The City Election

The spring election in this city bids fair to be an exciting one. Already the ball has begun to roll. lf there is much bitterness ejected into the campaign, however, some of the ministers of the city may charge the blame up to themselves. In at least three of the churches last Sunday, the ministers sought to give their aid and countenance to the Municipal club in the coming campaign in their morning sermón and at least one of the ministers descended to a bitter personal attack, founded upon a palpable misapprehension of fact. This part of the sermón may have been the kind of spiritual food the minister is paid to expound to hearers on Sundays, but we doubt it. A minister hwo goes into th,e preaching of politics in his pulpit is not a good American citizen. In this country church and state are absolutely divorced. And any man who seeks to drag the church into politics, or to influence his congregation, by the peculiar influence a pastor has, into voting this or that political ticket, is not acting the part of a good citizen in keeping up the separation between church and politics. Let the bitterness of religious strife be dragged into polities, and there is no way in vvhich it can be done so effectually as by political sermons, and a sad blow is struck at permanency of our American Let the partisanship of politics get into the churches and the pui pits, and religious thought takes wing. The old text still holds good, " Render unto Ctesar, the things that are Cnesar's and unto God, the things that are God's." .= # There are many questions of governmental policy upon which the American people are divided, but there is one upon which they are absolutely and eternally united, and that is the total separation of church and state. There are some things which the fathers in their wisdom saw fie to incorpórate into the constitution which we question and disbelieve in, but whatever else he may question, no citizen ever denies their inspired wisdom in absolutely divorcing politics and religión. The Municipal club is being run as a side annex to the republican party. Most of its principal particpants are republicans who seek through its medium, and with the aid of the pastors, whom they can blindfold, to obtain control of the city government, and to díctate not only to the people of the city, but to the rest of the republican party as well. It is used principally to give the republicans control of the city government. It shouted reform last spring and elected its ticket. The reforms failed to materialize. The city was found to have been well governed before, and certainly no improvement has been made on Mayor Doty's administraron. The change consisted in republican's filling the offices in place of democrats. And that is what the Municipal club is for. As was announced last week, Mayor Thompson has just been elected president of the Municipal club. The three members of the executive committee, who are running the club, are Henry S. Dean, Levi D. Wines and H. G. Prettyman, all good republicans. The mayor announced yesterday that the Municipal club would name the next mayor. He explained by saying that they would hold their eonvention first and put a ticket in the field, and said that the ticket would be named this week. The cali for the convention has not yet been issued. The republicans will hold their caucuses on Saturday evening and their convention an hour later. There has been considerable talk of their naming Dr. Darling for mayor and Prof. Wines for president of the council, but it is understood that Dr. Darling is averse to taking the nomination. Major W. C. Stevens and G. Frank Allmendinger are also talked of for mayor. The democrats are yet all at sea as to whom they will nomínate for mayor. A disposition is every where manifest to put up a good strong ticket. Itisin thisway thatthedemocrats have generally carried the city. The place to do the best work for the city is in the party caucuses. The democratie ward caucuses will be held Friday evening and the city convention on Monday evening. Every democrat should turn out and do his share towards securing good nominees.