At Washington

At Washington the National Council of the Congregational Church was addressed by President Coolidge, who is its Honorary Moderator.* The President chose as his text the interrelation between religion and government. He declared that "the chief function of organized government is to maintain order, provide security for persons and property, and set up instrumentalities for the administration of justice." Then he proceeded to dwell upon the manner in which religious influence may be exerted by both the clergy and the laity in helping the government to achieve its purposes; and crystallized his conception of the vital importance of religion to the state as follows:

"The utmost ingenuity on the part of the police powers will be substantially all wasted in an effort to enforce the law if there does not exist a strong and vigorous determination on the part of the people to observe the law. . . . Mr. Coolidge concluded with the words: "It is only by a constant renewal and extension of our faith, that we can expect to enlarge and improve the moral and spiritual life of the nation. Without that faith all that we have of an enlightened civilization cannot endure."

The Election of Officers: For the first time in ten years a layman, Frank J. Harwood of Appleton, Wis., was chosen as Moderator. A Negro, the Rev. W. L. Ashe, of New Orleans, was elected Second Moderator, after one of his supporters had startled the assembly by an impassioned speech in which he cried: "Lincoln not only made my race, but my race made Lincoln!"

The Secretary's Report placed the total membership of the organization at 879,000; and the Secretary declared: "Congregationalists are working for fewer and better churches ... the time for rapid organization of new churches is past "

The Meeting Endorsed: 1) "The principle of the single tax." 2) Unemployment and old age insurance. 3) The right of labor to organize.

*An ecclesiastical equivalent for the "chairman" or "presiding officer" of an assembly.