10 Conservative *
THE PREACHER'S PLAINT.
The insistent cry of the Rev. Byron
Benll to the secular pi-ess to inform the
Christian ministry what it shall do to
save the church , imports a wobbly con
dition , either of the ministry or the
church , or both , which , unasked , THE
CONSERVATIVE would not have ventured
to point out. Presuming Mr. Beall's as
sumption that the church is in an in
efficient and unhealthy condition to bo
correct , THE CONSERVATIVE does not
think that it can bo cured , or much
helped by any specific that itself or any
other doctor could prescribe. The
trouble is owing to a condition and not
to a theory ; and THE CONSERVATIVE
fails to see anything unnatural or ab
normal in this condition. The ministry
and the church , like other social institu
tions , are the products of demand and
supply , which have arisen in the regular
evolution of society. This evolution ,
having been unusually rapid during the
last quarter century , and religion and
the church being naturally slow in
growth and development , it would not
bo remarkable if there should bo more
than the usual lack of adaptation of these
institutions to the rest of the social
organism , of which they are a compo
nent , or that they should be overstraining
ing to "catch up" in the adapting pro
cess. Religion , as ordinarily under
stood , is based in the main upon mystery
and emotion. Rationalism and commer
cialism which latter is the striving for
earthly comforts are the leading and
overpowering influences of present so
cial conditions , and they have wrenched
the more progressive people away from
the old notions of religion. There is ,
thus , the same confusion in the religious
as there is in the commercial world.
The priests of religion and the priests of
industrialism are straining themselves
just now , much more than commonly , to
adapt their methods to the new and
rapidly changing conditions. Society is
making over religion just as it is mak
ing over commercial rules , customs and
systems ; and THE CONSERVATIVE sees
no efficacy in or need for artificial
plans and specifications for what is
bound to bo , ( in the long run ) , a natural
and gradual process of growth and ad
justment. Society is getting the sort of
preachers and preaching that it de
mands. The minister and the merchant
alike , and inevitably , under our com
petitive system , strive to furnish the
wares which "the trade" requires ; and
about the only pertinent observation to
bo made anent this condition is , "What
ever is is right. " THE CONSERVATIVE
takes it that Brother Beall and the rest
of his craft are as apt to "sense" the de
mands of their constituency as merch
ants are in finding out the wonts of
their customers. Of course the minis
ter of religion as well as the minister of
material merchandise ought to be hon
est , intelligent and discriminating ; but
these are platitudes which will bo taken
for granted , without our prescription or
advice.
There seems to bo no reason to expect
that the church will over regain its for
mer dominance , or that there will be
any general or marked revival of re
ligious sentiment. There seems to be a
growing feeling that the more intelli
gent people have outgrown religion in
the old and usual sense of the word. A
largo proportion of those who dominate
and lead in the affairs of life show no
signs that they entertain any religious
sentiment. Partially through the force
of inertia and partially to adapt their
discourse to the less critical and less in
telligent classes who largely compose
their congregations , the ministers still
preach dogmas and inculcate beliefs
which are quite generally ignored or
openly flouted outside the walls of the
church. On the other hand , preacliing
in the orthodox churches is now largely
devoted to explaining away or apolo
gising for the old beliefs , and the for
merly accepted teachings of the Bible and
the creeds. For example , the "Ency
clopedia Biblica , " a new work , edited
by eminent ministers of the English
orthodox churches , after playing havoc
with the old notions and beliefs , touch
ing the historical value of the Old Tes
tament , seriously questions the story of
Christ's resurrection and ascension , and
asks whether there are "any credible
elements to be found in the gospels at
all. " The London Spectator observes
that the German "higher critic , " Dr.
Adolf Harnac , "holds up in one hand
to our admiration , the perfect flower of
the Christian faith and hope , while with
the other hand ho cuts away their
roots. " The constant exhibition of the
pouring of new wine into old bottles
which the present day pulpit affordsis far
from reassuring or acceptable to people
of intelligence and rational tendencies ,
who are becoming more and more nu
merous. The result is that they give
the church the go-by , and it is thus left
in the hands of the less virile and pro
gressive classes.
The prevailing sensational advertising
of their services by the ministers , which
is repulsive to people of dis
criminating taste and judgment , illus
trates the foregoing observation. No
doubt those who are attached to the
churches are benefitted by them ; and
so the devices and methods employed to
attract and entertain may not be
sweepingly condemned. We regret the
fact that our booksellers sell a hundred
copies of "Munsey's" or the "historical
novels , " to every one of the magazines
or books which contain fiction or other
matter of a high order ; but on the
whole , wo think that it is better for people
ple to read the "trash" of "Munsey's"
and the "historical novels" than not to
read at all.
There are no specifics or hard and fast
rules for operating or improving the
churches. As ouo of the institutions of
society they will go on , adapting them
selves to it by the force of their whole
environment. These various parts of
the social organism are interactive in
their influence , each contributing to the
shaping of all the rest.
RESTRICTED MONOPOLIES.
The slightest consideration should
make it evident that the production of
some commodities may bo absolutely
monopolized ; that is , may bo wholly
within the control of single individuals ,
without giving those individuals the
least power to oppress their fellow-men.
In other cases , it is equally clear that
any possibilities in the direction of ad
vancing prices are closely restricted.
One or the other of these things will
occur whenever there is an alternative
commodity that can be xised with ap
proximately , equal satisfaction and
which can be supplied at about the
same cost. Thus prices of many food
products are inter-dependent and mutu
ally regulative , for slight variations in
the price of one will often lead to the
general substitution of another. A suf
ficient advance in the price of common
lumber will lead to the use of brick ,
stone or concrete , for building purposes ;
high prices for anthracite lead to the
tiso of bituminous coal ; and many now
use the wines of California instead of
those of France , on account of differences
in their cost. In all these cases , it is evi
dent that the existence of the possible sub
stitute limits the price of the article for
which it is an alternative. The effect
iveness of this limit depends upon the
degree of ease with which the substitute
can be made , and the extent in which
the purpose of the article formerly used
is really served by that to be put in its
place. In the instances that have been
mentioned , it is clear that the substitu
tion cannot be effected without some
friction duo to preconceptions , and in
some of them there would be a genuine
loss on account of the change. The
transportation of freight offers one of
the most evident examples of facility in
substitution of this kind , that is any
where available. For example , the
great com market of Peoria , 111. , may
obtain supplies from Kansas , Nebraska ,
Iowa , Illinois and other regions. When
corn is sold in Peoria , it is not merely
the corn that is paid for , but that corn
plus transportation from the point at
which it was raised , to Peoria. Thus ,
while there is no substantial difference
in the article desired by the purchasers ,
and hence , no preference for ouo supply
ing region rather than another , the
transportation is of many kinds and
may bo supplied by many different
agencies. If the lines from one region
charge too much , their commodity ,
transportation from that region , will be
unsalable at the high price , and that
from another region , more reasonably
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