The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1917-06-06

lishments that promote IL. These gains
are somewhat Offset by the gener-
al prevalence Of luxury and its ac-
companying weakness and degener-
acy Of body and character, and the
astonishing efforts TO have women
assume the duties Of men, thus di-
minishing the natural charms Of
sex and the reasons for chivalry
and tending TO make the individual
instead Of the family the unit in the
state.
In what may be called world poll
tics there have been great changes.
The British and German Empires
have been organized in wonderful
ways, though the British nation,
like our own, has been weakened
by luxury and feminism. Spain and
Turkey have receded in power while
Russia and China and still more
japan have advanced. The Panama
Canal has added to the neighborli-
ness Of nations. The United States,
for good or i'll, has entered the arena
of world politics. In nearly all
lands there seems TO be a growing
sense Of brotherhood and desire for
social justice, and an extension of
governmental interests in indus
tries, commerce and the real wei =
fare Of the people.
In religion there has been SEEM
ing gain in recognizing the fact that
Gods revelation in the Bible is a
progressive one. We have always
known that the New Testament was
in some ways more important than
the Old, but in the last twenty-five
years we have come to see Christ's
own teaching as the thing by which
to measure all other truth. We
value the question Of the lawyer
who asked Christ, what is the
first and great commandment" This
emphasizing of the central doc
trines of Christianity which include
the social as well as the personal
responsibilities Of man has natural
ly made Christians Of different
churches less hostile. But these
gains are partly Offset by the decline
Of religious worship throughout the
world. The organizations Of the
church are partly formal and per-
functory, unattractive and unpro-
fitable, and even where they are or
could be made fruitful they are neg
lected. Such a condition we must
attribute to the failure Of religious
leaders. The people who neglect
religion are really as hungry for
gospel truth, and as unable to live
by bread alone, as any previous
generation. They even turn to ex-
travagant forms Of religion because
the established religion fails. We
need another Wesley or Finney or
Moody.
And now we ask what Berea has
been doing while these great move
ments have been sweeping over the
world.
Our twenty-five years in Berea
naturally falls into four periods:
The first, from 1892 to 1895. was
the Initial Period, in which we
made a new statement Of Berea's
aims and gathered our first new
students and supporters.
Second, from Commencement 1895
to Commencement 1914, was the First
Expansion Period, in which new en-
dowments and buildings were secur-
ed, largely by aid Of the initial
pledges of Doctor Pearsons.
Third, from 1904 to 1909, was the
Adjustment Period, in which we
were chiefly occupied by the diff
culties attending the separation of
the races and the establishment OF
Lincoln Institute for the colored
people.
Fourth, from 1909 TO the present
time, has been the Second Period of
Expansion, in which we have final
ly secured the space, and largely
the shelter and equipment, most
necessary for our work.
II must be noted that there has
been no period which could be call :
ed distinctively one either of in
tellectual or spiritual growth. All
these twenty-five years have been
a struggle for daily bread and bod
lily shelter. During all these years
we have protested spiritual aims
and these have guided our efforts,
and many spiritual advances have
been recorded, but we have
been actually giving chief ef-
forts to things not spiritual
but temporal. In other words, we
have been getting ready TO do some
thing spiritual, cherishing the spir-