Show THE CHURCh AND SALOONS Denver is having a hard tussle with the Sunday closing question By the latest calculation our sister mountain city has i five hundred saloons or a saloon t everyone every-one hundred and fifty men and grown boys It appears that the people have lost confidence dence in the mayor and city council so far as their enforcing the Sunday closing law is concerned and have turned to the county sheriff and his deputies in the hope that these gin mills would be closed by them The sheriff in fact was elected by tho people with the understanding that he i would close the dives and dens of infamy on the Sabbath day Sheriff BARTON however finds that he promised more than he i able to carry out As no efficient help could be expected from the police force an appeal was made to the county commissioners commis-sioners for funds to pay the deputies depu-ties and to allow an increase in their number for necessary service Tho county commissioners however how-ever refused to grant the assistance asked for and the sheriff finds himself with a job on his hands that he is unable t accomplish ac-complish The statutes of the state the decisions of the courts the will of the people peo-ple all unite in demanding that the saloons of Denver shall be closed on Sundays and sbal cosed yet the decree of statutes of the court and of the people is practically set at defiance by the saloon men because no adequate means of executing the laws is found or because they who are entrusted with executive exe-cutive powers refuse t act in the matter Under these circumstances a lady of Tienvnr n lady of hicrh social standintr and influence than whom it claimed none is more deserving of respect and honor writes a vigorous letter to the Rocky fountain Ieus protesting against the failure to close the saloons on Sunday and appeals to the ministers and congregations of Denvers seventy churches to come to the assistance of Sheriff BAKTOX in a manner man-ner that would male him realize that the promise made to sustain his efforts in suppressing sup-pressing lawlessness was made in as good faith as were his pledges to execute the law Here however it would seem that the lady appeals to a quarter that is powerless I power-less to grapple with the crying eviL The editor of the JYeire commenting her communication com-munication says But it K a deplorable truth that the church in flui nee in most our cities has small practical baring on tLc real evils of the community The preaching and the strains of sacred music are conllnul mainly to people who are not engaged in any occupation that is specially demoralizing demoraliz-ing and who are reasonably good citizens or i i exceptional cases they nrj using the cloak of religion t despoil their neighbors more success fuily they generally manage to balance ac cnnnts with their own consciences by off setting a big haul of plunder with a gift of r or 10 to an orphan asylum or some other worth charity No informed in-formed person can honestly question the substantial sub-stantial truth of the boc statement or that much of the preaching in our churches is shaped 1 suit the prejudices the failings and even the rich and tho vitkcdness of the reh powerful among S congregation while with rare and honorable exceptions tie pulpit shrinks from grappling uith those sources of evil which are destructive to health and morals and burdening society with taxation to support machinery for dealing with crime and pauperismfor building and utaining jails penitentiaries poor houses and lunatic asylums I i much to be feared that our correspondents correspon-dents appeal to the clergy congregations of Denver to assert their undoubted influence in behalf of decency law and good morals will be Iamb and surely it is to b reerettod that while the vicious elements of society always act as a unit and to that fact must te traced the secret of their power the moral forces are distracted dis-tracted and without even a tendency to cohesion cohe-sion It is seldom indeed that the weakness ot the churches is sofrankly admitted as it is in the above That such is their condition condi-tion however not only in Denver but ton throughout the land no one can successfully success-fully deny D The voice from the pulpit is weak It may be more effusive in tone more polished in its eloquence than of yore the lips from which it issues are velvet in their bmoothness but ministers are vying with each other in sp4king easy things to Israel and lack the hardihood t face the prejudices of the congregations even though those prejudices pander to wickedness wicked-ness Under these conditions religion is becoming a matter of opinion instead of the foundation of rules governing personal conduct While the preaching of the word which now particularly should be with the power and demonstrations of the spirit I of GOD is degenerating to cant merely and flows on too frequently in a volume of insincere in-sincere and unreal speech Nor can much hope of an improvement be entertained so long as conditions surrounding the ministry minis-try remain as they are Of all men ministers minis-ters should be the mdst independent or the people and yet they are the most dependent depend-ent To the people they must look for remuneration re-muneration for their services for a livelihood liveli-hood Is it to be wondered at that a sub eervient priesthood the result a priesthood priest-hood which follows the people instead of leading them aid which panders to their prejudices whatever their tendency instead stead of reproving them I requires a strong man totake a course which makes MI net his own interest Most men will nTnt 1lost w1l yield a little and the minister that so yields is damned already JESUS CHRIST manifested great wisdom when Ho sent out His apostles to preach without purse and without scri and bade them look t Gon t open up their way for food and raiment I rendered them so far independent of their congregation that they could denounce evil wherever it reared its head call upon the people t repent re-pent and warn them of the consequences i they refused The preaching of those plain blunt men may have lacked the smoothness of the discourses of our modern divines but it made up for that in its rugged honesty and powcr Ej I princes t 0 and ki > gs turned pale and trembled as they reasoned on justice and righteousness and I tho judgment which is to come Such is tho character of the preaching that is needed today But wo have fallen upon those times predicted by one of old when men preach for hire and divine for money and just so long as those conditions exist just so long will the ministry io weak and appeals t it for help to suppress the crying cry-ing evils of society be fruitless |