Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-05-16

voice that comforts us in sorrow and
pronounces the last sad rite upon
our departed loved ones should not
rave and rant on the hustings. We
do not believe a preacher can mani
cipate political machinery and be
righteous any more than he could be-
come a burglar and become honest.
1t is no more wicked for priest to
sell penace than for a preacher to
grow rich selling political news
papers. We thing it is AN immoral
for a preacher to seek to lobby while
he prays as it would be for him to
gamble while he breaches.
There never was a time when
preachers and politicians formed an
unholy alliance that civilization did
not shrek out and Christianity cry
aloud.
I'VE appeal to the laymen of Texts
to demand that political preachers
give their congregation more old
time religion and less political clap
trap; that they display a more earn
est effort to reach the hearts of men
and play less to the galleries; that
they more often hold fellowship with
the members and fewer caucuses with
the politicians. Certainly the laymen
cannot perform their full duty to the
church by singing songs, paying
church dues and voting tickets hand
ed down from the pulpit by political
evangelists. The laymen should be-
come dominating factor in the poll
cies of the church. Let all the breth-
eren unite in lifting fallen ministers
from the sloughs of politics back in
to the pulpit.
The Layman's Problem.
cit is as important that the polti-
clans be driven out of the pulpit as
that the preachers be forced back to
the pulpit. We think it sacrilegious
for anyone to get his call to the pull
pit from campaign managers, to get
his inspiration from the cesspool of
politics or to get his articles of faith
from political conventions. 1t pol
lutes the church, mocks Christianity
and is a heinous crime against
society.
1--WE can conceive of no more dia-
belical hypocrisy than politician in
the pulpit shouting for votes AID
can imagine nothing more damagine
to public conscience than preacher
saying amen" to his deceitful
antics
political leaders may live wet an(
vote dry and the low standard .o1
state craft is not offended, but wher
the church turns over the pulpit tt
office-seekers and their henchmen
true Christianity has received {
crushing blow and hypocrisy runs
rampant in the altar, for it is writ
| ten 'Ye cannot serve two masters
"Since the beginning of government
politicians have sought to decoy the
ministry into the meshes of polite!
and make them carry banners in poll
teal professions. They have taker
I the ministry to the mountain top O.
power and offered to make then
monarch of all they surveyed a1(
while most of them have said. 'Ge
thee behind me Satan few of then
have fallen with crash that has
shaken every pulpit in Texas.
"The ministry, unsOphisticated an(
corifiding, is no match for the poll
| tican versed in artful persuasion ant
| skilled in deceit and it is the duty o.
| the laymel to protect the ministry
against the onslaughter of these
wolves in sleeps clothing and drive
the politicians from the pulpit witt
the lash of public scorn. 1t is the
laymen's problem to keep the minis
try free from unholy alliances for il
is said on divine authority that WE
are our brothers keeper.
There is political machine II
this state that would put Tamman!
to shame and make Thurlow Weed
turn over in his grave with envy, ant
the pulpit politician is one of thu
component parts of it's mechanism. II
our next article we will discuss this
political machine.
"W. D. LEWIS, president.
"PETER RADFORD, ex-president.
Farmers Educational & Co-Operativ'
Union of Texas"