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Christianity and American Politics
$f us, AmorlcanB whoso "citizenship is in
heaven" it must' Do said alao that we havo clti
aonShlp in the most significant republic of ail
history, Duties in each of tho half spheres in
dicated above aro . compatible and relevant.
All conceptions, that would break their identity,
continuity, or universal control aro badly born
and really stupid Citizenship in heaven corro-
lates tenaciously with citizenship in tho great
republic. It is tho expression of this heavenly '
citizenship alone that oan guarantee American
continuity in a worth while national life. Let
us come to contact with those vital principles
until it Bhall be possible for God to turn his
power upon us.
,Tho world was never as weary of the blight
of statecraft without moral imperatives as It is
just now. Wp are in the flux and flow of subtle
evasions, selfish maneuverings, and- ravenous
excesses, The fact that the American citizen
ship conscience is getting more unprejudiced
information, is rising to a better insight, and is
increasingly powerful, Is sotting rays of radiant
light to the" overhanging skids. To tho , un
scrupulous, to those lusting for solffsh -powor,
to autocrats and profiteers, this fact is increas
ingly troublesome and unwelcome. Heroin, is
the moral tug of war that is now and forever 6n.
Never mind jthe Incidental confusion that grows
out of the fact that conscience is ever more
powerful and constructive. Do not become
fidgety, complaining, pessimistic, or cowardly.
This is the hour forv deliberate estimates, care
fully chartered liberties, dispassionate survey,
hearty and-patient contacts, well grounded firm
ness, progressive policies, and expanding pro
grams of constructive certainty.
Our partisan organizationssare neither immacu
late or infallible. They hive often embodied
the good and the good is always . opportune It
is difficult for them to fully represent the aver
age in the rank and file of our citizenship be
cause conventions and other expressions of po
litical Action are exposed to the maneuvers of '
those who are below the average' but who are
unusually aggressive. Like many other organi
zations our partisan organizations are often un
able to command thoir members with certainty.
Recently both of our leading political parties
have had the most unusual difficulty in control
ing oven their national conventions, The temper
of insurgency is everywhere. The reasons for
this situation are not always in mind even by
otherwise astute politicians. To be sure, insur
gency has. varying degrees of merit but Btatesn
man should ;be careful in, analysis and interpre
tation of thesame, .
Bjyjiry economic and political question is at
bottom a moral question, and there are multi
tuBM I?Ple Politics who We not discov
Sr?Sl4W decisive fact. Because they are clouded
Je W,4hy work endless confusion and dis
harmony. One of these fine days we shall have '
a political leadership well seasoned with the'
wisdom that promptly enthrones Christian
morality in the control of political action and
that wm be a, great day for the race. Far too
much political conduct is based on the subtle
musIoiL that mere divisive issues will answer in
polities while moral principles are deliberately
side stepped. All this arises from slovenly think
ing. There are fixed equations in the pathway
toward sooiar advancement and this is a good
time to locate the controlling equations.
' An n,c,reaatng number of American citizens
are thinking through in the matter of allegiance
to party organization. They reach the solid con
viction that their allegiance to a party may not
fitly or logically bo as commanding . as their
allegiance to Christan morality and the progres
sive principles that arise therefrom. This brings
political action to the acid test. This elevates
moral principles above political expediency.
This is really good politics in the deepest sense
of the term. Insurgency is without significance
and is even ridiculous unless butrossed In right
eousness When the insurgency is thus based it
is fundamentally tmchallengable. It comes to
pass that men locate themselves by their
allegiances and especially by the one which they
hold as supreme, - .
'Under these fixed moral verities what was
once essentially progressive in partisanship, may
becom'o as conservative as tho, most reactionary
could wish. Such insurgenfcy" as was -embodied
in Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 probably does
not exist in any political party at this time. 'At
that tint certain powerful special and selfish
interests were In Control of both political parties.
The struggle to set within tho hands of tho
people tho instruments of political action has al
ways been resistod by special privilege. Special
privilege has always been largely in control of
our American economic life. Such control hero
or elsewhere is not constructive. Just as the'
liquor interests are putting up a final fight
against the verdict of tho people, so the strangle
hold of special privilege upon American eco
nomic life is now especially intense, Roosevelt
has fallen and there is a strong effort by a cer
tain grade of politicians to discredit his surviv
ing counterpart, William Jennings Bryan. Amer
ica is under obligation to both of these great
mon to a degree that will not be realized until
tho future shall have dealt with them justly.
It Jb difficult to secure as a candidate for the
presidency, a man who is not of record ass an
obedient tool of the special interests. It is
affirmed of one of the nominees brought forward
that ho wasytho enemy of Mr. Roosevelt and the
friend of all or most of his prominent enemies.
There has been a stupid reaction from Mr.
Roosevelt's sturdy insurgency. It must be re
membered that any insurgency to be effective
must bo of notable persistence and incorruptible
integrity. Programs of reform need to be well
matured and well foundatlonod. Here is where
a statesmanship of insight will tie up to
Christian morality as the unchanging source of
safo and sane political administration. We must
not only work out a program, of adequate social
justice and advance, but we must be keenly
alive to surviving injustices. Our allegiance to
Christ for their removal must be stronger than
our allegiance to a "recreant partisanship. It
is more worthy to be right than to be blindly
partisan.
erican cUiznBhlp must rise aSbve the in
clination to surrender fixed progressive prin
ciples at .very or any -call of political expdW
ency. This rising int higher moral, attitude's
shall go on until as citizens we are grounded in
Inviolate moral principles. This improved-to
standard moral character in our citizenship, will
sterilize our evils until they will fade 41s- bygones
from human memory, and tho hurt heart " of
human happiness will leap with new joy, We
5xBti.??ro,p forgot uat a Iflwralfam tin lacks
tho high impulse of moral persistence evapo
rates Into the cheapest' sort of political otk
portunism. This is social degeneracy ant from
it may tho good Lord deliver us.
, , ,: - M- M. BELL, Bishop.
Ifcnna ResidGnC8' 1509 Stato st- Harrisburg,
ewo vnsws or TH SAN FRANCISCO
CONVENTION
" JEST6 vlch t0 be 8aI( In Tor.'of the
ucww V S,aa !"" convention and
much that is unfavorable. That Governor Cox
has many excellent qualities fitting him for the
presidency, and will prove a strong oandidate!
seems- to be generally admitted. He has a
strong and pleasing personality and Wins men
to him in public and private life. He il amS
in manner, plausible in speech and Democratic
in his ways; and a shrewd, sharp, far-seeing
po it clan. He knows liow to play the game of
politics and play it well. He has long been an
outstanding figure in the Democratic party His
distinction is that of a man who has been three
times elected governou of his state, and as Mark
Su ftvan says, ho comes to the end of the career
with the Ohio voter and esteemed hy a laree
nlVV?111 Iriend?? His administrathfn
of the affairs of state have boon good in the
sense of getting things done in a satisfactorv
way to the business interests. He' is aft f de
scribed as a man who has ever, been forward
looking and .sympathetic to safo' progress 53 s
and this but is not to be overlooked
"My heart Is in the grave with our cause and
I must pause until. it comes back to me" mm
William Jennings Bryan, according ttho As
sociatod Press, giving as a reason for not male
ing a statement on the work of the Demo
cratic national convention. wo
: jit is barely possible that Mr. Bryan finds
himself In such an embarrassing position .as to
make it impossible support of the nominee if not
the platform upon which he stands. That ttan
defeat of hi dry fclank mad possible, if not
n. certain, tho nominatioa of a wet candidate, goes
without saying. It is generally -admitted, and
had been charged before and during the agita
tionof this subject that a dry plank, if adopted
would eliminate all wet candidates. The con,
vention did hot act Mindly. The wets knew
what they woro doing as delegates from dry
state know what they were doing when thev
Voted against a dry plank. "
The drys deliberately and with knowledge
aforethought, pavod th way Xor- the wets to
dominate the convention and nam the candi
dates. The wets reqognleed it as a great victory
for Cox, and encouraged them in their fight, not
withstanding tho drys joined them In the fight
against a dry plank, and the result Is just
what had been predicted, and what Mr. Bryan
knew, hence his -refusal to tajce further interest
in the proceedings.
VMy theory is that the people are much more
.interested in tho platform upon which a matt
stands than in -the section In which lie lives I
don't object to telling the good points, whether
fourteen orless, of any candidate," said Mr.
Bryan, "but I refuse to share the responsibility
for a man whom I consider unavailable. When
t ?eleat0' shed to. me with a warning that
if I did not help nominate Mr So-and-So, Mr.
Blank would be nominated,. I said, Jl do not
think it wise to do Wrong simply because some
body else may do so. I am not responsible for
anything except my vote or influence,, and that
will be nsed for no one who, in my judgment,
would be less than the most available man I
know among those who are candidates."?
It will be thus seen that he early washed hia
hands of any responsibility in naming the can
didate of the party and this, too, after being
urged by his friends to point the ..way. He had
evidently heetf threatened with COx if he did
not go to one or the other leading candidates.
Bttt he refused to choose between what he re
garded as two evils." "I do not think it wise to
do wrong simply because somebody else may
Si ?' V Whatever may he Mr. Bryan's
1 LZn$l tottethor he can "consistently
support a man' who would,1 he' belifeveVne in-
flvcf mf al nbrlngJil& back th& W saloon,
first through tho medium of lightwlnes and beer.
?nfeearSi? slTU?Sleon the part of prohibl
tionists to bring about a realization of their
31 1V,S aeJia!nI5e wiU not P0 him but
content himself with silence during the cam
paign, except m congressional districts where
the issue is "beins made by the wets to capture
the next house, and thus make not only possible
?,T Ceit??inhe accomplishment of their purpose
t0 jy the Eighteenth amendment. '
nt ?ey and braIn8 the wets-wlU
" S?'V fv used t0 caPtur ooth branches of con
gress, the senate and house. JNatural ly the wets
are elated over their prospects both in the presi
dential contest and in tho districts in the yari
otjs states where they have a candidate, select
ing Zl S611118 t0 -0PP dry Republicans
tZ RePubcaiis to oppose dry Democrats,
taking no chances, believing the candidate elect-
?i f11 he te Oox r Harding, 'will carry
the districts with him. .
vty n. ?Ul)t fGel that ihQy "! de
pJ -S!r0 4ert?n lbeneflt from the ficcess of
mro t?5? Harding, as for instance, in states
SLL dian,a' where Poetically all the repre
sentatives in congress are Republicans, they
have in each district, where there is a dry Re
publican candidate, a wet Democrat in the field.
Such cpntests are raging already in ten of the
thirteen districts of that state. The issue is
clean-cut and lines aharply drawn,, -and prom
ises, according to the. National Inquirer, to be
ltitlng factordn that state. From the same
?? y 5S leai?that Henry S, Priest, of St.
2?St.SadSa!0 -for the Decratic nomination
for United States senator, is conducting a cam
paign which gives additional evidence of "a
widespread, centrally directed and well financed
movement now well under under way through
out the country for the repeal of the ..Volstead
act and the nullification of the Eighteenth
amendment."
. MQV ai' li Would 3PPear on the4 surface, that
the Republicans in Chicago showednore tact
and shrewdness and judgment in the selection
of a candidate who tfould possibly' unite all
elements of the party than &e Democrats in
San Francisco. The Journal is Sorry to have
to make. -this admission, because the 'party had
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