The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-05-14
PEACE MUST BE BASED ON JUSTICE
 SAYS DR. BAKER
Pastor of Woodlawn Bap- tist Church Breaches Stirring and Patriotic
 Sermon

Sermon
 An Intensely strong sermon on pe- triotism was preached yesterday morning by pr. C. Ross Baker. pastor of the Woodlawn Baptist church. pr. Baker stated that it would he a blot on Christian civilization not to risk more than money or nutritious waen human rights are invadei. He referred to the Presidents message and urged the freeman's song with matchless melody rise in triumph over German imperialism.
 pr. Baker took for his theme, songs and Discords." and said in part:
 "The thought of Sod $ harmony. The movements of nature are ever struggling toward harmony. The true man is giving his life to blot out the inharmonies of the world and to res cue the lost chords of liberty, equal ity and fraternity from oblivion l would be glad if could say the earth is filled with music and the.e are no jarring notes or discord. Alas! can not say it with the Anglo-French group of allies and Teutonic hosts facing each other in death struS- gle I cannot say that the nations harp strings are rightly dttuned
 "It is the fond hope of the pacifist that the day shall come when all na- tional differences shall be settled by diplomacy. I believe that time may come, but it will not be till the prin- ciples of Jesus of Nazareth controls the lives of men. So long as sin reigns over human hearts you may rXnect wars and rumors of wars and the end is not yet. The pacifists should con- secrate themselves to universal peace on the ground that peace without jus tice is impossible. All history proves that the onward march of civilization has been over heaps of slain and through seas of blood. The great prob lem of civilization is the suppression of violence by barbarous hands and imperial designs and the establish ment of full rights among the na- tions great and small. under the reign of law
 THE ETHICS OF WAR
 There are two sides to every aues ton. Every war must have it's ethics. There is a right and wrong to every contest It is not always easy to make just discrimination. only an i'm partial observer is qualified to give an unbiased opinion. Most wars are over political issues. which require nice distinctions to decide the right and wrong of the matter. Occaslonal = ly, however, the aggressor is so ar rogant and outrageous that all the world knows at once who is right This is especially true of the war on which we are now entering with Ger many and her allies to safeguard democracy as against autocracy. Ev- cry day it has become more apparent that it was the bounden duty of the United States to unite in this coun- try and join the war for the sake of helping to end it on terms Of justice for everybody and establish institu- tions of world peace. The time for ao- ton has come. No greater reason for it can exist tomorrow than exists to- day. "
 eve are now in the midst of wars and rumors of wars. The cries of the dying and the outrages come leapine over the sea and choke the melody Of a free and freedom loving people. Is it Christian, is it truest patriotism, $ 1t noblest humanity to surrender free- dom to absolutism or take up arms? Did our ancestors do right or wrong at Concord, Lexington and Yorktown? Whenever human rights are ignored. liberty is assailed. Human rights are human rights whether on American oc xrn,I1d D1Ot Christian civilization not to risk something more than money and mu- nitions and withhold our manhood. We ought to send with every loaf or bread every suit of clothes. every dot lar of money, the emphatic assurance that the life we prolong with bread will be protected by the sword.
 THE GOVERNMENT
 '.True democracy holds that the gov ernment exists to preserve the rights and liberties of it's citizens. Now this view which democracy holds of the office of the. government is the direct opposite of the theory of imperialism, the watchword of which is unlimited power. Imperialism is au- tocratic arbitrary. Imperialism does despite to ethical standards. Dem ocracy on the other hand must be ruled by ethical values; right makes might for it. A democracy which puts law in the place of power must de- vote all it's strength to justice It must make many sacrifices and in many cases it must unhesitatingly forego efficiency in order to do just ly and walk humbly with its God. Never since the revolutionary episode was this more obviously true than today. We need supremely the spirit of Washington and those other Amer jeans of 1776-1789.
 INDORSE PRESIDENT
 I've need the devotion of John Dickinson. who said: IT is not our duty to leave wealth to our children, but it is our duty to leave liberty to them We need the sacrificing ex- ample of Robert Morris: The United States may command all that have except my integrity We need the loy- alty of Beniamin Franklin when he said: T am old and good for noth- ing, but as the storekeepers say of their remnants of cloth, q am but q fag-end, and you may have me for what you please"' The significant fact recorded of all the citizens of the commonwealth of that day whose names have come down to us Is that they believed in Americanism anG spoke as Americans, We, are Ameri- cans. Let us take as our motto, America First
 Most heartily do I indorse the earnest, impassioned words which our President uttered in the United States lat ha Ci al