Evening star., 1940-11-22
All Goddess Regimes
Doomed 10 Failure,
Bishop Leonard Says
Methodist Leader Sturts
Series Of Broudcusts
With Optimistic Message

A note Of optimism on the future
of the world was sounded by Bishop
Adna w. Leonard of the Washing
ton area Of the Methodist Church
in the first of a series of religious
festival broadcasts yesterday.
After pointing out that the free
dom of individuals is imperiled be-
cause democracy is threatened by
types of nationalism that deny the
existence and character of God and
the rights of the individual, Bishop
Leonard said:
ANY scheme, social, political,
educational, scientific, economic, that
crowds God out, that divides the
human race into hating and fighting
groups, will ultimately fail"
Bishop Leonard's address, broad
cast over WMAL and WRC, was
sponsored by the Committee on
Religious Life in the Nation s
Capital. Rabbi Norman Gerstenfeld
minister of the Washington Hebrew
Congregation and chairman of the
program, introduced the bishop
Prof. A. p. Kane of the Georgetown
University Law School, the Catholic
representative on the program, also
spoke briefly.
Bishop Leonard at the outset ad-
mitted that this is sad and suffer-
ing world and that JOY and gladness
are less spontaneous and abundant
than year ago. In certain portions
Of tAe world gaunt hunger is
terminating the lives Of vast num-
berst of men, women and little chill
dren who barely escaped the quicker
rnethod Of death from bursting
bombs and exploding mines.
World Made Sad by Fear.
Another reason why this is a
sad world is because of the pres
ence of fear which today Is we'll
nigh cosmic in its proportions.
"Other eras knew what perils
confronted them. The characters
tic of our age is that no nation
knows what lies ahead of 1t. Ma
tions are certain of great uncer-
tainties, and that means fear. The
literature of despair is literally
reeking with fear. There is fear that
biologically mankind is plunging
downward and that we are repro
ducing from our less fit human
stock rather than from our bet
ter human stocks.
There Is the fear of domination
of the individual by the crowd This,
Of course, Is most keenly realized in
time of war. With the arrival of
war, both morals and intelligence
adjourn.
Then there Is the economic fear
This Is q fear. that an industrial
civilization, resting as it does upon
the minuteness Of labor, machine
production, Standardization of prod
uct, and quantity production carries
within itself the seeds of its own
destruction.
There is the historical fear that
afirms that our Western civilization
Is drawing to the end Of great
adventure.
There is what is called the ad-
ministrative fear, which is the fear
that the institutions Of western civ
ilization, such as big cities, great
states, industrial organizations and
certain educational institutions are
so big that we are not producing the
men big enough to run them.
The moral fear afiirms that the
present generation Is drifting NOR
ally and without rudder or compass.
Finally, there Is the fear that
democracy Is not delivering the
goods we expected 1t to deliver
There Is no doubt that the vast
majority of the American people be-
lieve that the future belongs to de-
mocracy. 1t should be remembered,
however, that democracy cannot be
turned loose and grow up and de-
velop of its own sweet will"
Against these reminders of dark,
grim facts that lift themselves
threateningly before the world"
Bishop Leonard said, "it should be
remembered that the fact of life is
greater than the disposition that is
made Of it. Therefore, because of
the fact Of life, all national and
international eras Of distress, de-
struction and national upheaval
are but temporary. A better day
is dawning upon the world"
Bishop Leonard said the United
States should be thankful that every
evidence of religious bigotry has dis
appeared from American life and
thought.
However" he added, "the spirit
of national unity, so essential to
the well being Of our country, is
none too safe against the rising
tide of racial or religious intoler-
ence. The Nation must be put on
its guard against their spread in