The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-04-20
PATRIOTIC SENTIMENTS WERE EXPRESSED
FROM THE MANKATO PULPTS YESTERDAY
SERMONS GIVEN ON DUTY OF AMERICANS

pSOul sc vi wi 10, WIZ A>AN'NA iAoIi
the earth, those who would orofane
the heritage of the Fathers sons -
"Duty of the Hour"
Rev. r. R. Paden, in a sermon on
'"The Duty of the Hour at yesterday
mornings service at the Presbyterian
church, said in part:
THE duty of the hour is to lay our
selves and all we have on our coun-
try's altar for such service as we can
render and as our country may de-
mand This may involve the giving of
life itself in sacrificial service This
in a word is our duty, to hold ourselves
and our sons and our possessions in
readiness for sacrifice.
I'VE have not been living with any
such possibilities of sacrifice before
US. Our life and service have centered
very much about ourselves. We have
laid up riches or tried to, built homes,
surrounded oursClV-s with comforts,
studied, in a word to be comfortable
and to look forWG. to being COM
Portable The very fit duty, there
fore, that confronts us is to face the
possible demands for sacrifice, re-
conciIe ourselves to the new ideal,
learn to despise comfort and don the
sacrificial life, to face the worst.
"It is easy to say: There will be no
call for great sacrifices The war will
soon end AT most we will only have
to support the allies with few bil-
lions of money We had better count
the cost We had better raise our esti-
mate. A self-respecting nation cannot
do it's Bit in suppressing the disturb
ers of the peace of the world by BILL
lions of money. 1t is our battle. The
cause is ours as much as it is the
cause of the thousands who died at
Gallipoli and the millions who have
laid down their lives in Flanders and
France.
Should Not Platter Selves.
'Nor should we fiatter ourselves that
the last struggle between democracy
and despotism, between liberty and
oppression, the great war against war
should end without final, bitter and
desperate struggle. We should count
the cost and prepare accordingly, pre-
pare our hearts and minds to give
our best, our very best, our hearts
blood We should be ready, promptly
as they can be trained, with an army
of three hundred I thousand, then a
million, then three million, then ten
million if necessary. We should hasten
to drill the five hundred thousand
then to place one hundred thousand
under the American flag in France or
Russia or Flanders. The Sooner we
awake the less the cost of life. An
American battalion should be in battle
line as soon as it can be drilled and
provisioned and as soon as it can be
spared. ".ts Fl. ." ..y
1--WE must get beyond the selfish
calculating spirit into the sacrificial
spirit We must face the inevitable as
the will of God. We must yield to the
sacrificial call. There is a point we
must reach when the heart of man is
recon"iled to the worst, the very
worst and the consecrated man shouts
with joy as he gives himself to a
noble cause. We must awake to the
reality of our country's call.
WARS are not won by prOclama-
tons. We must not delude ourselves
by supposing that moral support and
ideas without bayonets will subdue an
international bully. Our first duty is
to prepare our minds and hearts for
the worst. We can't make an end OF
despotism by sermons or editorials or
prOclamations or ideals. We must pre-
pare for actual, costly, terrible sacri-
fees, that will completely change the
significance of life to us and be the
making of new soul in u.s." ....
Sermon BY Rev. G. A. Cahoon.
At union service of the Methodist
and PRESBYTERIAN congregations, held
at the Methodist church last evening,
the pastor, Rev. G. A. CahOOn, deliv-
cred a sermon on "The Presidents
Message: Americas War Against the
War" He said in part:
1--WE are in the war. Loyalty is re-
quired of all citizens. 1t is no longer
question of debate or of individual
opinion. The congress and the presi-
dent have spoken. We should consider
calmly and fairly the compelling caus-
es that have brought us into this
great world war.
"The pulpit should speak on the
moral, ethical, spiritual and patriotic
problems of it's own day and country.
The church, whose very life and OPP
portunity of service is bound up with
the welfare of the country, is as vitality
interested in the outcome of the war
as the government itself.
1--WE shall pay the price of war, in
discomforts, in hardships, in the con-
tents of our treasure chests, in the
call of our youth and young manhood,
and it may be that eventually every
man among us will need to answer the
call to the colors.
"The president was led into this
conflict by the force of public opinion.
This is a peoples war, fought for peo-
pies rights, in which America seeks
not only to defend her rights but to
save her soul.
Fought England; Threw Off Yoke.
1--WE fought old England and threw
off the yoke of her bondage for the in
alienable right of life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. 1t forms the
very ground work beneath our feet,
surcharges the atmosphere that we
breathe and floats to the breeze in
the flag of freedom that protects us.
And when for love offe and COM
fort and pleasure and greed or gain,
we permit the principles of liberty to
be trampled in the dust or sink be-
meath the sea, in that hour, as a peo-
pie. we lose our very soul.
Our duty in the crisis is TO sup