The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-04-23
AMERICA NOW IS
LEADING NATION
". country Is In World Supremacy
as Result Of the War. Says
Rev. Matthias at Patriotic
Service.
!, RIGHTEOUS CAUSE
l.u.riea viii come Out Of the Chaos
of World War Victorious if 1t
stays With God-Heri-
tage Of Past.

,aton of the earth, has achieved
yorld supremacy, as a result OF the
sreat war, declared Rev. J H. Matthias
= his address on God and the World
Chaos" delivered at the patriotic
ssryice at the First Baptist church
last evening before an overwhelming
crowd.
This country has come to this
nroud position because it is a chris
ian nation, and it will come out Of
this struggle victorious if it sticks
ia God" In closing remarks ad-
dressed to the members of Company
1, who occupied special section of
| the church, Rev. Matthias said: "Our
flag is a great flag, but it is only
great when we realize what 1T
means. Let us remember that this
flag only shines in the causes of
righteousness and liberty. If you
men are called to the 'front.', go be-
lieying that you are inseparably
linked with God, and a
cause that has never known
defeat. Out of this world
chaos will come the day for which
we all long, in which will be en-
loved the fruits Of the victory of
righteousness"
The service was one of the most
Inspiring of it's kind ever held in
the city. The church auditorium,
the Sunday school room, the bal
comics and the pulpit platform were
crowded and even when extra chairs
and benches were brought in, many
had to stand.
Patriotic Organizations Present
Company L, Belknap and Terrence
Posts, G. A. R., the Spanish War
veterans, the ladies of the G. A. r.,
Woman's Relief Corps, Boy Scouts
and Keokuk Community band were
present and occupied reserved sec
tons of the church. The whole audi
torium was ablaze with flags In
honor Of the occasion. The service
opened with the singing of Amer
lea" and closed with THE Star
Spangled Banner"
The guardsmen marched to the
church in body from the armory.
headed by the Community band. At
Eighth and Main streets the process
sion was joined by the civil war vet
Grams and the Boy Scouts. AS the
marchers entered the church they
were vigorously applauded. After
the singing of The Star Spangled
Banner and the benediction, the
audience remained until the guests
of honor had departed.
The Community band played sew
eral patriotic selections during the
service and the Baptist choir sang
Reginald de Koven's impressive set
ting to Kipling's "Recessional,"
hymn which fitted the occasion.
In opening his address Rev.
Matthias compared the chaos result
ing from the world war with the
chaos that reigned during the crea-
ton of the world, the story of which
he gave in the scripture reading.
Where is God in the present
struggled" he asked. who is God
with? Has he taken any sides?" In
answering this he said hes did not
believe as Napoleon, that God was
On the side of the heaviest artillery,
that God was on the victorious side,
that God was on the side OF might
God is on the right. side." he de-
clared II can't say which side the
right side is, but If God had been
on the side of might he would have
been with Germany in the first year
of the war. for Germany had the
greatest military machine bailt up
that the world has ever seen. But
If God was with this side he has
changed, for the German machine is
deteriorating."
Some Good on All Sides.
Rev. Matthias said that every side
had some good in It. He said this
applied to the south in the civil war
and to Spain in the Spanish war.
This good was goodness, he declared.
some Of the greatest movements for
good have come out of the losing
side and he looked for the world
war to end with all nations gaining
something from the conflict.
Il believe that there is good in
the German side. Butt 1t is hard to
believe in the light of. the Germ an
atrocities. The recent German re-