New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-05
Pastors to Decide on City's
Fitness for Religious
Awakening.
MAYORS ACTION
EAGERLY AWAITED
Business Men Ready to Join in
Crusade Against Evil, and
Predict Success.

To-day may decide whether or not
New York City is ripe for revival OF
religion.
Four hundred clergymen and church
officials of all denominations have been
invited 10 meet in the Park Avenue
Presbyterian Church. Park Avenue and
Fightv-ffth Street. at p. m, TO pray
for deepening Of the city's spiritual
life An hour and half earlier the
steering committee, Of which the Rev.
Charles Whitefcld Weleh is chairman
will meet to devise some plan OF evan
eelistic campaign TO be recommended
60 the general meeting
What that plan will be and who viii
he considered for leadership OF the
campaign are matters Of secondary I'M
portsnce to the little group Of clergy
men who stand at the rudder.
The big question in their minds 49,
is New York resdy|
Ministers who applaud Billy Sunday
and ministers who are known TO be OPP
coscd 10 baseball evangelism. radicals
and conservatives a3d those who keep
IN the middle Of the road-all have an
onportunity this afternoon 10 answer
the question.
Tndenominationai and whole-hearted,
prayerful cooperation is to be the So
gan of the meeting.
Tomorrow the steering commlttce
erpects On answer from Mayor Mltchel
90 its petition for proclamation SET
ting aside April II as city-wlde day OF
Drayer A spontaneous expression OF
Genuine interest from to-day's meeting
snd favorable answer from the Mayor
Uould combine. il is believed, TO send
forth the revival ship on a succesSlul
voyage. H.. :. ,.;r-
dled Wall Street and big business IN
terests will respond. William [ yt-ii
Hamilton. editor in chief OF Inc wan
street Journal" in giving his approVai
- tbe revival idea. SAYS that he senses
sn undercurrent Of respect Tor hlRner
things in the business world. turning
way from the dictstion of material
ISM Ii, 49,.
"Jt must be very businesslike, this
revival" said Mr.. Hamilton. mean
something deeper than evangelism OF
the camp meeting type. The new spirit
has raised standards OF business CnaI
,cter People down here IN wall
Street will not stand for the things
thew used 10. have scores ana scores
Of letters from business men and man
ciers all over the country VINO testilg
70 the new trend IN business etnics'
IT'S a Revision from the materlal Is,
so general for the last decade. ne
n,orst development of materialisn1, lack
~ faith. is found in the European war.
And feel that we will md the remeoy
also in the war, because war makes
people think seriously.
"Thst old doctrine Of the survival OF
che fttest in which the German phlloso-
phers believed has broken down. 1t
was Huxley who reminded US that the
survival Of the tittest did not mean the
survival Of the strongest. If 1t did,
then Jack johnson would survive and
the rest Of us would be killed Of"
81 don't mean r Billy Sunday re-
,-iyal when / speak Of the awakening
Of business 80 It's responsibilities.
Such REVEALS re liable 70 be super
fcial and ephemeral, in my opinion. |
believe in deeper kind OF revival,
one that will give US creative litera-
lure ana hiAs EtA u7 NNN - WI 80
criticism and make our artists do real
creative work. You find something of
that kind in Europe after the Ma
poleonic wars in the writings of
dickens. Thackersy and Victor Hugo.
We have TOO much criticism in this
country. This sort of decadence is
shown in our cubist pictures.
81 agree that this is the psychology
cal hour for spiritual awakening to
counteract reflex influences OF the Eu-
ropean war
When asked TO be more specific about
the elevation of business ethics in Wall
Street, MIR. Hamilton said that the late
J. p. Morgan had crystallized better
business standards in his remark.
Credit depends not upon wealth. but
upon Character
at shows in the relation Of large
Gnanciers to their employees; they hold
them to higher standards, added Mr..
Hamilton. "In the last twelve years
have noticed the same tendency in the
improvement of financial writing in
New York. Having had experience in
MI of the worlds financial centres ex-