Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-09-25

SS.
perity so long as we remain Indifferent
and inactive in the face Of such mon
strous evil. The devil must have laugh
ing party with all the lost souls, as ne
sees how we fool ourselves. The church
Of Christ cannot look for any great out
pouring of blessing while great sin
stains our souls. AS we'll look for re-
vival of religion among the sellers OF
rum, as among those who permit rum to
be sold.
What is the Trouble.
The old-fashioned doctrine of the sinful
tendency Of man fits in here pretty we'll
Let US face 1t. Let us accept the charge
that 70 per cent. Of us want rum. There
Is little to refute it. One Of your Oldest
and most religious residents of this city,
a man as scholarly as he is lovely in char
acter, said to me that the recent election
was in part due to "a fight in the camp
Of tho enemy" If that is true. it should
bring the blush of shame to the cheek of
every citizen.
A common fallacy is that II the people
want a bad condition, let them have IT.
The official who lacks courage and is in
| different as to the enforcement Of the
| law. falls back on the fact that the peo-
| pie do not want the law enforced. Socie-
| ty Is always falling into evil ways If I'M
| rebuked and uninspired. But when the
people Of Israel went after strange gods,
| Just as the people Of Maine are going
after strange gods, did Jehovah tell
Moses and Aaron to let public sentiment
| have its way. Did the Almighty say, or
permit Moses to say, You can't enforce
law against such popular clamor?"
Read and see. What had Jehovah put
!! these men there for? To back down like
| towards and do the will Of the people
rather than the will Of God? Never!
Two men stood up against a million.
Moses alone, defied vast aggregation of
men, and brought judgment on them in
the name Of his God.
If suicide club should be organized
here, and its members declared they
would form a death compact, would the
officers Of the law stand by and see
| them carry out the threat? No, they
would land every last one Of them in
jail. They might protest that it was the
united sentiment Of the club to kill them
| selves, and that they SO far represented
public opinion. We have here both sui
eide and black hand club They claim
the right to defy the majesty OF the
State, and poison the whole community.
have laid responsibility on the COM
munity and the citizen, but If I accepted
the position Of enforcer Of the law, 1
would die in the attempt to enforce 1t,
and would call on every citizen l saw and
in the name Of the State deputize him to
assist me If I was defied.
saw a small. wiry man halt every au-
tomobile approaching great hotel in
case there were children in the car. Could
they pass through that gate? No. Let
them try it, and he would halt that
chauffeur in twinkling. What right had
one man to stop 100 or 500 IN a day? he
was acting on his orders. He was PAID
for Just that thing So II every man.
woman and child in Lewiston attempts
to go against the law, and attempts to
pass through the gates Of personal lib
erty," one man has the right. backed by
the governor and every soldier in the
state. to say "halt." Let US not be fooled
nv old sophistries and false reasoning, so
old and decayed that they smell If we
saw the law cannot be enforced, then no
one is safe In this 'Iand of the free and
! home of tho brave" We are conquered
by an enemy that never has shown quar-
ter. and never stops till the last man
has been spitted on the bayonet Of ille-
gal contempt.
What 10 the Remedy?
The beginning Of reform Is with the
Almighty himself. He gave to Moses and
Aaron, to the prophets, to John the Bap-
list, the cry which Christ, the Son OF
God sent out-"Repent." The science and
practice Of government has never i'm
proved save through a spiritual quicken
Ing The church always has and al
ways will utter the first call to better
things. If the church is silent there rs no
hope. II the church remains inactive.
nothing will be done. When I came to
Lewiston, said to myself II think I
shall enter upon the work quietly. and be
hale-fellow-well-met with every ono. I
have done my share on the fighting line.
and II there are bad social or government
tai conditions, either overlook them or
take them gradually: at least not to an
tagonize.'
| But II am to remain a preacher of
Gods word, what Is there for me to do
but to obey orders? cannot open my
Bible at any page without seeing the
stern command to Cry aloud. spare not,
lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and
show my people their sins and the house
OF Jacob their transgressions. There
is no backing down in the Word. There
is no weak whining that the people pre-
vail. When the prophet of God threw I'D
his hands. he was either removed. re-
buked or given a new vision.
When Jesus gave His parting address
to his disciples, he told them that the new
work would begin at Jerusalem. 1t would
start at the very center of religion.
And what were they told to expect? A
popular demonstration Of approval and =
! welcome to our city" With brass bands