Ohio History Journal

The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.                447

 

to their homes without a serious accident. There was abundant

entertainment for all and there was no extortion anywhere. Every

feature of the celebration over which the commission had con-

trol was absolutely free, yet when the books were closed every

expense had been provided for.

The great Sunday afternoon meeting at the park seemed to

indicate that the "tumult and the shouting" had not driven out of

mind the more serious considerations. The glorification of the

the past seemed to have emphasized the importance of present

problems, and there was fervid expression of the hope that we of

today and tomorrow may be as faithful to our duties as were

those of yesterday to theirs.

 

 

DR. GLADDEN'S CENTENARY POEM.

[On Sunday, September 1st, the official celebration of the Ohio-

Columbus Centennial closed with the Amen of Rev. L. T. Lowe, when

he pronounced the benediction upon 3,000 persons who gathered at Frank-

lin Park in the afternoon to participate in joint exercises, which in-

cluded an original poem by the Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden, which

we herewith publish in full.]

We come at length as shadows lengthening fall,

To the last hour of our high festival;

In "God's first temple," in the summer air

We lift our hearts to him in praise and prayer,

Praise for the good that crowns the century's close,

Prayer for the light and strength his grace bestows

On all who humbly seek him; that the days

Now lying fair before us, and the ways

Through which his love shall lead us may be bright

With his o'ershadowing presence; that the night

All 'round us shall be light because of Him.

That through the murk and maze of futures dim

His shepherding may keep us, and his power

Protect us in the dark and perilous hour.

 

We wait upon his word. Who speaks for him?

Unseal our vision! Let the seraphim

Now stooping near us touch our eyes to see

The form that bends above us; set us free

From flesh and sense, that we may duly hear

The word she speaks unto the inward ear.

• 1
 

448        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   "Faith of Our Fathers," let that be the name By which we know her. Evermore the same, Benignant, beautiful, with radiant face And smile that tells us of a happy place, With beckoning hand, and winning upward glance, And sober yearnings on her countenance.- "Faith of Our Fathers,"-not their dogmas drear. Filling men's hearts with trouble and with fear; Faith is no fabric by logicians wrought, No sublimate of metaphysic thought, No trap of dialectic, shrewdly set To catch incautious souls in error's net, Nor any skeleton with bony hands

That here today across our pathway stands; Nay, 'tis a Spirit, the soul of trust and truth, Of loyalty and honor, grace and ruth, Through whom we know God near, and not afar, And that in him we live and move and are; This is "Our Fathers' Faith," their living faith, That kept them whole, in loss and pain and scathe. Their creeds we could not keep; their like we need; Their life in God, for that is life indeed. 'Tis this fair form that bends now from the sky With beckoning hand to tell us God is nigh, As near to us as ever to our sires, With grace that pardons, comforts, shields, inspires.

• 2
 

The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.                449

 

Spirit divine, we wait thy words of cheer:

(If any man have ears, now let him hear.)

Thou art Religion, not rite, nor book nor ban-

The life of God within the soul of man;

Thou hast been with us in the ages past;

What hast thou for us in the future vast?

"Ye seek to know"-thus saith the Voice divine-

"What visions call me, and what tasks are mine

In days that are before us. Ye do well

Thus to inquire; for oft beneath the spell

Of whirling wheels and flying fires, man deems

That nothing is, outside the mindless streams

Of elemental force; that truth and right

Are apparitions that deceive the sight;

That obligation binds no human choice;

That duty waits on inclination's choice;

That reverence springs from superstition stale;

That God's great law is but an old wives' tale.

Too prone are men, in these tumultuous years,

To still their consciences and quench their fears,

To stifle all the hopes that lift them higher,

And feed with snow the flame of pure desire;

This is Religion's task, to bring again

The torch of truth to light the lives of men;

To touch their eyes, that visions may appear

Of God's great presence, shining round them here;

To lift the veil of law that hides God's face

And show that earth is still a holy place;

That every work of man beneath the sun,

By wisdom counseled and in love begun-

All work whose purpose makes for human weal,

By hands that toil, or serve, or help or heal-

That shape the fabric or that break the clod-

Is done by men who needs must work with God.

Yea, God is in his world; no prophet old,

Could trace his power in shapes so manifold

As those which daily hold your wondering eyes

In loving work that round about you lies;

To find him here; his wise designs to see;

To join your wills with his in service free,

This is the task Religion finds for you

Who seek her ways to know, her will to do.

She brings the Holy City down to earth,

And bids its citizens to know their worth

Vol. XXI - 29.

• 3
 

450        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

As sons of God; she summons them to raise

On fair foundations walls of chrysoprase

And jasper, sapphire, beryl, chrysolite-

All stones of price, all precious in God's sight-

On purity and truth and honor bright

Temples and towers and courts and halls of light

And homes of purity, and mills and marts

And shops of industry and shrines of arts-

To build all these, in days now drawing nigh

After the pattern shown us in the sky.

 

Such is the message that today is brought

From that which answers to our deepest thought;

Such are the tasks that wait upon our will

In days which mercies past with promise fill.

To build a city here of fair renown

After the pattern that the heaven sends down;

A city founded on this simple plan-

Friendship for God, and friendship, too, for man.

God's friendship! 'Tis the sure foundation stone

On which its life must rest: the faith alone

That makes men faithful, the firm tie that binds

Man to his highest fealties; clouded minds

It clears, crowns trust and truth, makes honor dear;

Kindles high courage, quells ignoble fear,

Sends cringing craft to heel, gives love the rein,

And holds in reason's thrall the greed for gain.

Friendship for God-it is the vital breath,

That cities live by, yea the prophet saith;

"Except God build the city it shall fall;

Men toil in vain upon its crumbling wall."

A godless city-what shall be her fate?

Hear what the Lord hath spoken; "Desolate

Shall be her courts, and bitter her complaints,

For the whole head is sick, the whole heart faints;

How is the faithful queen, by treachery stained,

Become an harlot; and, where justice reigned,

Red murder riots: rulers, while men sleep,

Trample on laws that they have sworn to keep;

Thieves their companions, bribers their allies,

Heedless of justice, deaf to all the cries

Of fatherless and widows."

Such the scourge

Of godless cities, such the fateful dirge

That prophets sing when cities turn from God

And recklessly defy his chastening rod.

• 4
 

The Ohio-Columbus Centennial.                 451

 

O you whom God hath called and set apart

To build a city after his own heart,

Remember well, your peace is in his hands,

Your welfare waits on his benign commands.

His friendship seek, his word of life obey

And trust his grace to guide you all the way.

"Be friends with God," this is the golden text

That gives us queenly cities; and the next-

"Be friends with men," this crowns the city fair

And makes it beautiful beyond compare.

O you whom God hath called and set apart

To build a city after his own heart,

Be this your task-to fill the cities' veins

With the red blood of friendship; plant her plains

With seeds of peace; above her portals wreathe

Greeting and welcome; let the air we breathe

Be musical with accents of good will

That leap from lip to lip with joyous thrill;

So may the stranger find upon the streets

A kindly look in every face he meets:

So may the spirit of the city tell

All souls within her gates that all is well;

In all her homes let gentleness be found,

In every neighborhood let grace abound,

In every store and shop and forge and mill

Where men of toil their daily tasks fulfill,

Where guilding brain and workman's skill are wise

To shape the product of our industries,

Where treasured stores the hands of toil sustain,

Let friendship speed the work and share the gain.

And thus, through all the city's teeming life,

Let helpfulness have room, with generous strife

To serve; let those who sit at Beauty's feet

Rejoice to make this world of ours more meet

For men to live in; let the poet's art

Kindle new kindness in the human heart;

Let every hand find work to swell the store

Of common welfare, and let all hearts pour

Their offering of service, till the best

That each can bring is shared by all the rest;

Proving the Master's saying, that we live

By what we get, but more by what we give.

 

And thus, O city fair, your life shall be

Benignant, bountiful, abundant, free;

• 5
 

452         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   For God shall dwell among us, and men shall say The former bitter things are passed away; Gone are our strifes and banished all our fears, For here is love that wipes away all tears; Here is the rest for which our souls have striven; This is the city that came down from heaven.     WHY OHIO IS GREAT. At the dinner participated in on Tuesday, August 27, at the Southern Hotel, by the Descendants of Ohio Governors, the

following address was made by Prof. Dean C. Mathews, of West- ern Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Mathews is a great-grandson of Samuel Huntington, third governor of Ohio, 1812-1814. MR. MATHEW'S ADDRESS. Why is Ohio great? We may say that Ohio is the result of an idea, of fortunate circumstances and favoring physical conditions. The idea of individual human freedom, granted by

• 6