Some twelve miles below my home in the good old town of Marshfield there lived and died one of the greatest statesmen of Massachusetts, Daniel Webster. Though he may have made his mistakes in life, both politically and morally, yet there will ever shine from him an example of reverence and allegiance to God which may well become a watchword of the Adult Bible Class. It was one evening in the great city of New York, it is said, in an address which Webster delivered at a great banquet there, made up solely of men, that he uttered this sentiment which must ring most clearly in the mind and soul of every truly consecrated Sunday-school teacher and worker and loyal Christian citizen. It was a little late when he arrived, and as he entered the hall and advanced to the head table the chairman of the meeting said to him: "Mr. Webster, when you speak tonight, I want you to tell these men what is the greatest thought which ever occupied your human mind.' When the time came for him to speak he arose and said: "Gentlemen, I have been asked by your chairman that when I should speak to you tonight I should tell you what was the greatest thought that ever occupied my human mind, and I want to say in response to that question that above every other thought which ever possessed my mind was my individual responsibility to Almighty God." The statesman and the scholar, the man of letters and of law, he who owed his position and all that he held in the political world at that time to the men of that old Plymouth Congressional district, of which I have the honor of being a citizen at present, above every obligation which he felt that he owed to them, above all the duties which he felt he owed to any man, first and foremost as a citizen, he recognized his duty and responsibility to Almighty God. And so let me say to you, that no matter what your position or place in life, no matter how fame and wealth have smiled upon you, no matter what honors have come to you from your fellowmen, or what obligations you owe to them for such honors, above all these, as with Daniel Webster, comes your allegiance and responsibility to Almighty God.

Next, perhaps, in importance to the problem of irreverence which it is the duty of the Adult Bible Class to solve is the problem of expediency. This age is marked too much by this spirit. Whether in high places or in low, there are men who stand first on one foot then on the other, viewing with hesitancy the questions which demand honest and upright decision, vacillating in their policy, and putting off until the morrow the problem that can only be solved by men of principle and of character today.

No more striking example of men devoted to great principles is there

than that of the great American martyr, Abraham Lincoln. You remember some of the crucial moments in his life, especially that moment when he had made that noble decision and faced the possibility of defeat, that no compromise, no matter what the cost, should be made in the cause of slavery. How, when his friends came to him and entreated him that he should let the Southern states go, because if he did not he would fail of reëlection to the presidency, he turned to the map which always hung in the rear of his desk, took his long, awkward finger and drew it through every one of the states thereon, then, turning to his friends, said: "Gentlemen, it matters little what happens to me, whether I am reëlected president or not, but not one of those states, not one of them, shall go." Let us then inspire our youths in the Sundayschools, about to go out into the highways and byways of human society and political life, with this example of principle, and impress upon them as one of the great elements of Christian citizenship "that principle not expediency must be their motto."

Again, we see as we look about us, men half-hearted, half-devoted in their loyalty to the great causes of state and nation, men who seem to love self better than the great movements for the welfare of mankind. Oh, that we might recall for the moment, some of the examples of loyalty and devotion of the men of only fifty years ago to inspire and quicken us to the patriotism that reflects some of the Christian heroism of our own nation. Few if any more striking examples of that devotion to a great cause are there on the pages of history than that of Sherman and Grant in the crucial days of the great war for humanity and the preservation of the Union. It was at Petersburg. Grant had already been thirteen weeks before that city, and yet without any seeming advance or progress. Sherman had made that wonderful march to the sea, and the whole North was shouting his praises in loud acclaim. All through the Northern states there seemed to be a growing sentiment that Grant was dilatory and making no progress, and that General Sherman was alone equal to the demand of the hour. This sentiment was crystallizing very fast into a demand that Grant should be deposed and that General Sherman should be placed in his stead. The news soon reached General Sherman, but he knew the great worth of General Grant and that he was to be the real hero of the hour. He knew that no man had or could be more loyal to his trust, and that this seeming delay was but the perfection of a great plan by General Grant. So, immediately upon hearing this news, General Sherman sent word, so the story is told, to General Grant in sentences similar to these: "I hear that they are talking of deposing you and placing me in your stead. It shall never

be. I will not have it. You shall not be deposed. I will never accept the position, but I will stand by you most loyally even unto the end." No sooner had Grant received the letter than he immediately sent back a reply to Sherman in words much like these: "General Sherman, if I am deposed, and you are placed in my stead, I will stand by you just as loyally and faithfully as you have so loyally and faithfully stood by me." Two great souls inspired by one noble purpose, the high ideal of true patriotism, unmindful of self and all the emoluments of fame and office, pledged themselves in the most exemplary devotion to stand by each other even to the door of death for the cause which they loved better than they loved their own lives.

That the besetting sin of life is selfishness is the testimony of the ages, and that this age is still in its toils no man conversant with the life of today dares deny. Only the truly unselfish have worn or can wear the crown of honor in real American citizenship. No greater honor can come to any man, it seems to me, in the walks of citizenship than that he has caught something of the spirit of Christ and lived to serve humanity, and serve it well. The great inspiration of history comes to us day by day from the lives of those men and women who have lived, forgetful of self, and quickened and consecrated by the high ideal of their Master, have given themselves in loving service and sacrifice for the great human family whose woes and sorrows constantly appeal to the true lover of mankind.

We are a nation of mutual interests and we must never forget that we are a democracy, and that a democracy means simply a mutuality of interests and of life. That it is incumbent upon us who are Americans and Christian citizens to keep the fires of patriotism always burning so brightly that we shall never forget that we are a democracy, that our interests, our purposes, our plans, indeed all our affairs, are bound up in one common family of common interests is very evident. The real principle which makes a democracy is none other than the great principle of brotherhood, and men are realizing it today as they never realized it before. Yea, even one of the political parties of this era has incorporated into its party principles the brotherhood of man as one of its cornerstones. It is the war cry in the economic as well as the political world today, and upon its fulfillment depends more than anything else the keeping in its truest and best sense the democracy which was planned in that memorial compact in the little cabin of the Mayflower so many years ago near the old town of Plymouth, some twenty miles from my home. That, it is said, was the truest, the most ideal form of democracy ever promulgated in the world. Let the revival

of that old spirit, that old brotherhood, that old compact of mutual loyalty be once more made manifest, and let us incorporate it into the Christian citizenship of this grand old nation and every nation of the earth, for there is nothing in life today that will bring more inspiration to man than that throb of brotherly love which warms the heart and uplifts the soul of each one of us.

That the ideals of a nation should be preserved upon the tablets of the hearts of its citizens, as well as upon the pages of its history, every true patriot must acknowledge. The great desecration of some of our national holidays would seem to indicate anything but a cherished memory of our patriotic ideals. Yet it is true that in the preservation of our patriotic ideals will come the true loyalty of men to their country, and so the next great problem and the last which I will present for your consideration is the preservation of patriotic ideals. The Adult Bible Class must teach loyalty to the flag as well as loyalty to the church. The great Master said in demonstration of this: "Render unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's, and unto God the things which are God's." It has been my custom for several years on Memorial Day to address the Grand Army of the Republic. Sometimes I have spoken once, sometimes twice, and this year even three times, but what has been my great grief on these occasions has been the great indifference and marked desecration of that day which means so much to those who gave their lives and their all to their country and their flag. There are men, women and children who seem to be utterly without any reverence for the day or for its memories, and I wonder immediately have we forgotten the great cost of this nation, have we forgotten the heartaches and pains, the sorrows of men and of mothers caused by the terrible loss during the Civil War?

And now in conclusion let me say that in the ideals of Jesus we have all the essential principles of the citizenship which all nations need, and which if applied to the lives of the Adult Bible Classes would bring about the solution of the great problems which press so closely today. Incorporate then these ideals into your life, inculcate them into the lives of your pupils, and follow on under the banner of the great Captain of our Salvation, Jesus Christ, the Lord and Master of the world, and you shall surely march on to victory.

READ BY FRANKLIN MCELFRESH, SUPT.

The three years past has been a time of steady growth and of marked development in the Department of Education. Mr. W. C. Pearce, with remarkable energy and foresight, called together the scattered classes and secured a definite organization of the Teacher Training Department about six years ago. He then provided, by careful consultation with denominational leaders, for standard courses of study.

ENROLLMENT.

There was reported at Louisville an enrollment of 79,086 students in the International office, and an enrollment of 28,491 from four denominations. Enrollment reported by State and Provincial Associations to the International office this triennium, shows 136,270 students. In addition to this, an aggregate of fifty thousand students has been reported to us by various Denominational Boards as enrolling directly with them. This