Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-11-12
AMERICAS DEBT TO THE REFORMATION

icallv battlea have been embodied III /
our political. social and religious In |
stitutions as In no other country Our
Chief debt is the priceless boon Of
civil liberty. It is not alone liberty
Of reason. liberty Of organized soei-
ETY., liberty OF the state. but personal
liberty. the liberty of the individual,
that Luther stood for. What he con-
tended for was the right of each per-
son made in the image Of God 10 form
his own opinion, the right Of private
Judgment in matters OF conscience and
duty, which no power on earth could
deprive him Of For this we owe a.
debt Of gratitude, Daniel Webster
said, THE spirit Of commercial and
foreign adventure on the one hand
and, on the other, the assertion and
maintenance Of religious liberty, haV-
ing their source in the Reformation,
and this love OF religious liberty draw
/ ing after it or bringing along with it.
as it always does, an ardent devotion
to the principle of civil liberty also,
were the powerful influences under
which character was formed and men
trained for the great work OF intro
+ ducing English civilization. English
( law, and, what is more than all, An
glo-Saxen blood. into the wilderness
of North America"
I Our country is indebted to Luther
/ for that large spirit of liberation
which characterizes our people and
which we are now trying to teach
other nations. It is as D'Aubigue so
pofntedly says, Luther was the first
to proclaim the great principles OF
humanity and religious liberty; he
was far beyond his own age, and even
beyond many Of the reformers in toll
Grafton And our own Bancroft
writes, Luther repealed the use Of
violence in religion He protested
against propagating reform by pefse-
cution. and. with a mild moderation,
he maintained The sublime doctrine of
freedom of conscience" The rights
and privileges which we claim for our
selves we cheerfully grant to others.
This is the Golden Rule in practice.
la reformed religion. a reiuvenated
/ gospel. a practical christianity has
awakened in the people OF America
I a sense of humanity like that Of the
: Good Samaritan.
: America is indebted to the Refor-
nation for her institutions of free
dom. Her free schools are the fruit
; Of that great movement transplanted
r into our soil by those pioneers who
r early came to our shores and whose
ideas were formed on reformation
! doctrines. Free speech and free press
are the outcome of free gospel The
2 separation Of church and state in M
5 other country has been realized Il
t such d degree as in America and no
where else has borne such gratifying
/ fruits as here in the land of the fret
s and the home Of the brave. Our gov
eminent Of Eha people. by the peoph
and for the people, q true and idea
S democracy, has received far more from
= Luther than has any other nation
;. Today when 10000, 900 of protestant
: in all lands and in more than flv
:, hundred tongues are celebrating tn
e quadricentennial Of this mightiest O
Q all movements In history, it is fittin
d that America, the youngest and tn
O greatest in the brotherhood Of ma
e tons, should join her voice in tn
s grand jubilee TO show her apprecia
T. ton Of the rich heritage that has com
s TO her hands from the Iabors of fir
j. who, in the judgment Of CARLYLE, wa
:. perhaps the most inspired OF all teach
II ers since the first apostles Of hi
J. faith"