Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-09-27
CHRISTLESS RICH FLAYEDBY
FRY IN PLEA FOR CIVIC GOOD
Says independently lndiffer-
ent' and ''Piously Lazy"
are Dangerous

Civic righteousness as a debt owed
to the future generation was the key
note Of an address at the Lihue con-
II. Fry, representing the chamber Of
commerce of Honolulu. His address
follows in part -..
when the community enthrones its
best men in office il enters upon On
era OF prosperity and victory, bHt
when it enthrones its worst men, Ii en-
tiers upon an era OF moral decline.
Would you know what is to he the
future of the nation, then take the
pulse Of the civic conscience. I sus-
pect, Mr.. Chairman, this tonic was as
signed to the. Honolulu Chamber Of
Commerce because of its direct bear
ing upon the civic problems Of Hcno-
lulu. We are fast becoming nation
of cities. into which the throbbing
surging masses of humanity come,
seeking the gold that glitters and the
pleasures that allure. s..s "a
Times like ours demand attention.
for the vice and misery of our cities
battle the skill Of the refermer. Every
where the restlessness and mIlFn1ur-
ings of discomfort mock the genius Of
statesman and churchman alike. In
the city we have the best and the
worst, the highest and the lowest
types of human life: our civic prob.
lens are very difficult indeed. -
But beg to remind you that the,
most dangerous people to our civic
life are not the thieves, the gamblers,
the drunkards and the prostitutes.
Men are waking up to the fact that
there is not commercial value In vice.
In this day of dollar madness, a prop
osition that does not pay Is doomed
to failure. This Is largely the reason
why the liquor saloon Is becoming so
in America. 1t does not
pay. .... a 49,. - "a
christless Rich Assaulted.
The most dangerous people with
whom we have to do are the Christ.
less rich, the Independently indifger.
ent and pionsly lazy. Sacred stupid-
ity and saRctifled incompetency re.
eeiyed a severe jolt when Jesus said ::
The children of this world are wiser
in their generation than the Children
OF light Broadly speaking our diff,
Guilty is with two classes, those who
are determined net to live for other
people and those who are determined
to live of of other people.
The real problem of civic righteous
ness is not how to keep the corrHpt
element out of office. They are al
ways In the minority and cannot rim
our government unless we are willing
to let them The question that we
want to find answer for is: How can
we correct the bad citizenship Of good
citizens? The good citizen who re-
fuses to vote every time he ms AZ
Opportunity to do 81 cE@ht TO he DIS
fran chised. The man Who al.c'-s h
business interests to stand h"twFar
him and his duty in moral fg't g
4 coward. The man who recoivoS
profits, even in an indirect way. froH'
the licensed evils OF TIE cnmmHn;tv ie
an undesirable citizen and a silent
partner in municipal crime.
Attitude OF Business.
1.-THE most sensitive thing in this
world is business. Men are willing
that you should pass laws, enact re-
forms and punish the offenders just
so long as it does not interfere with
business.
There is so much imnerscnal re-
sEonsibility and indirect dealing that
it is very hard to know jrst where to
draw the line and fix the blame. Usu-
ally personal interests are very strong.
Il know of no temptations so subtitle
as those which seek to make man
forsake his moral convictions and his
civic conscience in the interests o. his
own business. The forces OF evil are
powerful. and II you will but admit
that they have a temporary r;ght &c
exist. they seem able to place you IL
positions of commercial advantage.
No man has better right to your sun
port than the business man OF your
who stands at the outpost
of civic reform and pleads for TIE
things which he knows the community
ought to have. while he knows that for
the time being at least they will react
to his own financial disadvantage.
Many a good man has gene out CT