Moral Principle and Social Conflict
By Editor
A compromise measure course is never successful where moral principle is involved. It was thought, by many friends of temperance, that what is called the "Raines Liquor Law," in New York State, would be a success. This appears to be the case in ill-gotten gains; but, morally, it is a failure. The Christian Work tells us that the traffic has increased, and Sunday is become almost as much a liquor-selling day as any other. And yet it was thought that it would be a help to Sunday observance. The fact is that the only true way to restrict liquor-selling is absolute prohibition, and the only proper way to secure observance of any religious festival is only through conscience and moral suasion. SPEAKING of the trusts, Gen. Lew Wallace says: "I know nothing more reprehensible than the neglect which has been shown to the trust evil. . . . The only hope of action by the authorities is in the organization of all laboring men." While this may be a "hope of action," yet how can it do anything else than to precipitate the conflict. It will be a sad day when organized labor begins its open war against capital. It will be one of the events that will have its full part in making that "time of trouble" in these last days that Daniel foretells in the twelfth chapter of his prophecy. The issues that combined to produce this time of trouble are now before the world, and the lines are being drawn tighter and tighter. The fullest realities of all that the prophet predicts must soon, very soon, be intensely active in their terrible work all about us. But God is a shelter from it all for every one who will come to Him. A REPORT in the Chicago Times-Herald says of one of the chaplains that went with the United States soldiers to Manila: "He was always on the firing line with a rifle whenever there was any fighting going on, and he was the quickest to show up with chickens when it was over, of any man in the regiment." The report speaks very approvingly of these qualities in the chaplain. But any one who has had the faintest glimpses of the real Christianity of the Christ of God would never imagine that He would send out a chaplain to represent Him in any such a way as that. And the fact that such chaplains are applauded by so many shows that Christianity is not understood as much as it appears to be. Let all the world know that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. He is not the god of war. The Master's instruction is, "Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." Matt. 26:52. Instruction could not possibly be plainer. And all those who follow the Lord will surely heed it.