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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN,. THURSDAY. DECEMBER IS, 1S05. 5 T.R ONG, TIMEL Y WORDS SPOKEN PROM THE PULPITS OF ATLANTA AGAINST CRIME & MOB VIOLENCE The following excerpts from sermons ^jlvered by the ministers of Atlanta /are given to the public with the hope # t hat the strong words spoken will help Jj crystalize a hearty and immovable public opinion against crime and all forms of niob violence. Tills i* one step taken by the minis ters in co-operation with the officers of lh e Business Men’s Gospel Union, to ward an effort to readjust the relational j the races at the South. The • 'lrristlan League, recently or- s ani2C<l in this city with members from L th races, is now attempting to bring jr jer out of confusion anp harmony out discord and hate, through a sane, sound public opinion, to become domi nant among all the people. The end sought is concerted effort to inspire in all tlm people a greater respect for the 11 There \‘ needed strong public senti- , !ien t to back up the law upon the fol- inving propositions: 1 That criminal assaults upon woin- en‘ institute the most villainous crime Known to the catalogue of iniquities .,p,i must be punished to the very ex- ,if the law in the execution of the criminal. * That death by mob violence Is murder, outright, and can have no ex- jucy or countenance in Christian clvlll- jg'uni .»r individual or community Hfe. It violates Use la\v of God and the law of n 1 Beatitudes. The supremacy of the latv ought to be upheld by every citizen. This can be done in three ways: First and foremost, let each one of us respect and obey the law for himself; second, teach our children and those under our care to observe law, and, thirdly, by assisting the proper authorities in the apprehension of all criminals of nil grades and classes. Proof texts: Titus 3:t. “Put thorn in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work.” 1 Peter 2:13-15. “Submit yourself to every ordi nance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether It be to the king as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of them that do well. For so Is the will of God that with well.doing ye may put to si lence the ignorance of foolish men.” We .have great problems to solv*». Nothing will solve them sooner or bet ter than correct public opinion among all classes of people for the mainte nance of order qnd law. No race has a greater opportunity to make for themselves and their chil dren character or honesty, truthfulness and the faithful discharge of all duties, respecting law and order, than the peo ple 7. in pert, represent. If wo are true to ourselves, true to our friends and true’to nip- God the thoughtful, fair- criminals is farthest frem our thought, and while we admonish our people to be law-abiding, and ‘aw-respectlng, we are quite sure' that they thoroughly understand that actual indulgence of criminality shares one equally with the guilt. We urge, therefore, just and im partial administration of the law and the most sacred obedience to the same, to the end that peace, harmony and prosperity may reign in our land. REV, JOHN E. WHITE, Pastor Second Baptist Church. Mat. 22:21. We arc In the habit of saying that Christianity Is not salva tion b.v character. Quite true. Hut there is no such thing ns salvation- without character. We are In the habit of saying that Christ did not come into the world to civilize It. but to save it. Quite true. But a w orld'saved as Christ would save it would Ite a world of Christian civil!- ation. Along the way of Tils teaching Christ dropped suggestive hints of what Christian civilization would be. Among other things. Uo said: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s." That was to say: “Pay your taxes; obey the laws: support civil and social order.” The time might have been when Mi-r hub t,ie * ,c,vs could throw off the hated --.i Roman yoke, but Christ’s words would i 'nei.ua anu i havo Kt „, „ nmil)e(1 tn fo , c e. There is no civilization under any Parisian Belts minded -abirilmr and llhertv Invimr) n,clT '* emulation under any " r h«r "nV,t s «i e , »m ,|! *">« of government where tho law. of penpi nese Lnlten Mates will al- | the , ar( J ure noutei | an(I the ma j e sty of law despised. * The London policeman, standing like honor and give us favor. T p • ,l: law-abiding white people! God grant that we may have the wls- -nbidtng negroes, ns far as may i dom. the patience, tho endurance and ill aid the proper officers | the foresight to quit ourselves like apprehend and bring to id offenders against the law, •r individuals or mobs, regardless i with such proof to convict as . niihiii their knowledge and v That it Is the duty of every citizen m ho absolutely obedient to law and to maintain ihe peace of tho community a.., far as his power and Influence may That in the adjustment of all dif- ferenecs between the * races absolute ju>ti«:c as to All legal rights shall be nn'il to each individual, irrespective of rm*.- or social condition. That the press of the state mqy be used to create, in every possible way, such public sentiment as will maintain obedience to law. That all the people may pronounce, pn.-iiiveJy, against all undue delays by tin courts, whether In forms of the law ,»r through petty technicalities that Anally defeat the end of justice, and demand such chunges In the law as will malm the penalties for violation swift, certain and effective. W. J. NOR THEN. By REV. E. P. JOHNSON. (Pastor Reed Street Baptist Church, Colored.) Rom. 13:1. Civil government Is a di vine institution. There can be no well- regulated society without law. The purpose* of law are threefold: (1) The protection of the rights and privileges of each citizen; (2) the apprehension and swift legal punishment of the guil ty: (Hi the enlightenment of each dtl- z*m» as to Ids duties, his rights and his privileges in their relations to others. Tli*- happiness of each individual,' as" «f!i as the content and well-being of *ver> community, depends upon the Implicit obedience of each individual ■ iM/.cjj jo law. For, says Llebei*: “There can mi individual liberty where “very citizen Is not subject to the law •md where ho is subject to aught else titan the law—that Is, public opinion organically passed into the public will -this ue call the supremacy of law.” The basis yf all law was given by Jehovah from Sinai and confirmed oy tiic Lord Jesus Christ on the Mount of OPEN ALL NIGHT / I Pill Christmas Eve we will receive wire, phone or special de livery orders any hour, day or night. II Spozeu you look thro our Catalog. I Holiday sellers pay profit enuf to come hy Express. H you haven’t a Catalog spend a cop- pvr to say so on a postal. fit’s a 100 to one shot. !• K. ORR SHOE CO. tod Seal Shoes, m Atlanta. REV. JUNIUS W. MILLARD. (P«,tor Pone. DeLeon Avenue Bipti.t Church.) The whites and the negroes in the South occupy toward eacli other tlie relation of teacher rfnd pupil, for the negr, race la yet In its childhood, while the Anglo-Saxon has worked up to Its majority through centuries of tail and effort. Sow, childhood Is the age of irnltu tlon and of all others the pupil Is apt to imitate his teacher. But the danger . that the Imitator seeks to copy only faults and exaggerations, while that which Is normal and perfect escapes him. Many of the negro's faults he has copied from the white mhn, and even his outrages upon white womanhood are but a brutal attempt to pay . back the white men whose relations with negro women have not always been above reproach. Childhood Is also the age of memory and there Is. unhappily, all to much for the negro to remember of unjust treat ment at the hands of Ids white neigh bor. And nil this arouses his resent ment, terrible, tierce and unreasoning. Let the white race, which has long since come Into Its Intellectual major ity, remember that It becomes man hood to possess self-control and to manifest Justice and an even temper, even under the greatest provocation. Only thus can ho havo tlie respect of Ills pupil. And only thus can he have his own respect, for only children and the Insane are allowed to show unrea sonable and uncontrollable outbursts of temper. REV. A. R. HOLDERBY. Pastor Moors'' Memorial Presbyterian Church. Rom. 13:1. Tho apostle I. here ad dressing tho Christians at Rome. But the Injunction applies to all Christians everywhere and to those of all the ages that have followed. It Is a well-defined doctrine of the Bible that all power and all authority come from God. This Is ns true of civil government ns It is of God's moral gov ernment. Kings and princes and all others In authority rule hy the authori ty of God and receive their power from Him. "For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God." Every Christian is under peculiar ob ligations to render obedience to civil authority and to uphold the majesty of the law. If the powers that be are ordained of God, then every Christian should be In subjects n to those rowers. All mob law Is contrary to the teach ings and example of Jesus Christ and is an offense to God. The church of God should take Ita Hand for law and order and good government. What wc need today Is not more law, but the prompt enforcement and speedy exo euI Ion of such laws as we already have. Every violation of law and all need less delay in the execution of the Just penalty of the law are an Insult to Its sanctity and Us majesty and. therefore, detrimental to the best ("crests of so ciety. True reverence for law and for those who are m authority should be taught by tho churches, because this Is one of the cardinal principles of the Gospel ot Jesus Christ. REV. R. T. WEATHERB.Y. Secretory Colored Y. M. C. A., preached at Control Avtr.us Methodist church, colored, in ths sbience of tho pas tor. Rom. 10:11. Nothing so strengthens or heightens the aspirations, nor In. creases one's confidence In a govern ment as the just administration of its affairs. Our government occupies the position it does today. In the front rank ot ths nations, because of an earnest effort at Just administration. Although countless detects remain and grave mistakes have been made, we must credit our executives, al least, with honesty of purpose. law is a prescribed rule for tlie reg ulation of action answering to the needs of a community and Is, there fore, enacted with n view to the high er Interests of the Individuals compris ing the community; and as such should bo hdmlnlstered without distinction. In all justice and equity. When the object of the law Is thor oughly established through Us Just, If stern administration, obedience thereto will ho the more easily commanded. Very recent occurrences tn our city nave served to empties no two or three hitherto unobserved tacts. I'list. That our courts can and will give a fair end Impartial trial to the ''second. Thct with proper precaution and vigilance the officers of the law arc cnnal to any possible emergency. ° Third That under Indescribable cir cumstances there is a bare possibility of "mistaken Identity" and a sacriffce of innocent blood which a fair, though sneedv trial, would avert. So leader of our race will hesitate fnr one moment to urge upon his peo ple the strictest observance of tho law when giver, the assurance of the ful- Ailment of the above conditions, as was demonstrated a few days ago In onr The Idea of harboring or concealing statue hi the street, lifts his right hand without a glance or word and miles of traffic halls and waits till the hand is lowered. “What a great man ho must be,” you say. Not so: say rather, “What a’ great people, what a great civilization.” v The antithesis Is presented on the streets of Atlanta when a policeman has to run and shout ‘and threaten. In order to stop a bicycle. The fault Is not the policeman’s. It is our fault— the fault of our civilization. Tt has taken hundreds of years to invest the London policeman with dig nity and authority. The process of civilization la by slow and painful paths. But the principle of it is not difficult. Its basis is In that eternal righteousness which we call the divine law. All civil enactments must test there for sanction. In tlie last analy sis. obedience to law Is obedience to God. The greatest duty a Southern homo has resting on It, In our present situ ation, Is to oducatc its children to re spect authority. Tho Atlanta riot waz marked by the presence and the par ticipation of young men and boys. The significance of that is the very groat probability that these young men and boys came from homes which main tained no discipline or government. The opportunity of the press In the South, If it shall serve the highest in terest of the Southern people and lay good foundations for our future, Is to make tho lawless spirit everywhere ashamed of itself and make it feel the weight of disgrace and dishonor that It represents. if It Is true, as currently reported, that the rioters sworn in as deputies by the sheriff of Fulton county are returning to him the badges of their o0H*e and saying. “We do not want this, we are going to be free to act for our selves,” then tho sheriff ought to take their names as conspirators and hold them under suspicion. Let us every one accept the summons of citizenship to uphold the law. If the Jaw Is bftd, make it disreputable by exe cuting it and then change it through legislative channels. The bottom foils out of everything When the laws of the land arc trampled upon. REV. FRANK EAKES, Pastor Wesley Memorial Methodist Church. It Is time for the citizens of Atlanta to stop niul consider obedience to law. There aro laws on our stutute books that are bolng constantly violated by some of our leading citizens. The laws are there and are presumably good. If they are'not so, they should be re pealed. Law Is the safeguard of socie ty. -Lynching a human being Is bad enough, but to lynch u statute of the code is infinitely worse. Committing a crime against ail individual Is bad, but committing a crime against the state Is outrageous. He who winks at the law breaker's deed Is as guilty as the pros ecuted criminal. Tho white man who carries a pistol in his hip pocket puts himself on an equality with the negro who robs the hen roost or hall rack. Both are lawbreakers. It Is to the Interest of all good citizens to sec that crime is brought to light and criminals punished. The sentimental gush poured out over high criminals, such/as lias been manifested recently in/some ot our papers, and certain classes of citi zens, Is abhorrent*. Let mercy havo its sway, but even mercy must ho with in tho bounds of law. White and black alike need to stand together now In the enforcement of law. The mob spirit Is of the devil and Its actions tend to make hell on earth. Grand Juries and judges havo these matters In their hands. !.awm must he enforced, even though the wealthiest and most respected are lodged in our penitentiaries. He who, by word or deed, fires his fellowmen to unlawful acts is the most detestable of uH crim inals. Reverence for law- and obedience to authority is our only safeguard as a , people. Fine Tailoring to Order by Tom Weaver. CHRISTMAS KODAKS. Ask your boy or girl what they want for Christmas and the answer will be a Kodak. The best gift because they are amusing, instructive and will last for years. A child can operate one. We have them from $1 up to 135. A. K. Hawke* Company, The Kodak House, 14 Whitehall street. BALLARD BIFOCAL. A revelation to glaaa wearer., doe. away with two pulra of glumes, both reading and walking vision In one frame, and looks like one glass. It lias proven the most successful of all the advertised Invisible bifocals. They are being sold by all the leading houses In America and abroad. Our oculist's prescription department Is the most perfect s/stem eVer inaugurated In this country. Not how cheap, but how well we ran serve you. Ask the oculist about us. Walter Ballard Optical Company. <1 Peachtree street. VIVA f . _ ,, — — „-i ’ ■ ———— ■ IMf lUBBMpa HI irpipP Very handsome girdle of golden brown, elaborately studded with finest hand-cut steel nail heads. Price 16.50. M: * • • m r? - Y-&. ■ - —... LtlJB 3, H Efl K ’ {MSB? llm gj HI: ji IP, ij-t. / Black elastic girdle with narrow panels of finest cut steel and exquisitely fashioned buckle of the same. Pries 16.50. Other girdles and belts, similar to these pictured, range in price from 3.00 Up. Elastic steel studded belts of narrower designs. Prices 1.50 to 5.00. Dainty belts in white and light Persian colors, suitable for Christmas gifts, are shown in many styles, ranging in price from 1.50 to 12.50.