WANTED-REFORM THAT REFORMS.
The writer not many years since became ac
quainted with a young man who in a moment of
indignation and mortification over the cruel lynch
ings of several negroes in his community tlew to
the Xorth to lecture and arouse the public conscience
there to a sense of duty in giving protection to the
lives and property of the colored people of the
South. His denunciation of his native land was
inflammatory and incendiary, which proved not alto
gether unacceptable to the Northern mind, but
nothing was accomplished, no results were obtained,
only tin* young man lost what influence he once had
in his own country and changed his residence to the
East. It is not recorded that he is making any head
way solving the Race Problem up there. Certainly
not. too far away from it : where In* is needed is right
here among our own people who. after all is said,
have the problem in our own hands, for better or for
worse.
There are other problems pressing hard our
hearts, chief among which were given great promi
nence in the public prints last Monday morning and
afternoon, having been inspired by the sermon of
a local minister. It is the problem of improving
and reforming our courts, our electorate, our men.
our women. Xo greater burden rests upon us than
the solut ion of this problem.
It is supremely gratifying to The Reason to have
so able and valuable co-laborer as the Rev. Dr. \V.
X. Ainsworth take the sensible and manly view of
the method of proceedure as that advocated by him
in his sermon of last Sunday morning, although the
method now advised of reaching men doesn’t corre
spond with the harsh and unchristian kind formerly
advocated when he gave vent to his outraged feel
ings respecting the failure of our courts and juries
in enforcing the Prohibition law.
It should be, and is, a matter of the greatest con
cern when our officers of the law become “double
faced and mercenary, our juries prejudiced, etc.’’
but when Dr. Ainsworth denounces them as such,
he acts just about as foolish as our young friend
who ran off to the Xorth to solve the Race Problem,
instead of standing his own ground and fighting it
out here. The Sunday morning sermon is an evi
dence that Dr. Ainsworth has caught his mistake and
has resolved to try. through perfectly tangible
means, to reach the minds and hearts of sinners and
save them by appeals to their better natures, rather
than bring them to Christ by long suffering, in chains
under lock and key.
This is true reform; no other kind is worth the
name, because, like that brand of religion served us
without repentance, it has no lasting quality. The
degrading of a man for selling liquor, for perjuring
himself, for buying votes, for selliim his franchise
or for the commission of any crime whatsoever is
an event that very probably changes some persons
ami has a deferent effect against the commission of
crime; but no one will dispute that the Chritianizing
of that man would be far better, both for him and
THE REASON
for the protection of society. Let both Doctors
Broughton and Ainsworth devote themselves to the
making of Christians of our people instead of jail
birds, and the world will be better off. It is a
wrong idea for them to suppose that this may be
done by denunciation, by scurrulous attack', and
rigid prosecution. Don’t in Cod’s name don't
run men away from the Truth, but draw them to it.
it yon would save them. Harshness will run them
a wa v.
Drawing men nearer, nearer to the blessed Lord
must ever be the highest calling of man. The man
best qualified to do it is lie whose lift* and works are
most admired. We cannot like, we cannot admire
those without mercy, without charity ami love; those
whose malice and hatred for every conceivable form
of vice and wickedness unfits them to deal gentlv,
kindly and charitably with the unvirtuous.
Who has not noticed the amalgamation of two
souls.’ Down life's highway, hand in hand, with
hop. skip and jump, comes a couple whose hopes,
aspirations, longings, joys, sorrows ami looks are the
same. If you cut one the other will bleed. It
makes no difference which one loses a foot both are
■' woodemlegged. " They become likenesses because
of their choosing to habitually admire each other.
Now. il Brothers Ainsworth and Broughton, ami
all men and women everywhere, would improve the
condition of their people and their communities
morally, spiritually, intellectually and otherwise—
let them set themselves to the task of cultivating a
closer friendship with men —the unvirtuous as well
as the virtuous. Make for these poor, deluded souls
some grand character, spiritual or personal, that they
will readily fall in love with and become a likeness
of. Don't, if they object, particularly force your
Christ upon them, but bring in Abraham Lincoln,
floethe, Shakespeare, or may be it would serve best
to take some purely local character, with whose* vir
tues your subjects are entirely familiar. Help them
to become like these. It would be best of course to
have them duplicate the life of Jesus, but we should
remember that perfection is not possible, in this
world at least. Also that if a man live as Mr. Lin
coln lived society has nothing to fear from that man.
and that an eternal home of perfect rest and peace
will be his reward, it makes no difference whether
he prays in public, sets in the “amen” corner or
ignores the church altogether.
she virtues of the great men who have presided
over the destinies of the nation and fought bravely
and successfully the battles of the people provide
the meat for our primer lessons which we are to
learn and appropriate to our own lives before be
coming prepared to abide in Christ to that extent
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