The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1918-07-12


have stood in need
of him. 1t has ever been the duty and
responsibility of the church to make
Christ known as the one and only
Savior of men. Never has there been,
however, call so urgent as that which
now comes to the church to present to
the young men of America Jesus Of
Nazareth, the Christ of God, in all the
matcbless splendor of his manhood
and in all the fulness of his saving
grace. Never has there been a time
when this salvation in Christ meant
so much to our young men, never q
time when it meant so much to the
nation, and to the world. We have
come upon the supreme test Of charac-
ter and manhood in the great battle
lines of Europe. The crucial hour
surely is at hand. Only the clear,
strong, enduring, Overmastering man
hood of the allied armies can win in
this mighty struggle. Who Is able to
impart this strength, but Christ only.
Never has there been day when
the moral power and physical strength
Of American manhood was so in de-
mand and never a time when 1T was
so imperiled. Our young men are
gathered by the thousands and hun
dred thousands into the training
camps, and are sent week after week
into the battle-lines i'm France, remOv-
ed from the home restraints to which
they have been accustomed, and sub
jected In new and trying way to
manifold temptations. In spite Of gov
eminent efforts to protect them, and
I'm spite Of the devoted and heroic en-
deavors Of the Christian forces of the
army and the Y. M. G. A. to reach and
to save them, the dram shop and the
brOthel, the boot-legger and the har-
lot, are seeking to reap a harvest
which, from the standpoint Of our
cOuntry's need, Is priceless. Legisla-
ton cannot change the hearts of men.
Christ only can furnish the saving
grace, the moral fortitude and the
heroic courage that can take our
young men safely through the mazes
Of temptation which must surround
them from the beginning to the end Of
their experience I'm modern warfare In
world of sin.
The following story by a nurse In
France Is illustrative Of the ruin
wrought when the vigorous grip Of
vice falls upon our sturdy lads:
Zone morning nurse whose name
you have seen In the papers went with
me to a special clinic, and on our way
back we passed great building used
for hospital.
"T can stand anything In this war
but that she said.
"'Why, what is there here worse
than In other hospitals? Could any
thing be worse than we had at Yer.
dun and YpresT
"'Yes yes these are the boys who
can fight for their country, but can't
fight for themselves she answered.
No wound received Mt the front Is SO
frlghtful as the wounds of these men.
Out there the wounds are awful AND
CHASTITY, but when they are washed
and dressed, the boys look sweet and
clean and wholesome. IF they die.
they die with honor IL they live, they
live with honor; but these boys here|
suffer from diseases worse than lep-
rosy. If they die, they die In loath-
some horror. If they live. they are q
curse to those who love them. These
are the spells of the brotherhood of
the harlOt.'
"A few weeks later was sent to
that very hospital. It was all differ
ent. In other hospitals the soldiers
like to have the nurses near them. We
remind them Of their mothers, sisters
and sweethearts. and they are lit
tie proud of their wounds. But In that
one they are ashamed Of their lives
and disease and do not want good
woman near. They are morose and
Respondent. The blacklist despair IL
in their eyes and hearts"
Oh how sorely these boys needed
Christ In the fresh, sweet days Of
early manhood. II every manly power
had been brought under captivity to
Him, how different might have been
the outcome Of this testing time. Our
thousands Of fresh, clean lads gather.
Ing weekly in the great environments
and pouring daily into the battle line
In France must have a chance to know
the Man Of Galilee, that manifest Of
men. who Is able to save them from
sin and able also to keep them whole