THE GHOST REVOLTS

WILLIAM JOHNSON

AMONG usWhat happened to us? Why are we differ­ent? We don't mean "us" editors at F & F,but us Americans. Bill Johnson's story, TheGhost Revolts, asks: vVhat would happento a politician who told people the truth?Thad Ashby attacks the big change from adifferent angle in You Can't Get That KyneNo More. Interviewing one of the mostpopular ,vriters of the 20's, Peter B. Kyne,Ashby contrasts the ideals in Kyne's novelswith the ideals in the novels on the currentbest' seller list.

The quiz, Who Said That? answers theabove question pessimistically. Accord~ng

to speeches by Ike and Adlai, America haschanged to the point that voters woulddefeat anybody who made "self reliance"a serious plank. But there's a note of hope:in the spiritual hunger which Bill Johnsonreports on, in the non-fiction self-helpbooks and in the revival of interest in the20's-which may, Ashby hopes, revive aninterest in the ideals of Kyne's America.

:0 :0 :0

Jim Ingebretsen found himself working19 hours a day, 472 days a year, expandingall our activities. So he hired John Payneto help hirn keep a cleaner desk and to

FAITH AND FREEDOM is published by SpiritualMobilization, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan,nonsectarian organization founded in 1935. JamesC. Ingebretsen, President. James W. Fifield, Jr.,Chairman.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: sent without charge to thosewho ask for it. If you wish to pay for your sub­scription, a $5 contribution covers a little morethan cost; a contribution over $5 pays for subscrip­tions for libraries, clergymen, students and thosenot able to pay for their subscriptions.

EXTRA COPIES: 25c each up to ten; 20c each overten. Introductory copies will be sent free to those'You suggest. Should you suggest one or more, we

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keep our contributors informed about ourneeds.

If .\ve can catch John between shake­down cruises, we'll pry some articles fromhis fecund brain. You remember his recenti'vly Alinister Called "Ale A Leftist, but prob­ablv vou didn't know he used to write Withthe"Opinion !vIakers, one of our keenly pen­etrating, shre\vd analyses of current hap­penings in the news.

John served tin1e at Pomona College,Claremont, where (less time off for goodbehavior) he got a\vay \vith a Phi BetaKappa key. The University of Cincinattigave him a Masters in Government andPublic Administration, and he has been try­ing to forget what he learned ever since.

_;\ big £e11o\v, with a football frame anda broken nose, he has an ideal build forthis type job; trying to keep a non-profitlibertarian organization with at least onesnorkel above \vater.

John's pretty \vHe, Jan, \vas our first artdirector. She and John have been buildingtheir o\vn Frank Lloyd Wright style housein the hills of San Dimas. They're bothyoung, creative, dynan1ic people, and we'reglad to get them.

would appreciate a contribution to cover the costof nlailing.GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS: sent with an appropriatecard telling the recipient of your thoughtfulness.Just send us the names and addresses with anappropriate contribution.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS: be sure to give yourcomplete former address (print or type, please).

STAFF: William Johnson, Editor. Thaddeus Ashby,Associate Editor. Doreen Riley, Digest Editor. TomVan Sant, Art Director. Beulah Roth, CirculationManager.

Published September 15th to June 15th at 1521Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 17, California.

FAITH AND FREEDOM

THE GHOSTREVOLTS

WILLIAM JOHNSON

Matthew Frankenstein, ghost writer for apolitician, forgot to tell us what his candi­date is running for. Maybe it will be theMexican border. Whatever it is, the moralof this fable asks: do P.R. men dare tell thepublic the truth? And if one did, whatwould happen? Political suicide? Landslide?

My name is Matthew J. Frankenstein. Myneighbors call me Matt, the monster-maker.But I tell them, "'You created Frankenstein'smonster, not Inc."

Of course, you'll never understand what

OCTOBER 1956

I'm talking about unless I tell you that I'man idea man and speech writer for politicalcandidates.

My boss is climbing all over me. Nobody'sturning up at the rallies. The TV sets are

3

turned on but, when the boss plants hisface in front of the camera, the viewerscross his channel faster than a Bell X-2.Nobody seems to give a hoot about politicsthis year.

"Matt," the boss says, "you're supposedto come up with the smart ideas. Why don'tyou write what the voters want to hear?"

What can I say? He couhts the emptyseats in the auditoriulus. The Nielsen rat­ings tell him his programs draw no moreviewers than reruns of Milton Berle's 1948kineoscopes.

People Ignore Both Candidates

"Our competition isn't doing any better,"I tell him. But he's right. That tired excuseis carrying too many has-been hacks. Andit doesn't get me off the hook to blamethe voting custolller. I kno\v-and so do you-the guy holding the vote will spend itwillingly if we come up with somethingnear what he likes. Personally, I don't be­lieve the guy knows what he wants anymore. Look at the primaries; they've hadthe lowest turnouts in years. Everybody wasdisappointed with thE, way the audienceignored both conventions. Despite all ofthe get-out-the-vote appeals, it looks likewe'll have the weakest vote in years.

Why?You probably have your own ideas.

Me, I feel the pinch of one answer strongerthan all the rest because it is my job towrite the pitch for our candidate. The oldcoffee pot really gets a working over theseeJ\rly morning hours as I try to make ourstuff sound different than that of our op­ponent. But when you really boil it all down-which I'nl sure you do- we and our wor­thy opposition us·e the same formula. Likesoap. Different containers maybe, but thesan1e formula. I'm a packager now. I'm sup­posed to get the soap off the shelves. I'mpaid to luake our words more appealingthan the other guy's and, this year, I admitI'm falling flat on my face.

That's why I'm talking my problem overwith you. I asked myself: Why aren't thecustomers buying our product? To find the

4

answer here's \vhat I did last week. "Matt,"I said to myself, "Matt, boy, you're nevergoing to figure this thing out just mumblingat your type\vriter. Get out and talk to Joeand ~1amie and Blanche. If you ask 'empoint blank what they want from your can­didate, they'll read your own speeches backat you. No, you've got to catch them offguard. Find out what moves them; whatthey're trying to get out of life; what theydon't like about things as they are. A Gal­lup poll with its IBM tabulations and mech­anical questions isn't going to help you.Put the ole brain to ,,'ark. Watch and listento all kinds of Americans. Maybe there'll bea clue somewhere."

That's ,vhat I told myself and, since Ialways take my own advice, I went out andbegan dropping eaves. IIere, let me getmy notebook out. I'll read you some of thedialogue I overheard. See if you can makeanything out of it.

Place: Economy Drug Store; lunch coun­ter. Sound: hamburger spitting on the grill;a nlotor grinding painfully as it whips anextra thick chocolate malt. .

"Did you see the State Department post­ers on the bulletin board?"

"Yeh, but what are you worked up about?Buddy, you got a two-year hitch in theArmy after you graduate. You won't beready for a civilian job until '59."

"I know, but I can dream, can't I?""You sure are dreaming different than

,,,hen you first landed at college. If you'dhad a wJ:1ite horse, you'd have set outto conquer the world. Let's see. It wasgouna be a quiGk four years through collegeand then Joe Trimble in his own business, amillionaire before he was 30. What adreamer you ,vere!"

"O.K., so I \vised up. Meetin' Marg hadsOInething to do with it. I'll be 26 when Iget out of uniform. We'll want to get mar­ried and fn need a steady job. We figureon a couple of kids, a small house, second­hand station wagon, a trailer maybe, aboat, and a pair of skiis. fd rather settle fora quick $8,000 a year than shoot for $100,­000 a year eventually. None of this ulcer

FAITH AND FREEDOM

stuff for me.U~1aybe I could apply for a commission

in the Navy. You can retire after twentyyears. Boy, that would be livin'! A pensionat 44!"

Place: Broadway at 12th."... so I went into Bergdorf-Goodman

and told them I just had to have a dresswith a holy look for my trip to Rome . . ."

Place: cashier line in supermarket."Didn't I see you drive up in a new

Buick, Catherine?""That's right. We took delivery on it last

week.""Joe has been talking about a new car,

too. But he never mentioned a Buick. Howmuch does a Buick cost?"

"Ours wasn't too expensive. Just $73.60a month!"

Enjoy The Future Now

Place: Driving range. Sound: Whap. Whap.Whap.

"Hope it doesn't bother you, buddy, ifI chat a bit while you drive a few balls.Why don't you try hitting that ball on thedown swing? I keep telling the wife I'mworking on an invite from the President. Igotta keep the golf gan1e in shape so I'mready \vhen the telephone rings. Ha-ha.Clarabelle, that's the little woman, keepsneedling me about not saving any money.'Every time we get a little bit ahead,' shesays, 'you blow it all on golf equipment.'I tell her what's the use of putting moneyin the bank. Why not spend it when yougot it? I say let's enjoy the future beforewe get too old."

Place: The steps outside St. Andrew's."A fine sermon! I don't get down here

very much, but I try to catch your stuffon TV ..."

Place: Phillips' Book Shop.UDidn't I see you yesterday with your

grandchildren in tow?""Yes, Dottie's CaIne back home. Bill left

her again and we don't know where he hasgone. The poor girl can't find any meaningin her life."

"Maybe Dottie vvould get something out

OCTOBER 1956 5

of a book 1 just read: Anne Lindbergh's AGift From The Sea . .. Mr. Phillips, do youhave that one?"

"I'm sorry, Mam, ,ve just can't seem tokeep A Gift From The Sea in stock. Weare always ordering more copies of bookslike that. How to Live 365 Days a Year,Peace of Soul, The j}lind Goes Forth, Auto­Conditioning, The Art of Real Happiness,The Wealth Within You, The Power of Pos­itive Thinking, Peace of Mind . .."

Place: Parent-Teachers' meeting."I'm so glad to Ineet you Miss Webster.

1 hope Tommy behaves himself in school.There's something I've been wanting to talkto you about. Tommy has been having anawful lot of trouble with his homeworkassignments. He's so frustrated. 1 wonderif the work you give him is too hard."

"Tommy is a good boy in class, Mrs.Jones. No, 1 didn't realize his homeworkmade him unhappy. Perhaps we shouldmove hiln to a lo\\rer group. He'd be farhappier among boys and girls on his ownlevel, "rhere the pace isn't as fast. And itmight be a good thing to change him any­,vay. You see, his social adjustment hasn'tbeen too good. Sometimes he prefers toplay all by himself."

Smoke Break, Coffee Break

Place: Arvin Coffee Shop."How's your new job, Catherine?""Wonderful! I've lllet the nicest girl. At

9:30, we go out and eat breakfast together.At the 10:20 coffee break, she always tellsme about Johnny, that's her boy friend.Lunch-tillle, we usually talk about the otherpeople in the office. The 1:40 coffee breakis ,vhen we rib Mabel about her good­looking brother. Of course, 1 get to talkwith you at the 3 o'clock smoke break."

"That sounds real good, Catherine.""Sorry~ gotta rush no,v. Have to be back

in time to clear my desk for the night. An­other cigarette and I'd be working over­time!"

Place: Forty-yard line, football stadium,Meadville High School.

"Well, 1 Inean, you know how Jack is.

6

lIe's real neat all right; he's a keen dancer.1 lllean . . . I lllean he's always talkingabout going a"ray to study painting. Dadsays that painters, well, 1 mean they haveto do a lot of su~ering before they everamount to anything. Gee, that's all right forJack maybe, but I've got to start thinkingabout my future."

"Uh, huh. Hey, they're sending in Her­man Kovalenski."

"So that's ,vhy 'rve had this big fightlast night. 1 told him that George's unclehas a good job in the post office. Georgesays that he can get a job there this June,as soon as he graduates. Mail carriers geta pretty good salary; maybe we could getmarried right a'rvay."

"Yeah?-Gee, that Herman has shoulderslike a truck."

"Yeh. Jack got real mad. He just doesn'tunderstand. George asked me to go to theshow with him tonight. I'm going-too."

Why A.ren't You Happy?

Place: Smoking car, commuter's train."You look beat, Bert.""I feel beat, too. It's Mabel.""You in the dog house?""Not especially.""What's eating you then?""Can't figure her out.""I got llly troubles, too.""I can't figure her out. I'm up to here

in debt buying things for her. I buy her adishvvasher. Does that make her happy?No. 'Ve take a trip to Bermuda. Still un­happy. Ford Thunderbird to run aroundin. Still frets. Hi-Fi set complete with woof­er, hveeter, F.~l and tape recorder-she getsworry lines in her brow. I figure maybeshe's looking for prestige. So I invest in aseason box at the opera. All that meant wasmore money for clothes."

"That's a dalne for you. What does it taketo make 'em happy?"

"I can't Rgure her out. She doesn't haveto do a darn thing anYlllore. With all Iinvested, she ought to be happy."

Place: The Kimball dining table. Womanon my left talking to man across table.

FAITH AND FREEDOM

"Dear, I think Brad is right. He is thebest public relations man on the coast."

"Every time 1 feel 1 really have some­thing to say to the public, you and Bradhand me the muzzle. 'You mustn't upsetthe apple cart.' 'You dare not offend any­one.' What's happened to free speech?"

"Look at it realistically, Frank. Think ofPeter and what it would be like for himin school if you made a speech like that.What good would it do for you to say itanyway? Nobody will agree with you."

Place: Bulletin board, Montgomery The­ological Seminary, Course of Study, SecondYear:

207 Group Dynamics (3 credits)

419 Building Maintenance (1 credit)

739 Church Administration (4 credits)

937 Fund Raising (3 credits)

423 Accounting (3 credits)

646 Recreational Programming (H~ credits)

What The 'Go-Getters' Want Now

Place: Red brick commercial building, twomen on loading platform, watching loading.

"Don't tell me you're still tied to the of­fice, ~1ac. I thought you were going to getout on the road to beat the bushes for somenew contracts."

"1 just can't do it, Ted.""Why don't you hire sOlnebody to man­

age the place for you? Give you some timeto expand your market."

"1 tried. Didn't get anywhere. The busi­ness right now doesn't justify the salaryI'd have to pay an experienced man. I'mwilling to train a young man-if I couldever find one."

"What about Clark College? Have youtalked to any of their seniors?"

"Not a one of thelTI is interested. Knowwhat kind of j,obs they're lining up? Cos­mopolitan Life Insurance Company: salaryincrease every six months, hospitalization,pension program. I couldn't find one boywilling to start out slTIall with us and growwith the business."

Place: on scaffolding, next to a stack ofbuilding blocks.

OCTOBER 1956

"Take it easy there, son. Wanta put usout of work. This job ought to cal'ry usfor another five days, if we take it slow.Oh, 1 kno\v, you youngsters hate to wastetime, but you'll get used to it. I rememberwhen I first served out my apprenticeship.It was different those days. None of thisslap, dash and the so-what-if-the-Ievel-is-offattitude.

"Old Pat Kennedy. I can still rememberhow he made me tear out a whole wall ofbrick that was hardly out of line at all. Ihad to brick that wall again on my owntime. You can bet I was careful from thenon. I used to bring n1Y wife Ella over tothe job on Sundays, just so she could ad­mire the clean lines on the wall. Not onespattering of mortar out of place. Yep, then1was the days. But Inaybe it's better thisway."

What do you n1ake out of my notes? I'dlike to see if you agree with the way 1 addthem up. Let me kno\v if it makes anysense.

Ever since I've been hacking away atcampaign speeches, lTIUst be over twentyyears now, there's ahvays been the one sure­fire political gin1mick: more. Just promisethe voting customer more housing, morehealth, more price controls, more farm sup­ports, more wages, more of more. ,If wecould keep our promises ahead of the otherParty, we were in for another two years.But it's not working like it used to. Whydoesn't "more" sound good any lTIOre?

The way I read my notes, we're a sickpeople. Look at us: we're hungry, but wedon't kno\\7 for what. We have an unde­fined wanting, an unscratchable itch. We'vetried the easy ways to satisfy it but we arehungrier after we finish. Our answer hasbeen to try more of the same thing. If onedishvvasher won't help, try h,'o. If a newCadillac doesn't satisfy, put in a swimlTIingpool.

:Lvlaybe \ve should stop using the materialprogress formula as the way to soul satis­faction and success.

I kno\v this is beginning to sound pretty

7

preachy to you. I didn't mean it that way.It was just at this point in my own analysiswhen I said to myself, "Climb down off thecloud, Matt, the boss will never buy achange in the formula."

So I. tossed my research into the comerand got to work on this speech here. Gota couple nlinutes? I'll read it to you. Itisn't too long. The Committee was on theball and bought a five-minute spot in themiddle of next Sunday's Ed Sullivan show.The boss will sit in the living rooms ofeverybody who might vote for him andpunch home the keynote of his message.We figure its shortness \-vill be an asset andthe timing will be perfect. Here's the wayhe will read it:

This Will Solve Your Problem

"Good evening, folks. I've asked the net­work people to let me interrupt your pleas­ant evening at home just long enough totell you how good I feel when I see youso happy.

"What I want to chat quietly and seri­ously with you about tonight lies very closeto Iny heart; it is you and your loved ones.And your happiness in the real sense canonly come when all is right with your job,your health, and your home. And you knowwhat makes this possible, for in today'smodern world, \ve have learned how to har­ness the wonderful powers of governmentso that each person may have freedom fromwant. We have learned to act with theknowledge that peace and prosperity canbe· sustained when your government is act:ing wisely to help you.

"But we still have a job to do."You know that the slum, the outdated

high\vay, the poor school system, deficien­cies in health protection, the failure of asmall business, the undevelopment of anatural resource, the suffering of a farmer,the loss of a job and the fear of poverty andold age penalizes us all. I am dedicated tocommit every tool of government, everyresource of government, to prevent theseevils which sap the security of us all.

"1 believe 1 know what you need. For

8

example, you need more school buildings.I shall sponsor more federal aid to educa­tion so that you will not only get yourschools but your teachers can receive anluch needed raise in pay.

"You farmers need not be the forgottenAlnericans. I shall see to it that your soilbank and parity payments restore you tothe rank of full-class citizens.

"I shall introduce tariff legislation to in-

FAITH AND FREEDOM

crease the duties on the Japanese and Ger­man products which are creating such un­fair competition for our fellow Americans.

"A.nd \ve need more flood control mea­sures, new hospitals for our Vets, betterpostal service for you folks in the outlyingareas, and more roads everywhere.

"If you elect Ine, I pledge to work nightand day in your interest, right down on thecommunity level.

"That is why I come to ask for your helptonight. Your choice this year is betweena party that talks progress and a party thatreally believes in progress; a party that be­lieves in the vital part government mustplay to insure an expanding America, aprosperous America; an America wherethe next four years can be the happiest ofyour lives.

"There is much reason to take great pridein the peace arid prosperity \ve have at­tained. But we must continue to apply newideas and bold progranls to meet the hu­man needs of our people in the future.

"If you share my concern, if you believethat together we can harness the full horse­power of governlnent to bring a futurewithout trouble to our children, I humblyask for your support. I have faith that youwill make the right decision."

When I finished writing that, I was sick.And I didn't feel any better when the bossgave it his approval yesterday. I couldn'tsleep last night. I could still smell the stenchof the over-ripe generalities. What both­ered Ine most, however, \vas the fact that,if the speech was bought by the Americanvoter at all, it would be only because hehad no better offeripgs.

I \vasn't going to be able to get any restuntil I put down on paper what I knew Ishould have written. I hauled down thetypewriter and this is what came out; Iwrote it, even though I \vas sure it wouldnever be used:

They Say I Shouldn't Tell You

"I am going to speak very seriously toyou. NIy advisors, the men at the advertis­ing agency, the party chiefs, have advised

OCTOBER 1956

me not to tell you what I feel I must tellyou now. They are honestly afraid, as isthe opposition party, that you can't takethe truth, if the truth is tough to take. Butyou see, I don't believe you are washed upas Americans.

"The opposition says that you have nointegrity. They believe, some sincerely,some cynically, that you must be boughtwith subsidies, special privileges, and­\vorst of all-you no longer want to holdresponsibility for your own life. Instead;they say, government \\Till take all of therisk out of living.

"And, it is true, I ha've been parrotingthat same line. I had thought that is whatyou \\7anted. How ,vrong I have been.

"I, and they, have said that your loyaltyis for sale only to the highest bidder; thatyou would not give up a subsidy or sacri­fice a handout or go through any pain orordeal for the good of your soul or yourcountry.

"And yet, if America were attacked to­morrow and the enemy had landed on ourshores, I believe you would risk your lifeto save ,,,hat we all love. The opposition,too, knows that you would risk your life tosave our country-but they believe youwould not dare risk giving up a subsidy.

I Am A Coward

"We face a worse emergency today thaneven an enen1Y on our beachheads. We facethe death of the American soul. Oh, we stillpay homage to its virtues. We like to hearabout the tall, rawboned, lean, noble, ideal­istic frontiersman who ,,,ould die ratherthan suffer any insult to his honor. We liketo read about Americans who faced theirlife as a thrilling adventure.

"But \vhile \ve feel nostalgia, we actsometimes as if we believe the old virtuesof courage, self-reliance and honor aredead. Are they dead? Are we all cowards?

"I aU1. I was afraid to say this to you. ButI said it because I believe you are courage­ous. If you really know that you must shedblood, s\veat and tears to save America andyourself, you will do it, just as you would

9

die on the beachheads to save Americafrom an invader.

"We all realize-even we politicians-thatwe can't go on forever sidestepping beingresponsible for our own lives. But the poli­tician believes that he can postpone the dayof reckoning a little, forcing our childrenand grandchildren to face the ultimate or­deal of trying to pick up the pieces of abankrupt nation.

"I believe that the spirit of our fore­fathers still lives. Blood, sweat and tearswere the symbols of a courageous resistancenot long ago. Now, they spell sacrifice ofshort-range material goals for somethinggreater.

"If I ask you to sacrifice a short-rangegain, I should be willing to do the same.

'I'll Get Along Somehow'

"The greatest sacrifice I could make rightnow would be my political career. Tellingyou the truth which you know in yourhearts may cost me this election. But I am,villing to gamble my career on my faithin your guts. You have what it takes to lickthe enemy on the beachhead. 1 believe youhave \vhat it takes to lick a more brutalenemy- laziness, co\vardice and weaknessof ch~racter.

"I believe you will welcome the chanceto stretch your sagging muscles, to feel theblood of the soul as it surges again. I be­lieve you will support me though I tell youthis harsh truth: If I am to serve you, Imust give up my power over you. I mustnot seek more government authority. In­stead, I pledge to you to put you completelyon your own.

"1 believe that you get your happinessfrom the things you accomplish for your­self; you get your security from the knowl­edge that you have the power within youto meet emergencies. I believe you know inyour heart that SaIne day Americans mustsupport a program that will wean themaway from governrnent aid, governmentadvice, government control, governmentcrutches-and government taxes.

"It ,von't be easy. If I represent you in

10

your governnlent by insisting that you re­ceive no farm subsidies; if I refuse to intro­duce tariff legislation; if I try to repealveterans' aids; if I vote against federal fundsfor schools-it will be because enough ofyou have shown you are willing to standalone. Those of you \"ho will support me,not only by voting, but by going down tothe government agencies in your communi­ty, returning your government checks, tell­ing an astonished agent: 'No, thanks, I'llget along somehov{ on IllY own two feet'­those of vou who can do this will save thiscountry by setting an example, by beingthe first to refuse to eat at the trough whilethe rest still fight for favored spots in theline.

You Can Do 'Impossible' Things

"A program of no government aid meansyou'll work for what you get. But it alsolneans I, and you who support me, can serve'as the cutting edge that weans America.And then you~ll get what you work for­and you'll be able to keep it yourself. Itwill be possible for you to grow-to bringout things in you you never dreamed pos­sible before.

"It won't be easy. But I believe you havethe courage to do it now.

"I'lll betting the rest of my life on it."

The Revolt of The Ghost

When I finished writing that, I slept likea babe. I read both speeches again thismorning. That is when I decided to resignmy job. I "vas totally unfit to write speecheslike nunlber one again and I thought thatthe boss would be totally unfit to recitespeeches like number two.

Did he accept Iny resignation? Didn'ttell him yet. I-Ie~ll know tOlnorrow whenhe rushes in for his speech in the middleof the Ed Sullivan Sho,v. You see, I'ves\vitched speeches. Pinned on the newspeech is a note he'll read just as the cam­eras turn on hin1. It will say:

"Boss: this is a last-minute revision. Thebeginning is a little unusual but it getsbetter as it goes along. Matt"

FAITH AND FREEDOM

WHAT WE LACKThe ineffectiveness of the Freedom SavingOrganizations in .t.L\merica does not stemfrom their number nor the size of theirbudgets nor the size of their deficits.

Their lack of effectiveness comes out ofthe indifference of their members andothers to what is happening in our country.

It Is Hard

Most of these organizations are havinga hard time. It is hard to meet budgets andpayrolls. It is hard to sustain interest andenthusiasm. It is hard to get their tractsthoughtfully read (Faith and Freedom byEditor Johnson excepted). It is hard to getcrowds to meetings. It is hard to get appli­cation of their principles-even by their de­voted members.

This is in part because of the widespreadconfusion-which I think has been care­fully arranged. It is partly because of theaccelerated pace of living, and the com­pounded demands on everyone's time. It ismore largely the result of inadequate lead­ership on the part of the Freedom SavingOrganizations and their duplicating or com­peting roles.

I am soundly convinced that the majority

ENTERTAINA STRANGERvVhen Abraham sat at his tent door, accord­ing to his custom, waiting to entertainstrangers, he espied an old man stoppingand leaning on his staff, weary with ageand travel, coming toward him, who wasa hundred years of age; he received himkindly, \vashed his feet, provided supper,caused him to sit down; but observing thatthe old man ate and prayed not, nor beggedfor a blessing on his meat, asked him whyhe did not worship the God of heaven. Theold nlan told him that he worshipped thefire only, and acknowledged no other God:

OCTOBER 1956

DR. FIFIELD

of our people are good. They are earnestChristians and deeply patriotic. They don'twant the things that are coming-but thepressures upon them make them dependentupon leadership, leadership which is lack­ing in most areas.

The clergy do not provide courageousadvocacy of Freedom under God in thisfreedom-abandoning age. The press doesnot chalnpion it. The business communityhas largely "knuckled in" for the "benefits"of the Socialist apparatus. School teachersdare not raise their voices lest they lose theirjobs.

Some See The Light

How is this stranglehold to be broken?We of Spiritual Nlobilization have thought-by the leadership of responsible, under­standing clergynlen. That is still possiblebecause there are Inore such being countedeach day and because SM under PresidentIngebretsen is utterly uncompromising onprinciples and ideals-reinforcing and re­sourcing \vith study materials, those whohave seen the light and are undertaking toexpand it in their own lives and ministriesand communities in the nation.

at which answer Abraham grew so zealous­ly angry, that he thrust the oldman out ofhis tent, and exposed him to all the evilsof the night and an unguarded condition.When the old man \vas gone, God calledto him and asked where the stranger was;he replied, "I thrust hiln away because hedid not worship thee"; God answered him,"I have suffered hirn these hundred years,although he dishonored me, and couldstthou not endure him one night, when hegave thee no trouble?" Upon this, saith thestory, Abraham fetched him back again,and gave him hospitable entertainment andwise instruction.

SAADI, 12th Century Persian Poet

11

PEN N SYLVANIA A V EN U E

In a few short weeks, Americans will troopto the polls to climax our quadrennial hoop­la-the race for the Presidency. Even if wetum the volume down on the sound andfury, several features of this campaign stillcan be heard:

(1) Once again, the "intellectuals" calledstridently for a «'high level" campaign onboth sides. This means: don't criticize, don'tstir up the public, don't create ~ny issues,don't tell the truth about the opposition.

Past campaigns always served one vitalfunction: even if the two parties happilyshared the loot between them in off-years,the call of the election forced them to re­veal sonle truths, to open up some issues.Now that the bipartisan left-wing rulesboth parties, the more dreary the cam­paign, the better they like it.

Surprisingly, the ""new," hard-hittingStevenson was a triumph of the practicalpoliticos over the intellectuals.

(2) The display of the grinding, gooeyJuggernaut at San Francisco-what Doro­thy Thompson sarcastically called Ike's"coronation." Who will soon forget thesight of each Republican at the rostrumput through his Or her prepared paces andwhisked out of the way? While Big Brotherbeamed down from a thousand placards!

(3) The most heartening feature: Stev­enson's resurrection of a lost issue in Amer­ica-the draft. Those who object that Adlaiwill not really end the draft miss the point-fOf the first time since 1941 we do notsimply accept the draft as an act of God.It rings once again as an issue. That alonetakes a giant step forward. For this service,Stevenson deserves our thanks.

(4) The other new note struck by Stev­enson: a call for ending the H-bomb tests.

12

The standard objection-that the Russianswould not keep their word-is irrelevant.Everyone admits that· no one can drop anH-bomb anywhere without detection allover the \vorld. So an agreement to stopthe H-tests is self-enforcing, and needs noelaborate apparatus of inspection.

Ending the H-bomb tests would not onlyslow down the cruel armament race; itwould stop poisoning the atmosphere withdeadly radiation, a poison that endangersthe future of the human race itself. Whyspread such destruction in peacetime?

(5) 1956 marked the first timid approachto form a third party by the nation's con­servatives. They barely began, but theymade a start. Supposed to launch a partyin the spring, they waited instead untilmid-September, when it was too late to geton the ballots of nlore than a handful ofstates. The Memphis States Rights Conven­tion selected a T. Colman Andrews-Thom­as Werdel ticket for the two top slots.

Why Andrews RepentedThey call themselves a "movement," of­fering the voters independent electors. Butsans organization and state slates, it is justa way of blowing off steam, and not a vitalpolitical force. On the state level, critics ofthe Memphis Convention argue, a conserv­ative party could wield a critical balance ofpower, forcing the major parties to bid forits support.

An example of such force was the Wis­consin Republican primary this fall, whereconservative Howard H. Boyle swung thebalance of power for the Senate. Left-wingSenator Wiley led moderate Glenn Davisby 10,000 votes, while Boyle picked up20,000 votes-5% of the state's total. A con-

FAITH AND FREEDOM

servative third party could amass 5% of thevote in every key state.

Foremost of its bright spots is the selec­tion of T. Coleman Andrews of Richmond,Va., for president. Andrews is the eminentsymbol of the fight against the income tax.Just as we have welcomed repentant ex­Communists, so now we welcome an evenmore important figure-the repentant ex­bureaucrat.

.After spending several years as Eisen­hower's COlnmissioner of Internal Revenue,Andrews resigned to speak out stronglyand courageously for outright repeal of the16th (income tax) Amendment. We can­not exaggerate the importance of this con­version. Andrews set off a chain reactionthat looks to explode all over the country.

In recent months, fired by Andrews'charges, nationwide magazines have specu­lated on possible repeal of the income tax.If anyone had predicted such a discussiona fe'" years ago, he would have been dis­missed as a hopeless crackpot. But now,with growing tax burdens, with Joe Louisforced to wrestle, and cobblers deprivedof most of their gains on answering the$64,000 question, the public listens.

Don't Accept Reed-Dirksen

Plans are afoot, we have heard, for amammoth drive after the election to repealthe income tax. Mixed with earnest hopesfor the success of the drive, comes a wordof warning: nothing less than complete re­peal will suffice. Accept no substitutes. Theproposed Reed-Dirksen amendment to .theConstitution, the warners say, would setvague limits to income tax, but with enoughloopholes to permit a practical status quo.Such an--amendment would just take thesting out of the income tax without curinganything. Just as the Taft-Hartley law end­ed the drive against unions without reduc­ing union power, so the Reed-Dirksenamendment would end anti-tax agitationwhile leaving taxes as harsh as ever.

Some may object: but what taxes wouldyou raise instead? The repealers answer:none! Let the government sell all its enter-

OCTOBER 1956

prises to private individuals, they say, letit slash its expenses drastically, and no add­ed taxes will be necessary. And the bestway to force this solution is to deprive thegovernment of this source of revenue.

Amid the current ferrpent on taxation,many people are looking for bold new solu­tions. Particularly striking is the blockbust­er let loose by the usually staid Chamberof Commerce of the U.S. In the Septemberissue of its monthly Economic Bulletin, theEconomic Research Department of theChamber suggested ending taxes entirelyand replacing them with voluntary con­tributions! Before you dismiss such ideasas crazy, think long and hard. A startinglynew idea, perhaps, but maybe the answerto our taxproblen1s.

Let us quote the epochal words of theChamber at length:

"Suppose all taxes were put on a volun­tary basis-like your contributions to theCommunity Chest, Red Cross, or yourchurch . . . If taxes vvere (so) placed . . .if each individual were to decide what'government's services were worth to himand made his contribution accordingly­would this not provide a criterion for de­termining objectively the worth of govern­ment? Ho\\~ much would be collected undersuch a scheme? No one knows. But youInight ask yourself: 'How much are govern­ment's services worth to me?'

Don't Steal, Except As Follows

"Originally, the commandment 'Thou ShaltNot Steal' was unqualified. But today, mostsocial planners are willing to go alongwith a slight modification: 'Thou shalt notsteal outside the framework of the demo­cratic process.~ Of course, it is still notconsidered 'right' for A to go over and robB, his rich neighbor. But it is quite 'right'for A to organize a group of cohorts into'government,' levy a tax ... and then pro­ceed to collect from B and redistribute thewealth among A and his henchmen-'ex­penses of government' ...

"It's all legal, but some 'hardshell die­hards' V\Till wonder if it is ethical."

13

PAUSE FOR REFLECTION JAMES C. INGEBRETSEN

It has been a year since Ihave used' the privilege ofthis space to seek supportfor our daily capsule columnof the same name. We hopethis sampling from the pastseveral weeks will encour­age you to help us spreadits outreach. Some fifteenpapers §cattered throughCalifornia, Texas, Ohio, Co­lorado, New Mexico and In­diana carry the column fivedays each week. More than300 others in all the states,Alaska and Hawai pUblishone column a week. Gradu­ally, our little Pauses are alsogaining recognition in a vari­ety of other publications,church bulletins, companyemployee 1nagazines.

What are we trying to do? One maininterest is in ferreting out bits of contem­porary wisdoln and putting these under thespotlight of spiritual reflection. Here aretwo current examples.

Says Joseph Wood Krutch, fonner NewYork drama critic turned naturalist, in arecent issue of This Week magazine.

"Most men now live where their ownworks (as contrasted to God's, as revealedin Nature) are the only ones they ever see.NIan now believes that Nature can alwaysbe made to do his bidding."

To the extent that these statements aretrue, man is the loser.

In general, we see what ,ve consider tobe important. The mercenary-minded per­son sees only dollars and cents in a field ofclover or a'" forest of pines. On the otherhand, the person who values natural beautyfor its own sake can find it even in themidst of the greatest of cities-in a windowbox of geraniums or a flowering weedgrowing in a crack of the sidewalk.

14

Nature is pretty hard tovanquish. And it is a goodthing for us that it is. Wecan co-operate with it to ourgreat good but to conquerit and reduce it to our ownterms would be our com­plete undoing.

"Empathy means the abil­ity to enter other people'sthoughts, feelings, emo­tions," says David HaroldFink in his book, "For Peo­ple Under Pressure." "If thepower of empathy were tobe developed in childrensystematically and deliber­ately there could be no juve-nile delinquency. No adult

delinquency either. How could anyone roba store if he were to put himself in theowner's place?"

Exactly. But this is not a new thought,although empathy is a comparatively newword. .

Mr. Fink's Advice

Several thousand years ago, the Lord toldMoses to say unto the children of Israel,". . . thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy­self" - in other words, practice empathy.And lIe also commanded through Moses,"... lay up these Iny ,:yords in your heart. . . And teach them your children . . ."

So actually ~Ir. Fink's excellent adviceis lllerely a restatenlent in modern termsof two of the oldest commandments of theBible. Every day psychologists and psychi­atrists are more and more discovering thatthe Bible is their most comprehensive andreliable textbook. l\.1aybe it wouldn't hurtthe rest of us to study it n10re with a viewto putting its precepts more faithfully intopractice.

FAITH AND FREEDOM

Occas-ionally we speak our mind ratherfirmly about certain glaring abuses of polit­ical and private power. Take this disturbingthought from last week's output.

Kind of Confusing

"N0 one can buck the [labor] unions inChina now," says Reg Leonard, correspond­ent of The Melbourne [Australia] Herald,\vho recently made an extended tripthrough Communist China.

"The unions have organized shrewdly.Their first aim has been to get firm controlof key industries. Today the [Trade Union]federation's word is law in all heavy andmost light industries . . ."

Well, that is not much different than itis in this country, is it?

In both instances, a non-:governmentalagency has become, in Mr. Leonard's words,"a political instrument of considerable pow­er and influence" "operating \vith solid gov­ernmental backing under legislation grant­ing it extensive rights."

It's kind of confusing, isn't it? How nearlylike Red China have \-ve allowed ourselvesto become anyway?

But we think there is something to besaid for handling even desperately seriousproblems with an obliquely light touch.For instance, here is a good two-birds-with­one-stone exalnple.

After The Horse Is Stolen

A recent Associated Press dispatch fromAlbuquerque, N.N!., said:

"There is nothing like following militaryregulations to aT. Regulations say everygovernment building must have a door anda means to lock it.

"At Kirtland Air Force Base here, thereis a 20 x 40 foot building with only twosides-the ends being open. The buildinghouses a truck.

"In one of the sides there is a door-asthe regulations require. Furthermore it hasa hasp on it so it can be locked-as theregulations require."

OCTOBER 1956

\Vell, isn't that about what we have cometo as a constitutional republic? The lockeddoor of the Constitution is still there. But\vhat does it signify \vhen both ends of thebuilding have been knocked out by recentSupreme Court decisions?

Consistently we seek to challenge read­ers to practicing a spiritual rather than amaterialistic approach to Z'ife. Here is a"sermonette" that carries, we think, a gooddeal of food for thought.

When The Bottom Falls Out

Did you ever stop to consider what it111eanS for a person to "have credit?" Itused to mean that snch a person is credible,believable, trustworthy-that what he says,he will, God helping him, do.

But today it does not necessarily meanthat.

"Vhy? Because in thousands upon thou­sands of cases "credit" has been extended topeople who do not have it, in the abovesense, at all.

How, then, do they get it? 'VeIl, the gov­ernment supplies it.

.And many a young householder, living ina luxurious home \vhich only government"credit" makes possible, contemplates thefuture with an attitude something like this:"What if there is a recession? Suppose Ido lose my job and become unable to paythe instaIln1ents on IllY housing loan? Insuch case, tens of thousands of others willbe in the same boat-and the governmentcan't foreclose on all our homes."

I wonder if it isn't time to pause andreflect upon this situation before we com­pletely forget that there \vas a time when"credit" meant "his word is his bond"-notthe government is his bondsman.

Have you a toay to help us broaden dis­tribution? We receive a 1nodest servicecharge for daily pubrication-offer. weeklyservice without charge.

15

Tender Victory. Taylor Caldwell. NewYork: McGraw-Hili. 422 pp. $3.95.

I An ex-Army chaplain becomes a pastor inan eastern mining town. But he run\) intotrouble trying to wake people to the de­mands of the Christian life.

Narrating these difficulties, Miss Cald­well slips in some strong blows at the forcesof greed and selfishness that always result inwar. She doesn~t hesitate to condemn manyof the ignoble actions' of the United States.

A unique touch comes in by way of fiveEuropean waifs. John Fletcher, the pastor,rescued these children from a mob that wasset on destroying them like a wolf pack. Hebrings the youngsters with him ",~hen hegets out of the Army.

Fletcher tries to humanize them and heJpthem discover their true selves as childrenof God. Of course, it presents real prob­lems. The usual do-gooders rush to thescene, intent on forcing the children toadjust to their maladjusted society.

The weakness of the book lies in the factthat here again we see a stereotyped minis­ter, misunderstood and opposed by anequally stereotyped congregation. And ofcourse the pastor~s God-like qualities and thecongregation's better nature finally win outover evil. But it just doesn~t seem real.

Still the author brings us an importantand well presented message, and the readercannot help but be inspired and, at times,aroused.

REV. NORMAN S. REAM

Experiment in Depth. P. W. Martin. NewYork: Pantheon Books, Inc. 1955. 275 pp.$4.50.It takes only a few creative. people to re-new the spirit which a sick civilization lacks,Arnold J. Toynbee, the historian, tells us.

These people turn away from the worldoutside-the world of power politics andsocial chaos. These "renewers" turn insteadto the world within themselves-the world

of the psyche. In this inner world, they finda vision of a new way of life. And they canbring it back to distressed society, if theywill.

We can make such a withdrawal-and-re­turn today says author Martin (currently en­gaged in setting up an International StudyCenter of Applied Psychology). He main­tains that Jung has developed psychologicaltechniques that make it altogether possible-and practical. He believes that T. S. Eliotclearly sho\\'s us these psychological tech­niques in action.

This plea for withdrawal-and-returntiesin with Gerald Heard's advice; anchor your­self firmly inside the foundations of theself so that you may stably project yourspiritual leadership to the outside world.

~1any who take Heard~s adVice seriouslywill share my thanks to the author of Ex­periment because he skillfully draws up aset of blueprints for just such an under­taking.

JAMES C. INGEBRETSEN

The Art of Real Happiness. Nor:nan Vin­cent Peale and Smiley Blanton. Revisedand Enlarged. 1956. 280 pp. $3.50.A teacher once reminded a musician whotrembled and grew pale at the thought ofcriticism: "Never yet has a statue beenerected to a critic."

Critics peppe~ away at all popular men.But of all who feel the critics' bite, thepopular preacher probably writhes in thegreatest discomfort, for his are the mostdedicated critics; his fellow preachers.

Still, men like Peale and Sheen go onwriting books. And apparently bring help tothousands of readers in spite of criticism.

In this revised edition of a 1950 book,Peale and Blanton continue pointing theway to happiness by emphasizing faith inGod's forgiveness and continual care andconcern for the individual, using languagethat is seldom theological. The book abounds

in illustrations from actual cases. Chapterheadings indicate some of the subjects cov­ered: "How to Have a Successful Marriage,""A Solution for Problem Drinking," "Com­fort and Understanding for the Bereaved,""How to Grow Older Happily," etc.

The one weakness in an otherwise helpfulbook: the almost complete lack of any em­phasis on service. Discussions of alcoholism

and old age hint at it. Otherwise the sub­ject is conspicuous by its absence. Surelythis is one of the chief paths to happiness.

REV. NORMAN S. REAM

The Rape of the Mind. Joost Meerlo.Cleveland: World Publishing Co. 320 pp.$5.00.A frightening book about thought control,menticide and brainwashing. A very import­tant book in its implications. The author sayshe is trying to "depict the strange transfor­mation of the free human mind into anautomatically responding machine-a trans­formation which can be brought about bysome of the cultural under-currents in ourpresent day society as well as by deliberateexperiments in the service of a politicalideology."

Most of the book deals with these latterexperiments-this part of the book is mostfrightening. The author lived under theNazi occupation of the Netherlands, is atrained psychiatrist with wide experience.He insists' repeatedly: the mental torturethat transforms men into collaborators andinformers could twist anyone of us undersimilar circumstances.

The implications of brain-washing andthought control will concern many readers.Modern technology (television for example)and current American political theory nowexerts the same influence over men's mindsthat dictators exert in less subtle ways.

Writes Dr. Meerloo: "Like adolescentswho try to hide behind the aprons of par­ental authority rather than face matureadulthood, the individual members of ademocratic state may shrink from the men­tal activity it imposes. They long to takeflight into thoughtless security.

"Often they prefer the government, orsome individual persoP;~f'~tion of thp ~t}ltp

to solve their problems for them. It is thisdesire that makes totalitarians and conform­ists. Like an infant, the conformist can sleepquietly and transfer all his worries to FatherState. When the intellectuals lose their self­control and courage and are possessed onlyby their fears and emotions, the power ofthose with prejudice and stupidity gains."

REV. NORMAN S. REAM

An Historian's Approach to Religion. Ar­nold Toynbee. New York: Oxford Uni­versity Press. 318 pp. $5.00.Those who read (or heard tell of) Toynbee'sten-tome A Study of History will recall thehistorian's refreshing accents on religion.

His Gifford lectures at Edinburgh during1952-3 elaborated, clarified and generallydipped deeper into the subject. Now in pub­lished form, the Gifford lecture series putsToynbee's views together under one cover.

Oxford divides it into two parts: "TheDawn of the Higher Religions," and "Re­ligion in a Westernizing World."

Part I tells us of a three-phase develop­ment of man, beginning with nature-worshipwhich turns into man-worship (idolatry ofthe parochial community, of the ecumeni­cal community or of the self-sufficient phi­losopher), then on to the higher religionswhich are God-centered.

Toynbee repeats his claim that we shouldseek the common denominator in the greatworld religions. (Whether it must be thelowest common denominator or not doesnot seem too clear.) He thinks that eachreligion, especially Christianity, should turnin its claim to "the" truth, or the "one truereligion."

His thesis seems to be that religion is thecure to the world's sickness, but that itshealing nature flows from all major religionstoday. Therefore, no one religion is anybetter-or worse-than another, Toynbeeseems to say.

This coupled with his evidences of Chris­tian arrogance, persecution and religiouswars accounts for the mixture of blessingand bombardment which churchmen showeron Toynbee. (Some point to him as evi­dence that hope yet remains in the world;others see him as proof it does not.)

.

-Articles in Revievv

ce•••• In all fairness, I simplybelieve that you, the members of the Broad­casting & Film Commission, made a colossalblunder by adopting a resolution the verynature of which proves you don't know whatyou're talking about."

Thus broadcaster Jerry Hughes, programdirector of KMLW, Marlin, Texas, lashes outagainst the NCC policy statement on broad­casters' obligations regarding religious pro­gramming (Church Resolution Draws New At­tack, Broadcasting Telecasting magazine, Sep­tember 3, '56).

The National Council's policy statementopposed the sale or purchase of time for re­ligious broadcasts. The idea: to get stationsand networks to dole out free time for allreligious broadcasts. The catch: in doling outthe time, the stations and networks are askedby Nce to give "due consideration to thestrength and representative character of thecouncils of churches, local and national."Thus the National Council stands to gainthe most free time, being the country'sweightiest council, local and national.

Hughes, just one of many disgruntledradio men, says "KMLW simply cannot af­ford to give away enough time for allchurches to be heard regularly and ade­quately. Thus, we are faced with two alter­natives: to give away what we can and sellthe rest, or to give away what we can andcancel the rest. Which would you have usdo?"

The Texan broadcaster admits there aremany cases of poor taste and even some mis­handling of religious broadcasts, says thereare some stations which refuse to make anyfree time available; "others will not evensell time for religious purposes and stillothers permit unethical and even unscrupu­lous practices of paid programs."

"But," says Hughes, "the council ignoredthese practices, in which the majority ofbroadcasters would cooperate to improve.The council did not ask all stations to pro­vide some free time; nor were station man­agers asked to cooperate in curbing the ac­tivities of 'religious hucksters.' ... Instead,

the Council stuck a clerical finger into ahighly specialized field and probed for thewrong malady ..."

The author concludes: "Continue the wayyou're going, and you'll find it hard to getinside the door of any radio station withouta check in your hand ..."

Changing conditions are alter­ing people's habits of thought; one of theseconditions lies in regimenting people intheir work and spending.

It's all part of The New Materialism ofAmerica says Dr. James M. Williams (TheChurchman, September, '56). The sociologyprofessor emeritus at Hobart speaks of theover-riding aim to have oneself committedto regular, unvarying monthly payments oncars, houses, TV sets and Junior's bicycle.Come the first of the month, and there ispractically nothing left to decide, he pointsout. "Ask people how much a certain object.costs and the response may be $12.73 amonth."

Dr. Williams asks people, "Doesn't allthis make you feei bound to your employer?Because if you lose your job ... how wouldyou meet all these monthly payments?"

He says the reply was invariably: "Oh,we'd have unemployment insurance."

Asked Williams: "But is that as muchas you would earn? You now have to spendevery cent to keep afloat."

Answer: "Oh, the government wouldmake it enough," or "the governmentwouldn't let a depression happen."

Williams thinks this easy-come-easy-gocredit picture accelerates the material-mind­edness of people.

He believes this new materialism teachespeople to judge everything and everyoneby the dollar sign.

His answer to the problem? He quotesAlbert Schweitzer's belief in a remedy ofspiritual transformation of the person whichwill reveal to him that fullness of life lies inservice for others, as Jesus taught and lived.

Does the rumble of war­drurns justify conscription? The problern of,var and support of the military systems

..

looms as a major question for churchmentoday.

\Vriting in the August 22 issu~ of Chris­tian Century, John C. Bennett set do\vn analmost fatalistic belief in the necessity ofthe draft.

Challenging this point of view, Arthur \V.1vfunk sets forth a few alternatives, gives useight suggestions which he says "containthe essentials of a peace effort' suffich~ntlvvast to meet the demands of the tim~s(A Christian Alternative to Chaos, ChristianCentury, September 26, '56).

Among his creative alternatives ~ue: ])a world conference of all religions to re­nounce \val' and call on all nations to re­nounce it. 2) a rational plan of total dis­armament on a multilateral basis developedby outstanding diplomats and scientists ofall nations. 3) recall of all armies of occupa­tion. 4) relief of . . . divided nations andcolonial peoples ... 5) gr~dual removal ona universal basis of tariffs and other impedi-lnents to trade. '

"The layman, I have found, isthe neglected man in the church today ...he is being abused, misused and unused.

"Furthermore, churches are overloadingthe faithful few, failing to attract the many,hiring more and more employees to do thejobs capable members could have enjoymentand inspiration in doing if they were chal­lenged imaginatively."

Margaret Arnold Griffith, former profes­sional church worker, now a non-paid pew­sitter, makes these challenging charges.(Let's Rightly Use Our Laymen!, Christian Her­ald, September, 1956).

Certainly her remarks should give foodfor thought to clergy who, over-worked andunder-staffed, call with increasing frenzy forhelp.

Author Griffith sees a number of areaswhere laymen could very well pitch in andhelp: 1) public speaking, 2) assistance inworship services, 3) the church music pro­gram, 4) the clerical work of the churchoffice, 5) the association or area meeting, 6)the various denominational boards, 7) the"almost forgotten art of visiting," and 8)within the mission church.

FOR CLERGYMENONLY

Clergymen feel mixed emotions about theright-to-work laws-judging from statementsand articles in the religious journals. Thoughboth are applying Christian beliefs someclergYlnen approve of the "laws"-some turnthumbs down.

How do you-the clerical reader of Faithand Freedom - feel about right-to-worklaws? Take out a pencil right nqw, checkoff your answers below, tear out the ques­tionaire and send it back to us. We will pub­lish the results of this poll in a later Digest.

1. Union A represents a large majorityof employees. It bargains with the employerfor wages and working conditions whichbenefit all the employees. Everyone whobenefits should be required to belong tothe union and pay dues.

Tend to 0 agree 0 disagree 0 not sure

2. I believe that a union should be avoluntary organization, composed of menwho freely and willingly join the organiza­tion. I believe I should have the right towork for an employer who wants my serv­ices. I should not be required to join andpay dues to a union against my wishes.

Tend to 0 agree 0 disagree 0 not sure

3. My employer has the right to ask meto join the union as a condition of employ­ment, so if I don't wish to join, I should lookfor another job.

Tend to 0 agree 0 disagree 0 not sure

4. Right-to-work laws, by stopping man­datory membership, will cripple the unionmovement. So rather than let the unions dieand thus lose labor's hard-won gains, it isbetter to compel a few outsiders to join aunion.

Tend to 0 agree 0 disagree 0 not sure

One of the most popular novelists of the1920's, outspoken, dynamic, aged 76, color­ful Peter B. Kyne speaks out against today'sideals. Can you tell a country's ideals by its

fiction? Kyne says: "Yes." And shows thebig difference between the best seller'sideals of today and yesterday-in two dif­ferent Americas.

THADDEUS ASHBY

•

'~~.:.. ,:;.'~.;f?., .'

One day in 1922, Peter Bernard Kynewalked into the Palace Hotel in San Fran­cisco. He overheard a salesman for Cosmo-

20

politan speaking on the phone-long dis­tance, to a big book store.

"And I ,,,ant you to take orders for a

FAITH AND FREEDOM

ne\v inspirational book by Peter B. Kyne.""'Vait a minute," said Kyne. "Stop every­

thing. I'm Peter B. Kyne, and I have writ­ten no inspirational book."

"But," the salesman said, "I've alreadytaken orders for 10,000 copies."

Kyne wired Cosmo: DEMAND TO KNOW

WHAT YOU MEAN TAKING ORDERS FOR INSPIR-

ATIONAL BOOK BY ME. HAVE WRITTEN NO

SUCH BOOK. AND WHAT ABOUT ROYALTIES?

ANSWER. KYNE.

The return wire caught them at lunch:WE ARE REPUBLISHING YOUR SHORT STORY

THE GO-GETTER. EVERYBODY SAYS IT"S INSPIR­

ATIONAL. YOUR ROYALTIES 10 PERCENT.

"That's not an inspirational book," saidKyne. "That's just a good story."

The Go-Getter sold over one million cop­ies. General ~lotors, Chrysler, General Elec­tric gave it to their employees. "One stock­broker," Kyne said, "made a lazy clerkwrite it out in long hand."

Kyne had sat down, dashed off The Go­Getter in one day. He never signed a con­tract with Cosmo. They paid him by gen­tleman's agreement. The income tax wasn1erely petty larceny then, so Kyne didwell for his one day's work: $90,000.

How Kyne Looks at Ideals

"I never thought of it as inspirational,"Kyne said. We were sitting in the loungeof the Press Club in San Francisco, and as1 listened 1 began to ,vonder what he meantby "inspirational." "Maybe," I said, uTheGo-Getter summed up the ideals most peo­ple had in those days, the logical conclu­sion to their premises. It wasn't inspira­tional in the 'preachy' sense."

"I wasn't writing a sermon," Kyne said.""I 'was writing what people ,vanted to read."

"If that's true," 1 said, "this country'schanged-not in degree, but in kind."

Peter B. Kyne looked at l11e a moment.He sat on the divan, a little stifRy. He worean expensive brown Shetland suit, a stiffwhite collar and a neat brown tie. Helooked like the hero of his Cappy Ricksseries-without the side-whiskers.

"Of course the country's changed," he

OCTOBER 1956

said. "The men I wrote about believed inbuilding America. Nowadays writers haveno ideals. They \vrite about butchers.'"

But, I thought, novelists do have ideals,though different from Kyne's.

What were Kyne's ideals?· But first, forcontrast, \vhat ideals do current writerssell? What do the critics say?

The Ideal of Sink (Submerge) Yourself

David Riesman, commenting on one ofMiss Helen Howe's novels, We Happy Few,in his book I ndividualisrn Reconsidered,found that her big ideal is unselfishness.Dorothea, her heroine, seeks to sink herself."Submerge," she says.

"Even Dorothea," Helen Howe writes,"found herself wondering if it might nothave been 'simpler' to accept the commonlot ..." She becomes a nurse. "What makesa nurse is the power to forget yourself . . ."

Critic Diana Trilling sees this same idealin "the recent exanlple in which the hero­ine vvas saved from nervous collapse byjoining the movelnent for cooperatives. Asa nlatter of fact, asked to name, on the evi­dence of the novels I read, the one dorni­nant trend . . . I would probably specifythis mechanical notion that the individualfinds himself by losing himself in SOUle

larger social manifestation."Does this Sink Yourself ideal dominate

the best sellers as well as the arty books?Let's take one of the biggest sellers of thelast ten years, Hennan Wouk's The CaineMutiny, where Sink Yourself truly applies.

Willial11 H. Whyte Jr. in Is AnybodyListening? comments on Captain Queeg ofthe Caine, who through incol11petence isabout to founder the ship during a ty­phoon. ~1aryk, the Exec., relieves the cap­tain of his command under article 184 ofNavy Regulations. This "mutiny" saves theship. The moral? Says Willie Kieth, speak­ing for author Wouk: "I see that we werein the "vrong . . . The idea is, once you getan incolllpetent ass of a skipper ... there'snothing to do but serve him as though hewere the wisest and the best, cover his mis­takes . . . So I guess I have gone all the

21

way around Robin Hood's bam to arriveat the old platitudes, which is the processof growing up."

"In other times, perhaps," commentsWhyte, "this definition of maturity mighthave been interpreted somewhat differ­ently. Kieth's platitudes might have beenr.egarded as counsel for self-delusion and a1'eductio ad absurdum of obedience.

[When Peter Kyne's Cappy Ricks sent anew skipper to relieve hero NIatt Peasley ofhis command of the Retriever, instead ofblindly obeying his superior, Matt threwhim overboard.] "Instead of being wrong,the executive's action might well have beenmisconstrued as an act of moral courage,and an act, furthermore, that had one ratherimportant by-product-saving a ship of theline and the lives of several hundred men."

To the ideal of Sink Yourself, we shouldadd Determinisln, that is: The individualis helpless. You see this in the plays ofTennessee Williams, and the novels of Tru­man Capote and Nelson Algren. Add tothis: tolerant acceptance of life as it is, andyou have the ideals of current novels.

"Sir, It Shall Be Done"

Let's look at the critical successes on thecurrent best seller list.

O'Connor's The Last Hurrah, while ro­bust and funny in its account of MayorCurley's Boston, shows that more and moreAmericans are getting fed up with politics,except as a corrupt side-show. Moral? Ac­cept tolerantly and good humoredly.

Algren's A Walk on The Wild Side sumsup contemporary ideals: Sink Yourself, De­terminism, I-Ielplessness-ism. People arebrutalized, or victimized by capitalism. AI­gren says he is frankly writing about "lost"people; where Helen Howe and HermanWouk are reactionaries, only writing aboutpeople trying to get sunk, or lost, Algren'scharacters have arrived. Those who arelost, says Algren "develop into greater hu­man beings than those who have never beenlost in their whole lives."

A look at the non-fiction best-sellersshows that six out of sixteen are self-help

22

or inspirational books, avidly read by peo­ple who don't want to 'sink themselves.

These people may want to look intoKyne's books. They will find refreshingideals by contrast, so different from today'sideals they might have been written in adifferent country.

Kyne's million-copy seller, The Go-Getter,tells the story of Bill Peck. Bill comes toCappy Ricks, and demands a job.

Cappy Ricks decides to give an acidtest: the Degree of The Blue Vase. Cappysays he wants a vase to take with him toSanta Barbara as a present. Can Bill getthe vase, and have it on the train by 7:55?

"Sir," says Bill Peck, quoting the mottoof his 'infantry brigade: "It shall be done."

Here is a shorthand version of the plot:

Cappy's Obstacle Course

The vase is not within 8 blocks of addressCappy gave him. Store closed, Sunday. Billnoted name: B. Cohen's Art Shop. 19 B.Cohen's in book. Phoned them. None ownart shop. "Must be commuter." Got booksfor Berkeley, Oakland, Sausalito, Mill Val­ley ... No soap. Checked name of art shopagain. Sign read: B. Cohn's Art Shop.Could've sworn it was Cohen. Called all B.Cohns in Greater San Francisco Bay Area.Gets Cohn, but Cohn won't come to phone.Said "Tell him his store is on fire."

Cohn tells Peck call salesman, Joost.Joost not home, dining at country club.Which one? Didn't know. Back to booth.Called every country club in Bay Area. NoJoost. Borrowed hammer, went back tobreak store window. Would steal vase, paylater. Policeman standing in doorway, vio­lating orders, smoking a cigar.

Before committing suicide, tried Joostagain. Success. Yes, delighted come down,open store, sell vase. "How much?" Peckasked ,,,hen Joost arrived. "$2000," saidJoost, not batting eye. "Cash," he added."You refuse to take my check?" "I don'tknow you, Mr. Peck."

For blue vase, Peck pledged diamondring he'd won during war. Took vase, ran.Train gone. Took taxi to flying field owned

FAITH AND FREEDOM

by friend. Started plane, flew down tracks,caught train, landed in field, flagged train.

(~appy Ricks, amazed, opened door innightshirt. Told Peck: ,ve changed sign,stacked Cohens, set cop to watch shop,made Peck dig up $2000 on Sunday night,but-"While you missed the train you over­take it at hvo in the morning and deliverthe vase."

Peck loses temper; wants to beat upCappy; Cappy too old. ~~Bill, old boy," saidCappy, "it was cruel ... but I had a bigjob for you ... So I arranged to give youthe ... test of a go-getter. You thought youcarried into this state-room a $2000 vase,but benveen ourselves, what you really car­ried in ,vas a $10,000 job as our Shanghaimanager."

Some Young Go-Getters

Sitting in the Press Club with Kyne inSan Francisco, I asked him: "Do you knowany young men who could pass the Degreeof The Blue Vase today?"

"I do not," Kyne said. "The spirit isn'tin them."

~~I-Iow would you describe that spirit?""It's on Cappy Ricks' dedication page."I looked it up and found:"To Captain Ralph E. Peasley, of Jones­

port, Maine, who skippered the first five­masted schooner ever built, brought her,on ,that first voyage, through the worst ty­phoon that ever ble\v, and upon arrivingoff the Yang Tse Kiang River for the firsttime in his adventurous career, decided hecould not trust a Chinese pilot, and estab­lished a record by sailing her up himself!

"To Captain I.N. Hibberd, of Philadel­phia, Pa., sometime master of the Americanclipper ship Cyrus Wakefield, who at theage of twenty-five broke three world's rec­ords in one voyage: San Francisco to Liver­pool and back, eight months and two days... The clipper ship is gone but the skipperremains, an undefeated champion.

"To Captain William P. Canty, of SanFrancisco, Cal., sometime mate of the brigGalilee, who with his naked hands, con­vinced in thirty-five D1inutes nine larger

OCTOBER 1956

men than himself of the incontrovertiblefact that you cannot keep a good mandown."

Young ~1atthew Peasley, another Kynehero? \vas brash, ambitious-not for moneyso much as for the fun, the thrill of creat­ing, the feel of building. He was self-con­fident as a lion. He would not have under­stood today's ideal of Sink Yourself. Whenhe was 18 he shipped as common seamanon the barkentine Retriever. The captainsaid to him: "Do you think you could getaway with a bosun's job?"

"I could get away \vith your job if I hadthe chance, Sir," ~1att deciared.

The captain saw that Matt held an un­lirnited license to sail any size sailing ves­sel any\vhere in the world. A Peasley whodidn't merit his captain's license before hewas 21 would disgrace the family.

The Lord Hates A Bootlicker

The virtues these boys prized were "pluck,""grit," ~~sand," "brass," and, if a boy com­bined these virtues with the ideals o~

thrift, application, and the desire to be a~cskookunl go-getter," a boy might rise notonly to captain a ship but to captain anindustry-especially in the West-for here"the co\vards never started, and the weak­ling died on the road."

If a boy was a little cocky, fresh, and tooself-confident, you could forgive him forthat, even though you might take him downa peg. As Cappy Ricks said, when young~latt Peasley threw that captain overboardwho had come to relieve him: "But then,Skinner, the good Lord IUllst certainly hatea bootlicker."

Kyne cannot understand the current idealof hating success. He wrote of the romanceof business in the tinle when businessmenganlbled trenlendous fortunes on daringschemes, in a time when business was notharried by controls nor many taxes; businesswas, as Cappy said: c~Such bully fun!"

What were the rules of those days? Sinkor s\vim. Cappy Ricks says to Matt Peasley,who has saved up $~O,OOO to go into busi­ness for hinlself: "The fact of the matter is,

23

your business education is now about tocon1mence, and about two minutes ago I

'suddenly decided that you might as wellpay for it with your own money . . . Conse­quently I'm going to turn you loose, Matt;there are some wolves along CaliforniaStreet that 'Nill take your $20,000 away fromyou so fast that you won't know it's gone.But the loss will do you a heap of good."

Men weren't quite so afraid to lose moneyin those days, Kyne said. They could gobroke several times and still make a come­back. A go-getter could, that is.

"How did you get started writing thiskind of thing?" 1 asked Kyne.

"I knew that people wanted to hear stor­ies about real people, about what a manwith certain virtues can do-not about someweak-kneed lover mooning over his girl. 1could tell a story. They wanted stories inthose days, and not just character sketchesof some neurotic fellow. Once I had a storyrejected. The editor said: "This isn't whatthe public wants.' I took it to Lorimer ofthe Saturday Evening Post and told himabout it. He was a great editor. He said:'Those fellows don't know what the publicwants. 1 don't know what the public wantseither, or I'd be advising play producershow to produce hits. But 1 do have one ad­vantage over those fellows. 1 know damnwell what I want! And he bought the story.Nowadays they don't have editors like that.They have no ideals. They're afraid of hon­est emotion.

I Graduated in A Cloud of Dust

"What were the virtues of my heroes?They were self-reliant, decent-young menaren't being taught those virtues today­my heroes were drawn h·oIn life, from thebest young nlen of the times. They had ajob to do, they did it well; they were neverinterested in security. They liked adven­ture. The young Jnen of today wouldn'tbuy a copy of The Go-Getter. The editors\vouldn't buy it. They told me toward theend of my career: 'There's too much emo­tion in your stories.'

"What ,vas my education? One day in

24

grade school (a one room country school)I had a fight with my teacher; I jumped onmy horse and jumped the five foot gate, andgraduated in, a cloud of dust. That was allthe education 1 had."

I \vondered, as I listened to this grandold Ulan, whether any amount of today'skind of education would ever turn out aPeter Kyne, or Bill Peck, or Matt Peasley.

After Kyne ,.graduated in a cloud of dust"he' didn't immediately start writing fiction.He wrote little human interest stories for aweekly newspaper, telling how "MabelJones fell off a haystack and broke her leg-but in a hlunorous n1anner," Kyne said,"so that it brought a tear to the eye and asmile to the lips." Finally his editor gavehim a byline. When Kyne enlisted in theArmy and went to the Phillipines, his editorasked him to write one full length truefeature article per week.

They Smoke, Drink and Swear

"Now, if you've ever tried to write onefull length tnle feature article per week,while lying in a jungle trench, and if youkno,v that 1 wrote one every week for twoyears, you'll understand if I tell you thatduring that time 1 began to write fiction.

"Why did I keep up that pace for him?Because he'd given Ine encouragement, andI had given hirn my word. In those dayswe had a word called 'neighborliness.' Hetook me on,paid me, liked eveTything I\vrote for him. I raised his circulation from700 to 1700 per week. My mother wasscandalized; she said: 'Son, don't be a news­papern1an. They snloke cigarettes, and theydrink whiskey and they swear somethingscandalous.

".After I sold my first story to Lorimer ofthe Saturday Evening Post I took twomonths off to admire myself. I got a wirefrom Lorimer: 'ARE YOU A ONE STORY MAN?"\vhich vvas the worst insult you could givea beginning "Triter. I wired back: 'NO, r':~vI

A SECOND STORY MAN. IT'S ON THE WAY.' Isent him another one and he bought it.

"I saw the drau1a in theltnnber and ship­ping business. ~;fy stories weren't intended

FAITH AND FREEDOM

to be inspirational. I \vrote of wooden shipsand iron men, hearty men. We'll never getback to those days. It's the building of acountry that calls forth men. We need themnow, of course. But now young men believethe job of building is finished. Then, therewas a ne,v job that had to be done everyday. Men got their happiness out of the feelof building.

They Didn't Know What A Subsidy Was

"What's the matter with young peoplenow? Things are too easy for them, toomuch spending n10ney. They don't haveany heroes today. NO\V they make heroesout of commonplace men, out of truck driv­ers, or butchers. lVIy heroes were buildingindustry, building America. Now even thepoor farmer complains if he only has oneCadillac, because he isn't getting enoughfrom the govenu11ent. The young men Iwrote about didn't knovi \vhat a govern­ment subsidy \vas. My her-oes were inde­pendent and self-reliant. Children aren'ttaught those ideals any more."

I thought of the young men whose mainconcern is finding a job that will providehospitalization and a pension; and of MattPeasley saying to Cappy Hicks:

HI don't want to be an employee.. I wantto be your partner-to be more than a cogin the nUloChine . . ."

Why are lVIatt and Cappy so interestedin getting all they can out of business? Cap­py summed it up: "~latt-Skinner, my boy-by the Holy Pink-toed Prophet! we'll doit!· [build an American merchant marine];~ot because w~ need the money or wantit, or give a particular damn to hoard up aheap of it, but because it's the right thingto dq. It's patriotic-it's American-our ac­tivities shall enrich the world-and oh! [andperhaps in this last sentence lies the wholecontrast] and oh, it's such a bully game toplay!"

Subsidies? Cushions? Built-in floors ofsecurity? C I Bill of Rights? Bill Peck wasa veteran who had lost his arm in WW I;he was also the hero of The Go-Getter. Tome, ~he ending of The Go-Getter contrasted

OCTOBER 1956

with the ideals of today's writers, Sink Your­self and Helplessness-ism, tells the story oftwo entirely different Americas. Now allthis doesn't mean the popular ideals of the20's were perfect. They lacked a lot-under­standing of depth psychology, for example,and the idea of evolving spiritual conscious­ness. Even so, the popular ideals then hadmore vitality than the popular ideals now.Never mind theories, or noble humanitarianarguments, Kyne's books say. Just look atthe results:

"Son," Cappy Ricks is talking to BillPeck, '\vhat sort of golf game do you play?Oh, forgive me, Bill. I forgot about yourleft arm."

"Say, look here, Sir," Bill Peck retorted,"1'm big enough and ugly enough to playone-handed golf."

"But have you ever tried it?""N0, sir," Bill Peck replied seriously,

"but-- it shall be done."

A New Kind of Ambition

If we could take what was good aboutthis attitude and add ne\v ideals to it, wemight produce a ne,v kind of go-getter­hustling after spiritual as well as materialriches-greedy for understanding, and am­bitious for God.

For your children to read, to find out\vhat Anlericans used to be, for you to readwhenever you \vant to feel a shot of theold America to warm your heart:

The Go-GetterCappy RicksCappy Ricks RetiresCappy Ricks Comes BackCappy Ricks SpecialThe Understanding HeartThe Valley of The GiantsThe Parson of Pana1nintThe Green Pea PiratesThey Also ServeThe Long ChanceThe Pride of Palomar

and almost anything else byPeter B. Kyne

25

WHO SAID THAT?

12. t;t;We want to get on with improving ourschools, our health, our Social Security, ourroads, \vith strengthening SInall , businessand developing our naturalresources for the bep.efit ofeverybody ..."

11. HvVell, for Illy part, I'm happy that Ihave been able to say to the farmers thisyear ,vhat I said to them four years ago.We have offered the farmers a Dod ro­gram. We mean to standon it ..."

"zens.

which every region of the nation may flour- 'ish-to vvork in partnership with the Statesin the pursuit of that com-mon goal."

8. ~~Our second objective must be to makeavailable the facilities and services whichare required to meet thespecial needs of older peo­ple."

9. t;t;We will administer vig­orously the soil bank . . ."

10. ~~And this by no means denies theresponsibility of the Federal governmentto take leadership in athousand different direc-tions ..."

7. "The important thing today, and for ourfuture, is what kind of security is to be pro­vided for our elder citi-

4. "Let us look for a moment at a simplequestion: Which party, in these recentyears, has done more to help all citizensmeet the problems of their daily lives?Which party has helpedmore-not with words hutwith deeds?"

5. "When we talk about ending poverty,wh~n we undertake to extend the education,improve the environment and raise the dig­nity of all Anlerican citizens, we are rom­ising to finish bus'iness wehave ourselves begun."

6. "It is, I say, a responsibility of the Fed­eral government to create a climate in

2. "We believe that government must bealert ... to every need of Our people, espe­cially in those things affecting their healthand education and humanrights."

3. "This Federal aid program must includeaid for school construction. The bill which\vas before the Congress this year shouldgo far toward meeting thisneed."

Here we repeat again a feature we began two years ago at the Congressional elections in1954.Each statement is exactly as uttered by either Eisenhower, Stevenson or one of their lieu­Were the following sentiments tossed off by Republicans or Democrats?tenants. Can you tell the diHerence?

Rate yourself: 12 or more correct answers-You are either Governor Stevenson or Presi­dent Eisenhower; 10-11 correct answers-you are wasting your time working on puzzles,try Las Vegas; 6-9 correct answers-don't grow over-confident, your chances aren't thatgood on the ballot; 5 or less correct answers-you are batting in the same league with theeditors.

The ans\vers appear on the next page.

1. "There is substantial agreement todaythat some foml of Federal financial assist­ance to the States for educational purposesis required. The real issue now is not whe­ther there should be Federal assistance, butrather what form it shouldtake and how much itshould be."

26 FAITH AND FREEDOM

13. "The aged, the unemployed, the lessfortunate must have the consideration andcare worthy of the wealthi-est nation on earth.n

14. "... office of older persons' welfare willencourage and promote activity in numer­ous in1portant fields. It will study the spe­cial social needs of older people; the waysin which these needs are being met in ourStates and communities;and it will develop newapproaches,"

15. ~~'Ve hope the next Congress will meetthe requirements of the political promisesof both the Republicans and the Democratsfor revision of Taft-Hart-ley."

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OCTOBER 1956

'YOU GOT TO GIT

YOUR HEART FIXED'One of the best sermons ever \vritten maybe seen mounted between two sheets ofglass at a desert store in southern Cali­fornia. It was \vritten with a stub of pencilon two sides of a sheet of wrapping paperwhich had been folded and placed for pro­tection in a tin baking powder can, The canhad been wired to an old pump \vhich of­fered the only chance of water on a verylong and seldom used trail across the Amar­gosa Desert,

This is what was written:"This pump is all right as of June, 1932,

I put a new sucker washer into it and itought to last five years, But the washerdries out and the pump has got to beprimed, Under the white rock I buried abottle of water, out of the sun and corkend up.

"There's enough water in it to prime thispump but not if you drink some first. Pourabout one-fourth and let her soak to wetthe leather, Then pour in the rest mediumfast and pump like hell, You'll git water,The well never has run dry, Have faith,

"When you git watered up, fill the bottleand put it back like you found it for thenext feller,

( signed) DESERT PETE

"P,S, DON'T GO DRINKIN' UP THE WATER

FIRST, PRIME THE PUMP WITH IT AND YOU'LL

GIT ALL YOU CAN HOLD, AND NEXT TIME YOU

PRAY, RE~fEMBER THAT GOD IS LIKE THIS

PUMP, HE HAS TO BE PRIMED, I'VE GIVE MY

LAST DIME AWAY A DOZEN TIMES TO PRIME

THE PU~fP OF MY PRAYERS, AND I'VE FED MY

LAST BEANS TO A STRANGER WHILE A-SAYIN'

AMEN, IT NEVER FAILED YET TO CIT ME AN

ANSWER,

"YOU GOT TO GIT YOUR HEART FIXED TO

GIVE BEFORE YOU CAN BE GIVE TO,

PETE,"

(from the book, GrOWing Into Light, byMax Freedom Long, Huna Research Pub­lications, Vista, California, 1955,)

27

Probably prayer puzzlesfilen and women more todaythan ever before. That is notto say that people are givingup praying. On the contrary,probably more of us thanever are offering up heartfeltpetitions to the invisible. Forthe more we try to managethe universe for our ownpurposes, and the more sur­prised we are at its reactionto our handling of it, themore we are driven to dropour arrogance and plead ig­norance and humility.

The really perplexing aspect of prayer,then, is not "why do people go on praying?"This is a secondary riddle. Our first handpuzzle arises (as do all really pressing- con­undrums) from our own experience, ourpersonal predicament.

Weare brought to a pause and drivento reflect-not because prayer doesn't work.What really startles us today is the way itworks. This confronts us with a true dilem­!Da. Anyone \vho trouples to study prayersees how often it is answered.

We don't see this clearly-at least not atfirst. ~1any of us pray for some time aboutsome particular concern and can't see, aftera spell of effort, that anything has hap­pened. But very likely anyone who haspersisted in praying has produced someresults that they had to recognize as beingsome kind. of an answer. From these an­swers our problem arises.

The trouble lies not in being answeredbut in the quality of the reply. Most peopletoday (especially the man who has thekind of mind which likes to check up onthe consequences of ,vhat his mind is do­ing) do not pray perfunctorily. At leastsince William James wrote his classic TheVarieties of Religious Experience, thethoughtful person has kno,vn that there issomething in real prayer, but very little in

28

conventional repetitions.Therefore, most of us no­

tice that the more intenseour prayer, the more unmis­takable, generally, are theresults of it. This is no newdiscovery-as shown by theold adage "Man's extremityis God's opportunity."

Certainly our desperationoften does seem to work amiracle. At times our utmosteffort to get our o~n wayfails, and we confront dis­aster and cry out that thisapalling agony shall be

avoided, then the cup of anguish may sud­denly be taken from our lips. We are as­tounded, relieved and, in our way, grateful.

In the NIiddle Ages (they are often calledthe Ages of Faith to distinguish them fromour modern Age of Science) , men andwomen caught in a storm at sea generallyprayed. And when they prayed to be savedfrom drowning, they promised that if theyescaped they would burn a candle or twobefore the shrine of their patron saint. Andthey usually did.

Indeed, they made and paid even morecostly VO\VS, as one can see from the collec­tion of thank-offerings in almost any ancientEuropean church. For they had a livelyfear that to gyp your invisible helper wasto lay yourself open to even worse trouble.

Give Up One Martini

Today our gratitude hardly ever takessuch ~xpensive forms. We rationalize our\vish not to have to pay fees for heavenlyhelp by calling such gifts useless, and worse,superstitious. If we decide to acknowledge,in any way, our ne\vly sharpened sense ofHeaven's nearness and handiness, we maymake our sign of gratitude serve to stimu­late our somewhat limp wish for health bytaking, for a month or so, only two insteadof a standard three martinis before our

FAITH AND FREEDOM

dinner.~10st of us aren't likely to push our

abstinence much further. For in a conlpara­tively short time, the crisis-out of whichwe \vere suddenly and inexplicably extri­cated-begins to be seen in a changed light.And this is V\rhy, a few lines above, I saidthat the fact that prayer does work pre­sents us with our real dilemma.

Perhaps V\'e say to ourselves that thething \vhich we felt we could never endurenever did take place. We forget then, thatother things did take place. And as theseother things may have been far from whatwe could have desired, we begin to won­der ,,,hether vve were right in believingthat some event ,,'as actually altered to suitour vvishes and calm our fears.

At this point, many of us begin to feelthat after all, the \vhole episode was notnearly so ren1arkable as, in our state ofexcitement, "re had made it out to be. Tobelieve that there was anything miraculousabout it-that Heaven had intervened tosave us-\vell, surely that is unscientific andegotistic.

Did This Make Me Better?

Of course, one is ready to allow that theremay very well be a God. But an educatedand infornled man of today does not arro­gate his personal interests and think themworthy of God's particular concern andprovidential assistance. Was it all chance?

Wait a little. Sooner, generally than later,I am caught in some other predicament.And, as I have really learned nothing frommy earlier difficulty, my deep nature makesme behave in the sanle way. I appeal and,once again, my appeal appears to be an­swered. What do I do this time?

It is more difficult now to dismiss theapparent ans\ver as pure coincidence, noth­ing but chance. Yet on this occasion, as Ilook back, I am honestly puzzled and oddlyuneasy. \Vas this the best thing that couldhave happened to me? Indeed, I may pushmy inquiry still further. ~1y puzzlementmay force me to put the question even moresharply to myself.

OCTOBER 1956

"Am I really ~ better person because Iwas saved from illy so-called doom?"

Such questions, the masters of prayer tellus, show we are growing, And these mastersare not enemies of patient study and experi.ment. They have nluch to tell us on pro­blems that are now acute and of generalconcern for all religion. For these pointswhich came to light in our own privateprayer experience are not questions justfor the individual.

Today> after long neglect, two big andawk\vard issues are confronting the old,well established, respectable churches.These issues are "guidance" and "healing."Can a man learn by prayer what Godwishes him to do? By calling on God cana man receive a recovery of health throughspiritual means?

It \vould indeed be huprudent to attemptto make a science of prayer. However, Ido feel that we can make some sense of ourexperiences in prayer. We may be able todiscern meaning in our discovery that al­though we get results, these results areoften baffling.

~1y o\vn readings, in the records left bymen \vho reflected as much as they im~

plored, suggest that we can go some dis­tance toward solving these problems. Nextmonth, therefore, I will try and sketch outthe nlap Or chart that was constructed andused by those luen who made a life longstudy and practice of prayer.

God, though we have loved the world,yet let us not despair of heaven, for oneflash of the splendor of Thy eternity andthe brightest time is revealed as shadow:Though we have feared the cost of findingThee yet let us not lose heart and fail tostart again upon our search: For, howeverfeebly we have so far sought, we could nothave attempted to begin to find Thee, hadstThou not already set out to find us, andwhatever, 0 Eternal, Thou hast begun, that,of Thy nature, Thou wilt not only continuebut assuredly will complete.

Prayer from Prayers and Meditations byGerald Heard.

29

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SURPRISED BY JOY

C. S. LEWIS

(New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1956, 238 pp.$3.50)

How does one avoid the heresy of C. S.Lewis? Mr. Lewis holds the Chair of Med­ieval and Renaiss~nceEnglish Literature atCambridge) and his heresy is Christianity.It was not always so; he was once an ortho­dox atheist, but his guard dropped occa­sionally and each time his Adversary lethim have it until Le\vis caved in.

For otie thing, he was careless about thethings he read. ~~A young man who wishesto remain a sound atheist," he remarks,"cannot be too careful of his reading. Thereare traps everywhere." For another thing,he never got the knack of bending the factsabout his own iInmediate experiences tofit some theory. His experiences were real'and that was that. Lewis held out for years,but nnally gave up.

One night in 1929, he became "the mostdejected and reluctant convert in all Eng­land . . . ,Amiable agnostics will talk cheer­fully about 'man's search for God," hewrites, "To ll1e, as I then was, they mightas well have talked about the mouse'ssearch for the cat . . . God is, if I may sayit, very unscrupulous." This book is Lewis'blow by blow account of what happened tohiIn, and thus serves to warn readers whowant to avoid similar rjsks.

By temperament, Mr. Lewis has a "dis­taste for all that is public, all that belongsto the collective," and this was part of hiscase against Christianity. "No word in myvocabulary expressed deeper hatred thanthe word interference. But Christianityplaced at the center what then seemed tome a transcendental Interferer.

~~lf its picture were true, then no sort of'treaty \vith reality' could ever be possible.

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There was no region even in the innermostdepth of one's soul (nay, there least of all)which one could surround \vith a barbedwire fence and guard with a notice ~N0

Admittance.' A,nd that is what I wanted;some area, however small, of which I couldsay to all other beings, 'This is my businessand mine only.'"

It was a series of encounters with Joywhich first began to batter the walls ofNIr. Lewis' private world. The Joy on whichthis autobiography hinges is described as"an unsatisfied desire which is itself moredesirable than any other satisfaction." Usedso, Joy is a technical term to be sharplydistinguished from happiness and pleasure.

Mr. Lewis experienced Joy in three earlyproto-mystical experiences. In each, thescenes of the work-a-day world shifted toreveal hitherto unsuspected depths and di­mensions in nature. In all three, there was"the same surprise and the same sense ofincalculable importance." And they van-,ished as quickly as they had come: "BeforeI knew what I desired, the desire itselfwas gone, the whole glimpse withdrawn,the \vorld turned commonplace again."

But a world that can pierce a man withsuch an intensity can never be quite com­monplace. To recapture the experience be­comes "the supreme and only importantobject of desire," but only obliquely anobject, for Joy cannot be attained directly-it ,is a by-product.

"Its very existence presupposes that youdesire not it, but something other and out­er. If by any perverse askesis, or the use ofany drug, it could be produced from with­in, it would at once be seen to be of novalue. For take away the object, and what,after all, would be left?-a whirl of images,a fluttering sensation in the diaphragm,a nlomentary abstraction. And who couldwant that?

"This, I say, is the nrst and deadly error,

FAITH AND FREEDOM

which appears on every level of life and isequally deadly on all, turning religion intoa self-caressing luxury and love into auto­eroticism. And the second error is, havingthus falsely nlade a state of mind your aim,to attempt to produce it."

Mr. Lewis took much of his early trainingin philosophy, and readers 6f his two books,Miracles and l\lere Christianity, will testifyto his skill as a logician. These books havebeen criticized for their lucid rationality onthe grounds that there is more to life thanlogic. It n1ay well be true that the mind hasheights and depths beyond the logic, but onits own level, rationality is to be preferredto irrationality, and it is illogic which needsexcuses, not logic.

Dead Stuff Giving Off Sparks

But what is the place of human logic ifthe universe is irrational? This is the ques­tion posed by the predicament of the 19thcentury rationalist. Typically, he believedthat the human mind is a chance sparkgiven off by a n1indless universe composedof dead matter. But if mindless, the universeis brute irrational fact, and human reasonand logic cannot give us any truth aboutit. If logic is a strictly private matter, ithas about as much intellectual content asa secretion of the ductless glands; it maytell us sonlething about individual physi­ology, but nothing about the universe.

Mr. Le\vis believed that logical thoughtyielded indisputable truth, and thus wasled to postulate a rational universe to whichthe n1ind in the act of apprehension madea creative response, and in which "our logicwas participation in a coslnic Logos."

This school of philosophy has sometimesreduced the robust and full-blooded worldto a pallid abstraction. But Lewis, with thehelp of the French philosopher Henri Berg­son, avoided this pitfall. "FroIn him I firstlearned to relish energy, fertility, and urg­ency; the resource, the triumphs, and eventhe insolence of things that grow."

Next, the English philosopher, SalTIuelAlexander, provided him with "an indis­pensable tool of thought" in two technical

OCTOBER 1956

terms, enjoy'ment and contemplation."When you see a table you 'enjoy' the actof seeing and 'contemplate' the table." OnAlexander's analysis, you 'enjoy' the think­ing or emoting which goes on within, butyou 'contemplate' the external object whichcauses the 'enjoyment.'

"Unless this distinction is vivid, we tendto focus on the 'enjoyment' and then con­clude that a pleasant state of consciousnessis the end of action. The next step is to actso as to bring about desirable states offeeling, and to 'contemplate' these. But thepleasant feeling tone cannot survive thisinversion of attention. "Nearly everythingthat was going on a moment before isstopped by the very act of our turning tolook at it. Unfortunately this does not meanthat introspection finds nothing.

On the contrary, it finds precisely whatis "left behind by the suspension of all ournormal activities; and what is left behindis mainly mental images and physical sen­sations. Our great error is to mistake thismere sediment or track or by-product forthe activities themselves."

By no\v the Hound of Heaven was hoton ~lr. Lewis' heels. He was capable ofwonder, trained in logic, had establishedthe rationality and objectivity of the uni­verse, responded to the vitality and con­creteness of things, and finally, in Chester­ton's The Everlasting Man, found the vir­tues of both paganisnl and Christianity putin a perspective vvhich Inade sense.

The mixture began to cook and then "aphilosophical theorelll, cerebrally enter­tained, began to stir and heave and throwoff its gravecloths, and stood upright andbeCalTIe a living presence. I was to be al­lowed to play at philosophy no longer. Itmight, as I say, still be true that my 'Spirit'differed in some ,vay fron1 'the God ofpopular religion.' My Adversary waived thepoint."

And ,,,hat about Joy?"It \vas valuable only as a pointer to

sonlething other and outer." A traveller whohas found the \Vay loses interest in a sign­post. ED11UND A. OPITZ

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SPIRITUAL MOBILIZATION ACTIVITIES:Daily and Weekly-the column, Pause for Reflec­tion, carried nationally by nearly 400 newspapers;Weekly-the radio program, The Freedom Story,broadcast on stations coast-to-coast; Mo,n,thly-themagazine, Faith and Freedom, with more than27,000 circulation; Annually-the national FreedomUnder God observance of Independence Day; YearAround-speaking engagements and business-edu­cation-clergy conferences nation-wide.FINANCED solely by contributions of individuals,businesses and foundations. Donations deductibleon income tax form.THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE has as its chair­man, Dr. Donald J. Cowling, President. Emeritus ofCarleton College. Should you like to have a list of

As you know, Faith and Freedom comes toyou just for the asking. And we'll keep onsending it, without any strings, as long asyou want it an,d use it.

But it does cost money to put it out. Ifyou want to help, $5 will a little more thancover the cost of sending it to you for ayear. If you can chip in more, it will helppay for subscriptions to those who can'tafford financial contributions.

In a week or so, we'll be asking youdirectly for help to cover the cost of keep­ing Faith and Freedom and other 8M workgrowing. But if, as you read this, the im­pulse strikes you, don't wait to hear fromus. Send your bit now.

Cordially,JAMES C. INGEBRETSEN

President

the well-known men in many fields who serve onthe Committee, we would be glad to send it.

BELIEF • We believe the following ideas need topermeate life. And we believe Spiritual Mobiliza­tion can provide an emphasis now lacking; • Webelieve that each man is potentially of supremeworth and should work to achieve spiritual andcreative wholeness; • We believe that when menforce their wills upon others, even for "their owngood," it frustrates man~s basic need. We see thistoday primarily in uncontrolled political interven­tion and the excesses of the labor union movement;

• We believe that spiritual and moral leaders mustresist-not promote-the abuses of power which de­stroy man's integrity of spirit.

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