The National Reform Convention at Detroit, Mich.
By H. A. Weaver
APRIL 2, 1911, a meeting was called in the Y. M. C. A. hall at Detroit for the purpose of organizing the Michigan Branch of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America. At that time a permanent organization was effected, and officers were chosen. A tentative constitution and set of by-laws were presented, discussed, modified or strengthened, and finally adopted. The following significant statement, which was embodied in the “Statement of Principles,” discloses the real spirit of the leaders of such a movement:— “Federation does not mean making the churches one, but convincing the public that they are one by evading in the future the errors of . . . overlapping fields.” This newly formed organization apparently became industriously busy at once by arranging for a State convention, known as the Michigan Christian Citizenship Convention, under the auspices of the National Reform Association. This convention was held in the spacious hall of the Y. M. C. A. at Detroit, June 20, 21. On the cover of the program appeared the following:— “The work of the National Reform Association is of first importance to the character of our people, and should have the indorsement of every citizen of Michigan. Its great purpose is unselfish, and its object will be to restore the equilibrium between moral and material development. No movement of greater import has ever been inaugurated in our country. CHASE S. OSBORN, Governor of Michigan.” Dr. Martin, and a Mr. Conden, who has been engaged as business manager of the scheme, laid special emphasis on the fact that this is the third of a series of State conventions to be held in every State in the Union within the next two years, culminating in a World’s Christian Citizenship Convention on the Pacific Coast, which is destined so far to outdo the World’s Christian Citizenship Convention held in Philadelphia, as to make the latter appear “like a committee meeting.” Circuit Judge J. W. Donovan, of Detroit, spoke on “The Genius of Good Citizenship.” He dwelt entirely upon points which Seventh-day Adventists can heartily indorse. He emphasized the need, in all phases of human experience, of practical helpfulness and brotherly uplift by men in whose hearts the spirit of Christianity has taken root. Not once did he hint at forcing men to be moral by law. The Puritanical spirit was most pronounced in the papers read by Rev. Dr. J. H. Potts, editor of the Michigan Christian Advocate, whose subject was “The American Sabbath,” and by Rev. J. T. Le Gear, of Lansing, on “The Sabbath a Civic Necessity.” These men followed along the same line of argument that has been used by that class of opposers of the Constitution in the person of ministers of the gospel from the times of John Cotton to the present. One statement was to the effect that those who are opposed to Sunday laws are to be “feared more than the worst of anarchists.” Rev. Le Gear spoke of those who keep another day than Sunday, and contend for it in the face of all opposition, as being “victims of a slavish Israelitish custom.” “The Sabbath is a civil as well as a religious institution,” he said; and “those who would blot out Sunday laws are the worst of citizens.” A discussion followed in which Dr. Martin gave an example of how difficult it is, under the present state of things, to secure a uniform observance of Sunday. He said the association sought to bring to time some of the great corporations. Application was made to one officer, and then to another, each one shifting the responsibility to the next higher, until the very heads of these concerns were reached, when they, in turn, shifted the responsibility to the great railroads, and the railroads to the federal government. Then he drew the usual conclusion that the fault lies in the failure of the Constitution to recognize God and the Christian religion. Perhaps the best address of the convention was made by Rev. J. M. Barkley, Detroit, on the subject, “Men and Christian Citizenship.” His talk must have been a complete surprise to the National Reformers gathered there; for it was a mighty argument against the very principles being advocated so assiduously by that company. He quoted freely such passages as Matt. 22:21, John 18:36, and John 12:47. One of his statements was that “those who are more concerned about justice than justification are blinded to the principles which Christ came to inculcate in the hearts of men.” He said: “If we are to Christianize the functions of government, we can do so only by Christianizing those who exercise the functions of government; that is, the men of the republic, and not the republic as an entity.” One would almost be persuaded that Dr. Barkley had been associated with the Religious Liberty Association, and had been filled with the Christian principles it holds, so strong was his argument for the separation of church and state. Before the convention closed, a complete State organization was formed, with officers located all over the State similar to the machine-like organization which has been operating in Pennsylvania for some time past.