Evening star., 1942-05-28

transacted with
prayer as 4 part David Lawrence.
of the proceedings.
The idea that public officials be
reminded Of spiritual obligations is
not new, but it takes on added
significance at time when hun
dreds Of decisions are being made
daily that inevitably must send
thousands Of young men to death.
The weight of responsibility in the
executive agencies for the fate OF
the youth Of the Nation now
transcends anything experienced
before. 1t Is, therefore, not inap-
propriate that the action Of Gov
ernment be mingled with solemn
sense Of responsibility to the spirit
ual side of life.
In all the churches, irrespective
OF creed, there Is every week end
a prayer for the Chief Executive
and the high officials of our Gov
ernment. During wartime these
prayers are even more fervently
rendered as 1t is recognized that
Government" has become the sole
trustee of the fate Of millions OF
men in uniform.
In Britain, as the air raids OF 1910
swept the land, people Of all classes
,,roy yad fosoafhor IL, tho md Jarpro,,,,J
shelters. It produced a democracy
Of spiritual allegiance which had
never been witnessed before.
Similarly. the churches in America
are finding an increased response
in these war days.
Government Sets Example.
Government in America sets an
example. While there is absolutely
no relationship of formal nature
between church and state, there
can be no question about the over
whelming adherence OF the Amer
lean people to the idea that as far
as possible public officials should
express and adhere to the basic
principles Of Christian philosophy
in their conduct of national and
international affairs.
If there were introduced in the
executive agencies a brief period of
silent prayer or meditation or even
in the larger departments of the
Government short prayer by guest
chaplains at noon, it might help to
develop throughout the country
feeling Of spiritual interest deeper
perhaps in wartime than heretofore.
The efficacy Of prayer occasionally
Is brushed aside by cynical-minded
persons who consider it an evidence
of a soft" attitude. This Is often
merely a form Of resistance to
spiritual obligation, and such a point
of view Is most Interestingly re-
butted in the letters coming back
to parents from their sons in the
war zones. Again and again there
is reference in these letters to the
adjustments made by the individual
in the face Of death Fear, they tell
us, has been overcome by prayer and
by a realization that the supreme
sacrifice cannot be made for ones
country unless there is a feeling of
sublimation in offering life itself
10 the cause. Prayer has been of
help to these young men. There
is nothing soft about them as they
ask Divine Providence to give them
the guidance they seek in facing
the supreme test.
Back home-in the National Cap
ital, for instance-all interests are
manifest. Here the material side
is evident, as pressure groups strive
for advantage or businesses seek to
protect profits. Here the quest for
power and place is so strong that
bureaucratic jealousies and friction
crop out all too frequently. Friction
between individuals who seek am
bitiously to rise to higher posts at
the expense of rivals presents an
inevitable counterpart of the whole
governmental mechanism. It is in
tensified as Government expands to
undreamed-of size. This does not
lessen but actually increases the
need for introduction of spiritual
values in the everyday life of Gov
ernment.
Rum0rs of Moral Breakdown.
There are rumors current in vari-
Gus parts of the country that a GER
tain moral breakdown is occurring
in the National Capital. Clergymen
speak Of it as a profound cause for
concern. There Is a tendency on
the part of some laymen to regard
such conditions as an inevitable
result of the congestion and the
crowding and perhaps, too, of the
spirit of abandon that came also
during the last war.
If these reports be true, then the
need for the awakening of a spirit
ual consciousness in the National
Capital, both inside and outside the
governmental circle, would seem to
be even greater than ever before.
Religious devotion is so much an
individual matter and requires such
a delicate handling, where Govern
ment especially is concerned, that
1t would be mistake to read into
a plea for spiritual awakening any
sectarian approach.
The machinery for the introduc-
tion of a non-sectarian service or
for the setting up of a minute or
two of silence each day at given
hour for individual prayer already
exists. For in the National Capital
there is q committee, unique in all
America, Of Catholic, Protestant and
Jewish clergymen who have united
to assist newcomers In finding
places Of worship. Such q nucleus
can do much toward sponsoriuR q