The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-11-28
AMERICAN PEOPLE,
SOUND At HEART
That Was One of the Reasons for
Thanksgiving Brought Out BY Rev.
F. L. Goodspeed in Union
Service.

The. annual Thanksgiving service was
held at the Hedding Methodist church
Wednesday evening, with an attend
ance that was considered particularly
good under the prevailing weather con.
ditions. Rev f. L. Goodspeed was the
preacher of the evening, but all the
Protestant pastors of the city had a
part in the service. Rev b. G. Lipsky
presided over the meeting, Rev. B. j.
Lehigh read the scripture lesson and
the presidents Thanksgiving proclama-
tion, Rev. d. G. Huntington led III the
responsive reading and Rev W Men
kittredge offered prayer The choir
furnished special music for the occa-
sion The offering, as is customary
goes to the Barre City hospital.
The subject of DR.. Goodspeed's ser.
mon was "The Spirit of Thanksgiving, y
and the text, 1T is good thing to give
thanks unto the Lord, taken from Ps,
92:l. Speaking Of present conditions
the preacher said in part
These are perilous days in this na
tion. days for clear and sober thinking
is this nation, like Russia, to be dom
mated by group of citizens, or is ii
to be democracy We are in danger
of having an imperillm in imperio, a
government within the government
opposed to the government and seeking
TO control it. Such a situation would
be intolerable There can be but one
allegiance. Lincoln said this nation
could not exist half slave and half free
No more could it exist if a group should
seize the reins of government and as.
sumo 10 dictate to the whole country
1t must be either class rule, government
by the group, or government Of all
the people, by all the people, and for
all the people.
"We must not confuse the great mass
of honest and patriotic workers in
America who are just as good Amer.
leans as any of us, with the elements
Of disorder and anarchy When il
comes to dealing with anarchists and
revolutionists, our duty is plain. These
people are here, not to avail themselves
Of the opportunities offered in a free
country, but as avowed enemies and
destroyers. Many Of them were skulk.
ers. slackers and hinderers in the
hour when the nation needed defenders
They hate our ideals and would over.
throw our institutions Kindly, but
very firmly, the government should
deal with these trouble makers, and
send them back whence they came
Those born here should be restrained
There is no sort of doubt as to where
our people stand on this subject. They
have lost patience with these elements
that are bent on making the difficult
davs of reconstruction more difficult
still.
"We deplore lynch law, and it is new.
er justifiable But as used toward
some of these people, it is explained by
the fact that the government has beer
so spineless and vacillating that pa.
tience has been mistaken by these con.
spirators for cowardice, and delay fol-
indifference. When this republic is at.
tackled, there is no distinction of cap.
ital or labor or class or political party
but only Americans.
''But in these matters we have cause
for thanksgiving that the skies are
clearing and the signs are auspicious
We are discovering that soundness and
not decay abides in the heart of the
people. To the credit Of organized la.
Dor is the fact that in the case of the
coal strike the courts Interpretation OF
the law was accepted The test was a
severe one. 1t searched the hearts and
motives of these men as nothing has
ever done and, to the joy of us all
demonstrated that the fundamental at.
titude of these men toward the nation
and its laws is sound 1t was a great
victory won by labor unionism over
pride, suspicion, the desire to save the
face, the fear of ridicule in their own
ranks and, above all the love of vic.
tory, however barren and dangerous il
may be. 1t was a great crisis, and
when great crisis is on, impulsive
spirits talk wildly about shooting and
hanging this man or that. 1t is mere
froth and fury, but it is not befitting
Christian men and women to indulge in
these imaginary murders. Cain is nc
ally of ours We have to live together
If labor makes mistakes, and even
wrongs the common sense of Justice
who can count the errors and oppres.
sions of capital?
"The struggle of labor for an assured