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Show I STRONG APPEAL FOR HI G HCHAR ACTEfl Without It Further Advance of n Kind Cannot Bo Made. SO DECLARES DR. UTTER IN K FORCEFUL SERMON I Great Insurance Scandals in New Fork Cited; Likewise Bossi8m in Politics. In cup of the logical nml foceful ser-nions ser-nions whirl) long ago u him high tank anions: the Unitarian ministers of the country, the Rev, David Utter of Denver yesterday, at the Unitarian 1 church iii Ttiip city, denounced the low ethloeJ standards existing tho world today, and made it Strong nppral for high character end moral worth. 'Without It. lio said, further advance of any kind cannot bo made; without It thr world cannot ecurely hold what It has already Dr. Utter, In passing;, referred to the great New York Insurance scandal which has stirred business centers for weeks ami months: to the "bo 88 ism" which Is a feature of tin- American political sys-torn, sys-torn, and the grafting a-ii'l dishonesty ex- isting generally In nil walks of life. A low standard Of ethics, of practical mor-allty, mor-allty, lie said, was responsible for It all. A part of the very practical sermon foi- Must Improve in Ethics "Kv cry progiv-sl ve people must lmproo In othlcs If thi v hold each forward step they take in civilisation Character i- tin supreme need Of our age. During the last year, every month and. lately, very day. I, as brought startling, slck- '.Int.'. disheartening revelations of linrni- i lal crookedness and corruption In high places, betrayals of trust by people who hal posed BS the most trustworthy In the land. Grafting;, as it is called, grafting everywhere, high and low. greed insatlu-hie, insatlu-hie, and unrestrained, and shameless. "The literature of exposure for the past yeur Is simply appalling And we know the end is not yet There Is more to come. If not worse I welcome It all. Not the condition, hut the exposure. It Is a demonstration of the need of higher ethics In all business, and especially at all points where business and Govern- men! touch each other We deeply need an ethical revival, and the prospect for It seems good Just now Tribute to Roosevelt. "Why Is It that such u wave of undls-guised undls-guised admiiat ion and Irrepressible en thuslasm follows President Roosevelt wherever he goen. Hast, West. North or South': He doesn't conceal his opinions nml many people do not agree with his doctrines, but we never had a President, not Washington, not Lincoln. Garfield, MeKlnley or any other, who. while living, i' 'l ived such ovations, or so held the ad-miration ad-miration and confidence of the whole people of the United States And it Is all for Just one quality, all that he ha more than other Presidents have hod of thi- people s worship. Is for one thing everybody believes that he Is honeet It Is high time Indeed, that simple honesty had Its Innings. But what u revelation Is hep- as to the ethical deficiency of men In goneral when simple honesty can evoke such praise! Ripe for Ethical Revival. "The time Is ripe for tin ethical re-vlval re-vlval We ought all to see Into the sltua-lion sltua-lion as far as we ran and do our part to 1 help It on. First, be honest ourselves, sincere in speech, straight In business. IincumipilDie in pontics oeconu. mane dishonesty odious. Take President Had-ley's Had-ley's advice and ostracize socially the master of Ill-gotten millions Third, let us cry out for publicity, till Its light uhlnes Into all the dark comers of bnsl-ncss bnsl-ncss and politics. No Reason for Secrecy. "Is thero any good reason for secrecy? Isn't the mot of all secrecy In business, greed, or the desire to get an undue ad-anlage ad-anlage of the other fellow'' There may he trade secrets that people really own sind have a right to. but In all such seml-publlc business as banking. rall-roads rall-roads waterworks, gasworks and llf" Insurance 1 think everything should he open to the public. We ought to help to throw safeguards around other people so that they may not he tempted he-yond he-yond theii resistinK power. Indeed, we should remove temptation from every-body every-body as far as we can. Now. In the life Insurance matter this was not done." Then Dr Titer told at some length of the f" Insurance erandal In N w York, and said the result of It all would be the passing of laws forbidding the use of Insurance SUrplUt and perhaps laws pre-scribing pre-scribing the sort of investments In which such funds may be placed. And then he continued. , General Rule in "Business "The general rule In business is lo do a others do. and. If you're smart. do it first. But it will not do. The day has risen when such low ethical standards musi go, wht n all business men who ex-to ex-to lice with clear consciences and op trusted and honored by their fellow citlsenn nii live "i, the plane of jus- tlee live by the piaetlce renderlnK H Tulaenis for all that they Obtain and H own." Ethics in Government. H Then, taking up Hie other part of his H sermon, ethics m Government; Dr. Utter t-aid that "out Government i a tyranny H of bosses mitigated by spasms of virtu- H Qua energy on the part of the people. B Klther our ssteni of sufiinc naturally H tenlb to bring bad men to the front, or H the-, constitute fearfully large per- li rentage t our cltlsenshlp i know er- H little at first hand, but I am fully per- H suaded that a low state of ethics pre- H ' Mils abonl our State capital whenever H the tegislature la in session. Anil the ethical barometer fo"s away down when- H ever there is a United states Senator to H hi- elected What more shameful In- H stanco could be given of the low ethical1 H standard in polltlenl affairs in our COUn- H try when it la generally believed that sev- H erol men within thi- last twenty yearn I - have bought their Heats lu the rnited H Stales Senate-.' Men ,if wealth who depre- H rate and duf the socialistic tendencies P lrinulfest among 'he masses of the peo- H pie ought to be leaders of tie- opposi- H lion to such things an purchased seats H In the Senate. I I! Is a Day of Reckoning. H "it may seem cheaper today to buy a H fnfnchlse of i corrupt City Council than 1 to buy It honestly from the city, but B there s a day of reckoning for every rich b corporatlou that goes into politics with H Its monej Honesty is the iest policv H 1n the lone run The people arc the nit f- n mate power and cannot be hoodwinked B all the time. Tie- masses of ih people H are hone -t and they will not nlwa.VH be H led by poind .ti parties, or if ewti papers H ward bosses Already they are crying to he represented In Legislatures City Councils and Congress by men of H absolute honesty and IntOgrlty instead of H politicians, and before long they will take H the nomination of their representatives h Into their own hands and then all cor- H rupt practices will be mad- illlll- Spoils Idea. HBSH "And tiie majority of the great arniv H who hold elective offices have been edu- Efv'Va cated to the spoile Ides and seem to TaSktA, tiotblng wrong in It, but do see everj Bitt il advantat'. in h for lliemsclves. Places SSr3 aro made for favorites and the general ran Idea of public office la that U Is Burnt- thing to reward political work A man who win receive a sinecure n a gift from Ms Government ha.s the spirit of a beggar; h doesn't want to c;irn his thing; th-ing; simply to get it lu any pekceable, safe way, But there are tens of thousands thou-sands of people who reek such places under tin ;.. rumont- What Is Needed "We need higher type of patriotism in this country one thai demands thai all who serve the country shall be elean and honest, five from graft, bribery, theft and alnecurlsm Ht doesn't truly love his country who wants a salary of 1150 b ii'niitii for doing ork ttini .sunn poor girl would be glad to do for 110 s week. Using; the vocabulary or politics for a moment, lei me say that 'this greed) crowding around the pie counter' is not only a disgraceful spectacle In this America of our-, b nol onlj bad ethics, inn ii It a loathsomi disi i n, eating Ite way unseen into the body politic, which, if not arrested, will shortly threaten thi very lifo of the Nation." Large Congregation Present. An unusually large congregation wa present, every seal m the church being occupied. Ir i it.-r will speak Tuesday evening at Unity club, hia subject being be-ing "Emerson and lim Friends." |
