dominant force in life and the measure of the individual's usefulness,
the nation cannot be less concerned about the people's spiritual growth
and welfare than about their health and intellectual strength.

It is both natural and proper that the day which is observed religiously
by the general public should be selected as the day of rest also,
respect being shown to those who conscientiously observe another day.
Differences of opinion may exist in different localities as to what
should be permitted on the Sabbath day, but experience has supported two
propositions: first, that every citizen should be guaranteed _time_
for rest and for worship, and, second, that every citizen should be
guaranteed the _peace_ and _quiet_ necessary for both rest and worship.

Here, as in nearly every other issue that concerns human welfare, the
controversy is not between those who differ in opinions as to what
is right and proper but between those, on the one side, who have a
pecuniary interest in the promotion of things which are objectionable,
and those, on the other, who seek to promote the common good. In
other words, it is the old conflict between money and morals: between
selfishness and the public weal.

While Christ was all love and all compassion and all tenderness He never
hesitated to draw the line and draw it rigidly against folly as well as
against sin. The parable of the Ten Virgins is a case in point. Five
were wise and five were foolish, the evidence of the difference being
found in the fact that five were prudent enough to supply themselves
with oil sufficient for an emergency. The other five, lacking wisdom,
took only the oil that they could carry in their lamps. When the need
came the foolish turned to the wise and said, "Give us of your oil," but
the wise refused lest they should not have enough for themselves and
the others. Were they censured? No. The parable teaches one of the most
important lessons to be learned in life, namely, that the foolish cannot
be saved from punishment. It is punishment that converts folly into
wisdom and saves the world from a race of fools.

The parable has wide-spread application. The foolish parent cannot be
saved from the sorrow inflicted by a spoiled child; the idle cannot be
saved from hunger and want; the lazy cannot be given the rewards of the
diligent. The success that attends effort and rewards character cannot
be awarded to the undeserving without paralyzing all the incentives t