The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-12-01
Three Congregations Held Thanksgiv-
ing Meeting and Rev. s. 3.
Moore Made An
Address.
ILAUDs LOYALTY OF RACE
Points Out How colored people Have
Been Loyal in Spite
Of Some Re-
strictions.

The COlored people OF heohuh
united in Thanksgiving services
Thursday in the Pilgrims Rest Bap-
fist church, with the Rev. S. B.
Moore of Bethel A. M. E. church,
preaching the sermon. The congre-
cations Of the Bethel, African Bap-
fist and Pilgrims Rest churches took
part in the service.
Rev. Moore took for his text. verses
from Psalms and Joshua, Give
thanks unto God" and "For we have
not passed this way heretofore. In
his sermon he said:
If you noticed beloved, have
chosen my text from two separate
books in the old testament. One is
from king, in giving thanks TO
EGod The other is from leader,
directing the people what to do as
they enter into new land. The
fruit of the field and vine, the pro-
duct of forest, quarry and mine, the
rains of heaven, freedom from pestt-
lence and disease lie in realm in
| which the power of man does not
enter; they are the gifts of God. 1t
| is a long established custom in this
country when the harvest has been
| garnered and all the bounties gath
cred from the lap of nature, and have
| been safely laid by, to call solemn
assembly to return thanks to the
Giver of all the benefits.
| eve have assembled here this
morning to join with our fellow coun-
| trymen to give thanks to God Al
mighty for these and innumerable
blessings that have come to us. AS
we turn from today one year ago,
| we can truly say we have not pass
| ed this way heretofore.
| s1rIa x,,bjo hoe f11rnnd aclv
all Of Europe into bloody battle
field, has at last taken hold upon our
country and is moving with such
rapidty that we can almost feel the
! very foundation of the earth trem-
bling under our feet. We can no
longer look only with pity on the
starving millions Of Europe, but must
in answer to our countries call, go
with haste to the rescue Of those
who are battling today for univer-
sal liberty. The sacrifice which we
will be called upon to make is not
alone in dollars and cents, nor in the
fruit of the field. Nor the product of
the mine But we are to sacrifice
lives of our sons, fathers, brothers
and husbands. Well might we sly
that We have not passed this way
heretofore.
! Loyal Through It All.
"The children of Israel did not
stop and ask the question why and
while the waters of the Jordan was
sweeping over her banks, the order
was given and they obeyed. We
must not stop and ask the question,
are we justified in making this sac
l'rifce, for country which has mis-
treated us. But we must heed to our
country's call and go forward and
maintain the unsoiled history of the
negroes loyalty and patriotism.
From the days of reconstruction and
the Ku Klux, down to the present
time we have been ostracised criti-
cised, disfranchsed, and modified,
but all of these outrages have failed
to shake the confidence Of the negro
in his God The God Of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, he stands ready to-;
day to fight this war to finish, be-
Iieving the words Of Abraham Lin
coin, that when this war is over
there will be a new birth of the
nation. The church should be awak-
ened to the opportunities which will
come to her when this war is ended,
and give thanks to God. For We have
not passed this way heretofore
81 would be a traitor to my people
If I should at this time intimate that
the negroes Of the United States
have been treated with fairness and
Justice. They have not been, but in
this present crisis, God has opened
the door for us. Let us enter, that
we may be prepared to face the new
conditions that will arrive. There
will be thousands of our people COM
ing from the southland, whose loved
ones have bled and died on the
foreign fields, will be seeking shell
ter. Will the church be prepared to
house them? Let us lay aside the
denominational ideas and sacrifice
for those who are less fortunate than
ourselves. The question is today,
will the black man do his duty in
this worlds struggle? Let the past
answer for the future. 1t will re-
quire no prophet to see that 1t viii
be better times not only for the black
man but for all men. But universal
peace will not come till the doctrine
enunciated twenty centuries ago on
Mars hill by the apostle to the gen.
tiles, Of one blood created all ma
lions Of men to dwell on earth to-
gether.
Let us have faith, faith that
will not shrink though pressed by
every foe, that will not tremble on
the brink of any earthly woe. In
the pagan ampitheatre where the
blood of martyfed christians mingled
with the hot sand on the cruel scat
fold, and at the stake, on countless
fields of battle, where the oppressed
have dared to raise their arms
against the oppressor in all these
places and in every age of time,
faith has been a shield and an in
SEPARATION, strengthened by the
Ipromise.
"As I look forth, can see from