Evening star., 1936-09-30
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.

misguided clerical militancy" which.
he insisted, "accentuates crises that
lead to civil strife and bloodshed. Both
the church and political agencies OF
the people suffer If the church enters
actively into those fields Of economic
and social endeavor specifically re-
served to political agencies when
the pulpit is transformed into q po-
litical forum, religion is unjustly sub
jected to the influence of temporal
factors"
Rev. DR.. Joseph r. Sizoo. former
pastor of the New York Avenue
Presbyterian Church and now pastor
of the Collegiate Church of St.
Nicholas, New York. Piled for a
similar solution to the problems Of
the age. "One hundred years ago"
he declared. such gathering As
this would never have been thought
Of. Men in that day did not meet
one another in the name Of religion
but they shot one another In the
name Of religion. A century ago, If
q gathering like this had been
planned, 1t would have ended in dis
aster and the speakers would have
landed in jail. Our presence here to-
night bears witness to our apprecia-
tion of one another. We are coming
to see that there are many roads
which leads to the mountain top. - .
But there Is Q second and more
impressive reason for our gathering.
1t is q fact that without religion no
nation is safe and no civilization can
survive. We are here to say to one
another that without spiritual ap-
precautions democracy canpot endure.
Freedom Of religion does not mean
freedom from religion and liberty
of conscience does not mean liberty
from conscience. Democracy Is .
form OF government 30 high and 30
exalted that it requires high level
OF character and q high standard
Of morality to maintain. Without
fundamental sense of reverence and
religion democracy can no more sur
vive than . watch can run with .
broken handspring"
Strength to Conquer.
Rabbi Morris 8. Lazaron, minister
OF the Baltimore Hebrew Congrega-
ton, appealed for the dynamic of the
living God" as opposed to the
dynamic Of chauvinistic national
ism, the dynamic of the new Caesars
with their blood cult, hate cult, state
cult and war cult" Man needs some
overwhelming motive that will reach
down into the very depths Of his
being" he argued, "and will lift him
by its transcendent power and. point
ing out to him his divine potentiali-
ties, will give him the courage and the
strength to conquer. We have tried
law and failed. We have tried force
and failed. We have never yielded to
the spirit of . vital faith. Many Jews
have lost God and many Christians
have lost Jesus. We must find them
again. Let US pool our resources.
organize our energy and pit the
power of our living faith against the
rising forces which would overwhelm
all freedom and destroy that democ-
racy without which we, too, are lost"
The fundamentals of religion also
was the theme of Rev. Father John
K. Cartwright, pastor Of the Church
of the Immaculate Conception, who
said: "A democracy rests on ideals
that must be deeply embedded and
enshrined in the hearts OF millions OF
individuals who make the state. In
other forms of government, ideals may
be imposed at the will Of q tyrannous
minority, but in . democracy they
must live and grow within the hearts
of the people. Yet ideals have no sub
sistence In and of themselves. They
must spring from the inspiration and
subsist by the blessing Of Almighty
God. In this conviction We are
met here tonight. Our three faiths
differ in very much that Is vital and
important, but on this important
thing we all agree-that the tradition
of q pure and spiritual faith, which
arose in Palestine and which has been
the handspring of the worlds civili-
zation these 1000 years. must still be
ut the heart of civilization in America
as In all the world"
freSente0 Dy blsnop.
Right Rev. James z. Freeman,
Bishop of Washington, presented the
four principal speakers. The spon-
sors of the meeting, he explained,
represent the determination Of the
churches of every name to prosecute
with fixity of purpose and defniteness
of aim everything that concerns the
moral and spiritual well-being Of the
people Of Washington"
Plans for further endeavor were
outlined by Rev. DR.. Anson Phelps
Stokes, former secretary Of Yale Uni
versity, now canon residentiary At
washington Cathedral
The musical portions OF the pro-
gram were in charge Of the Army
Band, led by Lieut.. Carl Hubner; the
National Capital Choir. directed BY
DR.. Albert w. Harmed; the Choristers
of Immaculate Conception School, di-
rected by Charles Benson, and the
Washington Hebrew Congregation
Quartet, directed by Lewis Atwater.
Openins prayers were recited BY Rev.