The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-10-11
KEW ALERTNESS Of the.
PUBLIC CONSCIENCE
Richmond r. Moving Forward INTO
New Cicarncss Of Its Moral
VIII
REV. DIR B0WtE's SERMON
Minister Declares High School Mas
Meeting shows Awakening Of Bet
ter Element Of uusenshAp-Put
Honor Above


ter Element Of uuscnshAp-Put
Honor Above
',Riohmond Moving Forward. the
Promise Of the Mass Meeting OF
Thursday Night" was Or. w. Russell
Bowie's topic at 81. Pauis Church last
night uHe dweit upon the possibilities
Of the result OF such meetings as that
held at John Marshall High Scs,ool.
and urged his congregation To grow
abort In their efforts to help toward a
cleaner and purer city,
The events OF this past week" no!
said, are moro than matter Of
temporary political readjustmen'.
They are Iae expression OF a purpose
which has the lasting dignity Of high
moral meaning and the power Of a.
spirit which IL OF God.
What Ia it that we citisens OF Rich
mond have been concerned about In
NE movement Of which the mass
meeting Thursday waa . part? We
can point to certain specific thin9s az
the answer, There was the determine
ton first OF all to remedy the injustice
done to two policemen by the vindic-
tive action Of discredited police com.
n1issioners There was the determi-
Of two OF those commissioners.
There was the will also TO secure
in the place OF three men. two already
resigned. and one whose resignation
the mass meeting called for, suqes
sors, who in their character and their
moral sympathies shall be qualified to
give Richmond tne kind of police con-
troll its awakened moral sentiment re-
auires But these definite reforms and
any others which are needed will be
permanently effective only In so far
as a spirit which IL not afraid to call
itself religious. expressed itself through
them and presses forward to the
larger end which they are intended to
! serve. That end IL to make the pub
lie life Of the city square with those
divine ideals which 1he consciences
OF Its individual citizens confess. II
: il TO make the city what men with
the thought of God before their eyes
know 1t ought to be.
| In the Book of Revelation. when
i'ae seer IN describing the redeeme ed
age. what he sees is the holy city. new
Jerusalem, coming down from God
There Ia a double suggestion here. In
the first place. there IL the splendid
faith that the human society which Is
| shaped according to Gods thoughts
sha1l be built here on this earth OF
o'irs And In the second place. there
~ Nle fne thought that the holy city
| would not be something strange ana
unfamiliar, bat the city which we
know. made new in righteousness. To
John long ago that city WAS Ieru.
salem; to us today the city which 10
to show Gods plan come down to
earth ougsat to be our own city here"
We need a pride In the city which
a
spiritual too. II 10 enc thing. TO be
tnluud. -of thA. elisa ,.sssxs,,- ~ In.
its wesith; but that kind of pride may
20 hand in hand with moral compro-
mise, with selfish reluctance to see
troublesome moral issues ronsed. with
the sort OF opposition 10 any clear and
definite utterance or action on the
part of the church's ministers. which
calls itself conservatism. but some
4 times comes close to moral cowardice.
1t Is another thing to have the kind
Of pride witch puts the citys honor
above material advantage. and feels
the shame Of civic unfaithfu!ness like
the insult of 4 blow.
/ We haye shown Of Late that We have
that nohier pride, The temper of the
mass meeting showed II. II showed
! that the people of Richmond ire capa.
bic of a moral indignation. which un-
! faithful public servants can reckon
with to their peril. and a moral pur.
pose which high minded men can trust
10 for their support
A second forward step In the con.
scious sentiment OF Richmond is the
conviction that It In a matter OF public
concern, and a matter Of the citizens
business that public ofr1cials-and Cd.
pecially those oficials who touch thu
! uHuft ~
personal lives. great deal Of velour
falsshood has been spoken in recen,
months in attempted refutation OF this
The effort was made to prove that tn.
citizens of Richmond have nothing Il
do with the personal morals of theil
servants. provided these arc rot guilt,
Pof public graft, To the honor OF thu
best part Of the Council be It said tina,
they refused to listen to that low sug.
gestion.
The mass meeting Thursday nigh,
showed that the people are In no mood
TO listen to II. 1t Is well that TIL,
should be made evident--thoush TO an,
decent intelligence the fact ought not
10 need emphasis. In the police ad
ninistration Of Richmond now, ant
more particularly in another year wher
the license saloons will be closed, THU
city for it's own honor In the enforce.
ment OF the laws needs men who ir
! their own moral earnestness have ne
! entangiing afYinities with the evils the,
are to seek to abate.
Because the city IL mcving forward
into new cieanness and new dehnitions
OF its own moral will, we have good
eause for thankfulness But we need
TO remember that the hghts worth win.
ming are not concluded In a day II
10 almost an amazing thing and a wit
ness TO the Inherent strength OF good.
ness even when In the outward reckon
ing OF forces II seems over matched
that so much which 10 desirable has In
these last months been gained. All
through the police invesfisation, the
pressure brought upon Councilmen BY
morally questionable elements In the
Lefty was great: the effort Of the sup.
posed better sort OF citisens was feeble
and indifferent in comparison. Yet. on
the whole, In spite of that. the Council
has measured up honorably to the chal
Ienge which the situation brought
For the future, the call IL for .
new aiertness Of the public conscience,
and for that patient insistenca on civic
rishtcouspesa which can nefther ha A