked
evasion of duty, for we ought not to
nave the face to ask God to protect
our children unless we are willing to
nave God use us in working his Will
by smashing the traps that are set for
the downfall of our youth. The king
dom of God is not in the soul only,
nor Is 1t In the church, Visible or in
visible but 1t Is Christian community
life. The man who Is making it the
business of his life to save his own
soul is in the gall of bitterness and
the BOND of iniquity, and will fail in
the effort.
Have a Program.
DIR. Batten then turned to the ques-
ton of program. He said that Chris
lar people must have a program. Like
the man aimlessly firing his gun in
the air in the hope that %perchance he
might Kill the devil, we bang away at
the air with a similar hope. If we are
to have the city Of God In Missoula,
some things must be first cast out.
The speaker then dealt some heavy
blows to the social evil. He said that
from 60 to 20 per cent of men at some
time or other acquire the diseases OF
that evil. Some people say that the
restricted district Is the best way to
deal with the evil. The man who.
justifying society's recognition of that
evil. Is willing to have some other
mans daughter serve the base pur-
pose he would not be willing to sacri-
flee his own daughter to, is a fraud
and q hypocrite. There Is only one
thing to do. and that Is to enforce the
law, and the police department that
says the law cannot be enforced is
either hopelessly incompetent or hope
lessly corrupt" When Detective Burns
was asked If the social evil could be
suppressed in New York. he said: "Of
course 1t can be suppressed" What
IS needed DR.. Batten continued, us
the double standard. If a woman is
cast out because she has lost her
virtue, the man should suffer the same
isolation (Applause,)
DR.. Batten spoke briefly of the ga
loon, citing the incident of a brewer
who, riding on a train through Mis-
souri, some years ago with w. J.
Bryan. pointed through the window
and said: w must put that insti-
tuition out OF business or 1t will put
US out Of business" He was pointing
at a church.
He concluded his address with a
brief discussion OF the Importance OF
a program. The cities must have a
program and prevent anyone from
putting up unhealthful houses. IT
must provide Fairgrounds. The city
Of Edinburgh found that the children
living in tenements were four inches
shorter and II pounds lighter tha
the rest Of the children of tho citv