The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1922-12-28
w O n
BY REV. d. J. QUILLAN

their bravery In battle Is prov rbial
and IL, In the mere matter OF I fling
to keep agreements, they appear % be
incorrigible, 1t must not be Over ook-
ed that Christian nations who d not
appreciate The demands OF their I hris-
tianity have i~ll-repute in that CO lnec-
tion-whereas the Turk Is not / hris-
tian and cannot be expected to g vern
his acts by Christian precepts. Yet
liz the average American has q n entail
picture OF the Turk at all ii Is tn pic
ture OF a pirate, with blood-dri ping
cuirass, slaughtering women and chill
dren In preference to armed mel who
are able to fight back. IT was tn curt
DR.. Johnson who declared, some here
near his famous definition Of In last
refuge OF scoundrels, that an ctive
or potential enemy must alwa s be
depicted as the quintessence o viii
lainy; in short, that organized | itred
Is the logical prelude to the orgt lized
anger that Is war. This process has
been and is being applied to I'll rkey.
But when all things are conside ed 1t
Is one stupcndous and tragic &c 20 OF
the kettle that processes Christ lnity
calling the uMssulman pot lack,
WhCh thC POt 10 HlCI Cay nuSSuli Ill.
The Turk, fortunately, has lo / his
suZerainty over the n spot there
he had least right to any title, G ZEN a
forged title-the Holy Land; Tut it
remains to be seen whether a b 'itish
cabinet minister OF Jewish rae, can
make N overload better suitSd to
Christian taste than a Moslem rince
whose traditions are, at least, ulcon-
nected with the holiness of the Holy
Land. Time will tell this story 10 its
conclusion; our present concern is
the enormous fact that Christian civil
fzation is largely a failure because 1t
is largely managed politically BY men
who are not Christians. IL the CEN
trail voice Of Christendom had been
heard and needed before the war, there
would hav been no war; and II that
central voice we're needed now, when
hatred is rife in Europe, the qnigrrels
OF that unfortunat continent would
| find a Christian solution. There is
horn that the statesmen of the world
! will eventually learn the lesson that
national pride is not a virtue superior
| to spiritual humility-but IL Is Il dim
| and fugitive hope.
A Way 10 Dispel Haze
Internally, the United States is not
| alone in the fiourishing of hate. Other
| countries have their class clashes and
pogroms. Here religious and race
| issues are constantly being poked to
| the surface by reckless or sinister
| fools. We do not find an absolute
| truth charged against the Church
| that she Is the promoter and piopa-
| gandist of Christmas Day. just as
| Chesterton declares that the Average
| Englishman's impression of Plymouth
| Rock is a chicken, and Of Henry Clay,
a cigar, so the average conception or
| Christmas is of a semi-pagan east
first stimulated by the CHR 8 mas
Carol" of Dickens, whereas beyc1,i the
tradition of Wenceslaus 1t is ess Il tial-
iy a testimony to the sublime hi n ihty
OF the Nativity.
II this single historic fact wcr gem
orally remembered only once c ear,
at Christmas or whereabouts, IL y ould
do much to dispel the fogs 9. hate
that obscure the gaze of mill ] 3 OF
men from the hearts n counte 6 noes
of their brothers; ii would go A to-
wards melting the mists OF Ign ince
behind which hate breeds and e .ers.
because 1t would bring about I ac-
acknowledgement Of the first tr | or
many truths-that Christians OF , hat
ever denomination have, at last.
Christ and Christmas In common ; that
in the act OF the birth of Hin Who
came to save all men by prece I and
practise, all men who profes His
name can go far towards saving t I'M
selves by loving n another.
fL~fafrao hos fnn long haQn 11TG
red figure on a calendar. VIII the
peoples of the world, and the df ions
that comprise those peoples, &C ipon
the realization that it is the COZ J EN-
Grafton oil the beginning OF tn new
di~spensation Of brotherly love llong
men, then even the heather q ay be
led to reJuice in iie hapPiHsi and
peace of their Christian brothel } who
/ are fortunate and forgetful TX their
! possession of Christmas.