The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, June 23, 1909, Image 3
I A Square Deal
What is the biggest business prom- 11!
lem this nation is facing to-day? One s
man will speak up quickly and say: I
"The question of an elastic currency, t:
of course;" his neighbor will declare v
that the attitude of the Administra- tl
tion toward corporations oversteps g
everything else in importance to the n
people of this country. A little later n
we are likely to be told that the re- v
adjustment of the tariff is the over- t:
shadowing question. b
But all the time a problem bigger t;
than any of these is being overlooked t;
by the politicians of all parties, by h
the press of the entire country, by o
the political economists and by most fi
of the people themselves. Only a h
few men recognize the existence and c
the bigness of this question, and they
are of the kind that make very little g
noise in the world. However, if they c
are listened to and their words taken s
to heart by the men who make up the fl
greatest industrial class in the United s
States, we, as a nation, will suddenly ti
wake up to the fact that we have c
hoon priTnmif-tinp- industrial suicide. a
(The reckless and wholesale deple- g
tion of the fertility of the soil, in t
this good land of ours, is beyond all n
question the biggest and most seri- t
ous question now confronting the a
American people?and it is bound to n
remain the big problem for many o
years to come. I am so sure of this, d
and feel so deeply on this matter, v
that I have determined to devote the a
remaining years of my life to doing S
all I can to arouse the farmers of v
this country to the fact that, if they t
go on taking everything they can out b
of the soil and putting next to noth- e
ing back, they are in the position of
deliberately and knowingly creating c
a hopeless run on the greatest bank
In the world?the marvelous soil of a
the United States?a run which can t
result only in wreck and disaster as t
Wide as the country. c
This is the dark side of the picture, v
the thing which will surely happen e
if we do not wake up and give the c
soil a square deal. There is another s
side to the problem as bright as this s
one is dark?a reward for well doing t:
II just as great in proportion as me
I punishement for wrong doing. If ti
! -only twenty-five per cent, of the far- tl
! mers of this country would wake up a
to the situation and do their level 0
best in giving the soil a square deal, b
they would not only save the abso- d
lute loss of millions of dollars, but ^
they would make millions more?and tl
make themselves rich in the bargain. p
Unless there is a general and wide- s
spread reform in this matter of the n
mistreatment of our soil we are going 0
literally to put millions of acres of i
good land out of business. All we t<
have to do, to cut out our national a
wealth land enough to make a dozen
European kingdoms, is to keep right b
on doing what we are doing, and r,
what we have been doing ever since u
< the first reaper and binder was put h
into the field. In the matter of soil i'depletion
the farmers of this country c
have been going the pace that kills
?that kills land and robs the nation e
of a yearly power to produce a vol- j,
?j| nme of wealth almost beyond tne r
rag power of the average man to under- ^
-stand. d
This problem is not a theory with n
me; I haven't come at it from the a
raj theoretical side. To the contrary, I a
oil ' have bumped against it from the is
Eg practical, the active side. I did not n
Hj leave the farm until I was twenty-six v
B years old, and there hasn't been a ii
year of my life since when I haven't ii
H been in some kind of business which o
H , was close to the soil. And for many r
|| years I have owned and operated v
Bfif several thousands of acres of farm
I land?and do so now. And I may a
H ;add that I have not a single farm 1)
I which I have not made to pay a good b
jS| and satisfactory percentage on the a
If investment year after year. I say n
? this simply because the farmers do ii
I not take kindly to advice from mere t
I theorists: they naturally wish to s
P kn?w that advice comes from a prac- I
tlcal and successful farmer before they
attach enough importance to it y
ji to act upon it. This is right and g
I natural, and it is because I am so I
anxious to have them give to my t
I plea the weight which it deserves
H that I say to them: I am entitled to b
If talk about farming because I was p
g brought up on a farm, and operate t
I several thousand acres of farm land t
I divided iuto farms of 160 acres s
g each. in a way which makes them c
i pay me a handsome profit. r
3 ECILDING UP THE LAND. d
Mj Right from the start I made up
| my mind to buy good farms and keep I
| them and run them for profit. This j *
| meant that I looked at them as a '
I long time investment, not as some- o
I thing on which to speculate or make t
f a quick turn. In other words, the t
I task before me was that of building c
gj up and making the farms much better t
a each year, stronger in their ability f
I to produce profitable crops. How
I many farmers treat their land in this *
I way? Fewer, by far, than you would i
I suppose! Of course, most of them I
i intend to do this?but there is a wide i
| sap between their intentions and <
-** * ?N T5- avotraorotinn
to say that the majority of farmers j
in this country are living on their
! ""principal" instead of their "inter- ;
est," so far as their treatment of i
; their soil is concerned; they are rais- !
Ing fair to excellent crops, putting up I
good buildings and making, perhaps, J
a fine showing on the profit side of j
the ledger, but in doing this they are , \
literally bankrupting the soil?rob- f
fcteg it of the capacity to keep up the s
pace of production in the future. j i
In any State of the Union, from the t
richest to the poorest, the casual ob- { T
server can see for himself how the \
6oil is being bankrupted by heavy l
cropping and poor fertilization. There
are large tracts in Virginia, for ex- s
ample, where farm after farm can be p
bought at an almost absurd price, r
Not very long ago thes* same acres e
were the pride of the Old Dominion t
State and produced fortunes to their
owners in their unfailing tobacco j
crops. Now they are next door to e
useless as tillable land and about all i J
their value is in the way of fine : c
scenery. They have been depleted by
taking from them the elements re-! c
quired to grow crops, while compara- j f
tively nothing has been put back Into t
-
For the Soil.
hem to prevent bankruptcy. The
ame thing can be seen in Southern
llinois, where there are large disricts
which produce scant crops and
rhere farms can be bought at onehird?even
a fourth of the price of
ood farm lands in the middle and
orthern parts of the State. Ordiariily
these Southern Illinois farms
. ere nearly, if not fully, as producIve
as any in the State. They have
een under the give-nothing-andake
everything system of cultivaion,
and the result is that the land
as been put out of business because
f mistreatment. And so you will
nd it in every State where the land
as oeen wornea on tms piau iur <xuy
onsiderable number of years.
Bue we are not left to size up in a
eneral way the results of this suiidal
method of land cultivation; the
cientists who are working in the
ield of agriculture have produced
ome very exact information which
alls the story in a pointed and a preise
way. A careful reading of these
uthorities points to the fact that the
rain crops are reducing the produciveness
of the soil, under present
aethods of cultivation, at the rate of
wo per cent, a year. Few men in
imerica have gone into the subject
aore deply than Professor Hopkins,
f the University of Illinois, and he
oes not hesitate to declare his coniction
that, if we keep on farming
s we are now doing it in Illinois, the
tate will be an unproductive desert
within a century. He has not come
o this conclusion by guess work, but
? ? ? * 1 ?trofam a f O of 11 O 1
1 y a. LUUSL uaiciui s;gi.cm UJ.
xperiments.
On one piece of ground under his
harge corn has been raised for tweny-eight
consecutive years ? raised
ccording to methods common
hroughout the State. The produciveness
of that piece has steadily delined,
and it is certain that, in a
ery few years, it will not have
nough power left to produce either
orn or clover. Our grain farmers
eem to feel that crop rotation conists
in alternating corn and oats on
heir land. How does it work out?
'rofessor Hopkins has put this to the
est. The land on which he has tried
his system was as good, originally,
s any in Illinois, and yet it produces
nly three bushels of corn and three
ushels of oats to the acre. Now how
oes the other side of this scientific
rork show? Practically alongside
tie strips of land on which these exeriments
have been conducted are
trips not a whit better or richer,
aturally. They have been handled
n a different system of cultivation,
'he plots which have been subjected
> true crop rotation ? clover, corn
nd oats?and have been intelligently
fertilized have produced ninety
ushels to the acre. As showing what
eal crop rotation will do without the
se of fertilizer I cite the fact that
e gets sixty bushels to the acre on
ind planted to successive crops of
lover and oats. My own experience
3 that I can raise seventy-five bushIs
of corn to the acre on land subected
to right crop rotation and
ight fertilization as against thirty
ushels per acre raised by my immeiate
neighbors working by the old
lethods on land naturally as good
s my own. That I have done right
long and on a large scale, too. What
5 more, my land under proper treatlent
Is growing better year by year,
rhile theirs is steadily going down
a productiveness?and consequently
a price. .If they stick to their methds
their land will, in a few years,
each a grade of unproductiveness at
rhich it will not pay for cultivation.
As nearly as I can arrive at it,
bout seventy per cent, of the farm
ind in Illinois, for example, have
een cultivated for thirty years undei
"crop rotation" consisting of alteriating
corn and wheat, with nothng
save the stubble put back into
he soil. This is one important reaon
why Eastern States?Maine, New
lampshire, Connecticut and others
get a very much higher average
ield of corn to the acre than the
reat corn States of the Middle West,
n the East they practice crop rotaion
and intelligent fertilization.
Before leaving this question of
iow our soil ib depleted, let me emihasize
the fact that United States?
he greatest of all agricultural counries:?is
admitted by soil scientists tc
tand first in the list in the rapiditj
if its soil exhaustion, and that we are
apidly adding to our area of aban[oned
agricultural lands.
And it may be well to add to whal
have said of the experiments undei
'rofessor Hopkins a suggestion oi
chat has been done in the same line
if demonstration in England, where
hey have had more time in which tc
ry out things. At the famous Roth
instead station they have growr
vheat on the same piece of ground
or fifty years?with the result thai
'the phosphorus actually removed
rom one of the best yielding plots
n five years is equivalent to fortj
j.er cent, of the total phosphorus or
ginally contained in the soil to ?
lepth of seven inches."
A PARDON
Affords Best Chanee
Pea
A pardon in Brittany begins witt
respers on the evening before tb<
east. Pilgrims arrive for that anc
ileep In the church, the chapel anc
jnder the hedges. They chant hymn:
ill they sing themselves to sleep
The first mass is said at 3 a. m. ant
vlien all the pilgrims have rcceivet
loly communion they depart.
An ordinary visitor arriving, say
it 10 a. m., will hardly see a singh
illgrim in the church. They attenc
nass, take part in the afternoon pro
ession and buy memorials and pic
ures at the stalls.
One of the most largely attendee
>ardons, and a very representativ<
iffair in its character, is that oi
^.uray, which is situated in Morbihan
n the southern coast of Brittany.
Here gather all whom the inter
:ession of St. Anne d'Auray has savec
rom some peril. Those who hav<
>een saved from shipwreck earn
ROTHEilSTEAD EXPERIMKNTS ITT CONTDTCTOTJS
WHEAT FOR 51 YEARS.
Average Yield,
Bushels per Acre.
Xo fertilizer 13.1
Farm manure ?14 tons per
1 acre 35.7
Commercial fertilizer:
Acid phosphate, 392 lbs. per (
acre . f
Sulphate of potash, 200 lbs. (
per acre ( 37.1
Sulphate of ammonia, 600 (
lbs. per acre (
The manure used on an acre contained
nearly double the plant food i
contained in the commercial fertilizer
used on same sized plat.
Again, it comes to a question of
the use of fertilizers. Here are the
figures from the famous experiments
of Lawes and Gilbert:
AVERAGE YIELD OF WHEAT PER ACRE.
Bushels.
No manure for 40 years 14
Minerals alone for 32 years 15%
Nitrogen alone for 32 years 23%
, Farmyard manure for 32 years. 32%
Minerals and nitrogen for 32 years? 36%
Minerals and nitrogen for 32 years.... 32%
1.86 pounds pf nitrogen as sodium
nitrate.
2.86 pounds of nitrogen as ammonium
salts.
Now, io get nearer home, let me
tell the experience of a farmer In
, Northern Indiana who woke up to the
fact that he must give his soil a
square deal If he would get the same
r from it in return. He first found out
what elements his soil most needed
and , then he fertilized accordingly.
This cost him $1 to $1.40 an acre,
and he kept close tab on the results.
In a word, his fertilization cost has
been thirty-five cents for the production
of twenty bushels of corn, and
he has had 500 per cent, left for
investment. This matter of treating
the soil is much like a bank account.
If you keep drawing out and put little
or nothing in, time will sooner or
later write "no funds" across the
' face of the draft which you attempt
to make against it.
A farmer Ho?o nnl- riPPfl trv havfl fln
elaborate scientific education to understand
the really necessary things
about the elements which go into the
| making of a crop. The main ones
| are phosphorus, nitrogen and potash.
Phosphorus is the element
which makes things mature and go
to seed ? which makes the ears of
corn and heads of wheat fill with
plump and ripe kernels. Nitrogen
gives size to the plant and potash
contributes the element of health, or
stamina. When your crop is yellow
and does not grow to size it lacks
nitrogen; when it grows rank and
dark green and keeps on growing but
doesn't mature and produce grain it
lacks phosphorus; If, in addition, it is
inclined to lodge and the stalk or
straw is soft and lacks polish you
know your land is short on potash.
Speaking roughly, a clay soil is
generally deficient in nitrogen and
phosphorus, but contains potash.
The tendency is for clay soil to bake
and get hard, and the addition of a
little lime is calculated to correct
this. Then the addition of nitrogen,
either in the form of plant legumes
?as clover, for instance?or in com,
mercial phosphorus (or phosphate)
will balance ud the soil.
Black soils are commonly strong
In nitrogen and short of phosphorus
and potash and have a tendency to
become sour. Drainage, together
with a supply of the lacking elements
and an addition of a little lime, is
the remedy needed.?Saturday Evening
Post.
Friend That's Disappeared.
"What's become of our old boyhood
1 friend the bootjack?" asked a shopper
in a shoe store the other day.
T*tm Koon in ohnnf Q 1 Y Inolrinff
> for such a thing, and in half the
: places the clerks don'.t even know
what they are?never heard of such
' a thing. One clerk brought me an
1 ordinary shoe horn and supposed that
! must be what I had reference to.
"The bootjack has gone, I suppose,
for the simple reason that few men
wear so-called 'boots' any more. The
1 stores ought to keep them, though,
" if for nothing but souvenirs of the
boyhood days of the present genera''
tion, when we used to get a penny
! occasionally for helping one of the
f adult members of the family to pull
off his boots. How those boots did
'.'stick! I was reminded of those days
(j not long ago when I got a pair of new
fangled walking shoes on which the
' laces started too far up. But I'll have
' to get r.long without a bootjack, or
" else make ono. There are none to be
' found."?Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Song Birds .Die From Cold.
Great numbers of birds migrating,
: j north were caught here by the cold
wave and storm and hundreds died,
f There was one flock of estimated
! fifteen hundred cock robins which
; | alighted on the normal school
> grounds and remained here for a
. couple of days. The next most numi
erous bird is the hermit thrush and
I also there are a few bluebirds. Such
t a visitation of feathered songsters
[ has never been seen in Winona be5
fore. Citizens generally provided
r them with food, as many of them
- seemed to be in a starving condition,
i ?Winona Correspondence, St. Paul
Dispatch.
IN BRITTANY
of Seeing Crowds oi
sants.
II portions of the wrcckcd Tessel; oth
i ers carry the shroud that had been
I prepared for them; the lame carry
I on their shoulders the cr ches which
3 have becorpe useless to them, while
. still others carry the rop' <r ladder
1 by which they escaped from the
1 flames.
Sometimes and in some places
, there is an evening procession carryj
ing lighted candles; in some there is
I a bonfire lighted by the figure of an
. angel that descends from the chapel
- or church spire. Occasionally there
are games in the afternoon and danc1
ing, but usually all is quiet and the
3 people disperse after the afternoon
[ procession.
By the sea the arrival of the boats
with maidens in white and banners
- is a pretty sight; at one pardon the
1 sailors proceed barefooted in par;
formance of a vow made when delivr
ered in a storm.
costi
New York City.?Such a simple
little dress as this one is needed by
every child. It can be made from
lawn or batiste, from plain white or
from prettily figured materials, from
| embroidered muslin if something
?ery dainty is wanted, and it can be
made from gingham and other inexpensive
wash fabrics for the hours of
play and hard usage. Also it is quite
correct for cashmere, albatross, challis
and the other simple wool material;
that many mothers use for the
coUL weather frocks of the girls who
have reached the mature age of six.
hpv*/* arAce 4fnrvif funiroH tn fnrm ths
XUO U1COO itOVAl AM VUVUVM WW ?W. ?w?_
yoke, and consequently making is a
very simple matter and the sleeves
can be in full or elbow length, while
the dress can be trimmed with banding
qr left plain, as liked.
The dress is cut with front and
back portions and is finished at the
neck with a straight standing collar.
Whether the sleeves are cut to the
wrists or the elbows they are gathered
into bands.
The quantity of material required
for the medium size (four years) is
three and one-fourth yards twentyfour,
two and one-fourth yards thirty-two
or two and one-eighth yards
forty-four inches wide, with three
yards of insertion, one and threeeighth
yards of edging to trim as illustrated.
A Tucked Sleeve.
One gets rather weary of the everlasting
sleeve formed of big, careless
tucks caught up oue over the other
from elbow to shoulder; but a newer
Idea is seen in the tucked sleeve that
Is treated perpendicularly, not horizontally!?aud
the tucks are just as
big and careless and loose, and taper
off right up into the neckband, the
rest of the blouse?the bodice part of
it?overhanging a corselet skirt or
one of the prevailing cummerbund
belts.
Panel EftVcts in Favor.
A feature of all the new skirts is
1L - ?-?i in tlio front n nri hark.
tuts iJiluci cucti 11-1
In ruany skirts the front panel extends
above the waist line and forms
a portion of the girdle. These panels
give a perfectly smooth fit, aud are
universally becoming.
Yellow Linen Suit.
If you can find a pretty shade of
yellow in a linen, you will have a suit
that is considered very smart this
season.
J I
? \l i '
II J
fitting over the hips, and the pleated
panels give long, becoming lines at
the same time that they provide additional
fulness. Pongee with trimming
of buttons and finish of stitching
is the material illustrated. When
made in round length the skirt is
adapted to afternoon dress, when
! made in walking length for general
! morning and street wear.
The skirt is made in four gores
with four additional panels. The side
gores are lapped over onto the front
and the back and the panels are
joined to their edges. The closing is
made invisibly. When walking length
is desired both the gores and the
panels are to be cut off on indicated
lines.
^ ^ '
The quantity of material required
for the medium size is nine and one!
half yards twenty-four or twentyseven,
five and three-fourth yards forty-four
or fifty-two inches wide,
width of skirt at lower edge four and
three-fourth. yards, including pleats.
^ ,
Bridal Veils.
One of the most important details
in a fashionable wedding costume i?
the arrangement of the bridal veil,
which varies from season to season.
Cap effects in veils with conventional
orange blossoms are the latest style.
Many brides will wear lace-bordered
veils instead of tulle.
Four-Piece Skirt.
The skirt that provides slight flare
at the lower edge is one of the very
latest to have appeared, and this
model shows that feature at its best.
It is slightly high waisted and close
Wheat Pattern Fashionable.
Everybody who designs is making
use of the wheat pattern. ^
Embroidered Gloves. )
Long gloves must be elaborate^ |
embroidered to meet the require- (
| ments of fashion.
I
Linen Turnovers. (
Embroidered linen turnovers and '
Dutch collars of linen or lace appeal
, in charming variety.
Define the Figure. ,
All coats are cut so as to more i
clearly define the figure, though the i
box coat has by no means been given ,
up. 1
Spreading Collars. I
It seems almost necessary to weai i
some kind of a fancy pin to keep the
collar from spreading, and to hold in
place whatever bow or tie is worn. I
At present there is a great fad for
wearing either a bird or quaint
Egyptian pin for this purpose.
imSy TOW 7yy777y777TyyyysM,
| HOUSEHOLD iTTEBsl
fJtd i
** v W W t. W<T- v\.\.Crvx\' *?
A New Sandwich.
A joy In the sandwich line is the
brown bread sandwich, with a cream
;heese filling, just tinged with garlic,
rhfe garlic must be the young and
Lender kind that is the bane of the
iairyman and can be found only in
country meadows, and must be sparingly
used at that or the appreciative
guests will rue their feast.?New
fork Tribune.
* '
Steak en Casserole.
Trim fat Irom a thick beefsteak,
place in a broad casserole or baking
iiah with two tablespoonfuls of but-1
ter and a sliced carrot, sliced onion
and two bay leaves, and simmer in a
hot oven till the vegetables are lightly;
browned. Now pour in a cupful or
more of the beef stock from which
the grease has been skimmed, cover
the dish and bake for forty minutes.
Now add a dozen potatoes, either
boiled or browned, a aozen peeiea
mushrooms if desired and a sprinkling
of salt and pepper. At the end
Df another ten minutes in the oven?
this time with the dish uncovered?
sprinkle with chopped parsley and
serve*.?New Haven Register.
Chicken Cutlets.
Half a pound of cooked chicken,
cwo ounces of cooked ham or tongue,
one hard-boiled egg, two raw eggs,
Dne gill of white sauce, six small
* 1 1 ?, ??u onH
musnrooms, ure<tu. giumus, ocm.
pepper.
Chop the chicken and ham or
tongue finely, chop also the hardboiled
egg and mushrooms rather
coarselyj add seasoning of salt and
pepper.
Stir the mixture over the fire for
a few minutes, then turn it on to a
plate and let it cool. Have ready a
deep frying pan of fat.
When the mixture is cold divide it
Into even sized pieces; shape each
into a neat cutlet. When all are
shaped brush them over with well
beaten egg and coat them with bread
srumbs. When a bluish smoke rises
from the frying fat put in some of
the cutlets and fry a golden color.
Drain them well on white paper.
Stick a piece of parsley stalk in
the end of each cutlet and serve them
?n a lace paper.?New York Press.
Maple Foundation.
Put into a saucepan four cupfula
of brown sugar, two cupfuls of maple
syrup, two cupfuls of hot water and a
level teaspoonful of cream of tartar.
Stir over a.slow fire until thoroughly
dissolved, but take care not to boil.
As soon as it is dissolved wipe away
the grains that appear around the
edge of the pan with a damp cloth,
taking care not to jar the pan or let
any moisture from the sides fall back
into it. Now push the pan over the
Are and let it come to a quick boil.
Cook until it makes a soft ball when
nnH ttt ofnr frt toof "R pa
Uiuppcu lUbU ?? MVV,. vv ?VMM
move from the fire and cool very
gradually In the pan In which it was
cooked. Never t^y to hasten the
cooling by setting the pan in the
water. When cool, not cold, stir
energetically until a thick, creamy
mass, then knead with the hands on
a marble slab, the longer the better.
When light and creamy put in an
sarthen dish and cover with a slightly
dampened cloth until ready to use,
which should not be under twentyfour
hours at the least. Then flavor,
shape and make what combinations
with nuts you wish. If kept damp
this fondant will keep for weeks.
Avoid making any kind of fondant on
damp days, as the sugar absorbs the
moisture from the atmosphere and
will not harden. If any fondant
:omes out grainy after being stirred,
cover a'gain with water, stir until
thoroughly dissolved, put on the fire
and cook again.?Washington Star.
Don't forget, fresh meat should b.e
put in boiling water; salt meat into
cold water.
To insure salt being kept out of
the parfait mold never neglect to seal
the crack with a strip of lawn dipped
in melted butter.
A few drops of grain alcohol will
give a beautiful polish to tumblers,
sherbet glasses or to any glass dishes.
It should be added to the rinsing
water.
Parfaits satisfy the family taste
for a frozen dessert without half the
work of freezing. It takes but a few
minutes to crack ice and pack a mold
in salt and ice.Carpets
should be beaten on the
wrong side first and then, more gently,
on the right. Never put a carpet
Hnwn on a damp floor, for this often
results in the carpet becoming mildewed.
Turkey sinews are exceedingly
tough, but If removed from the drumsticks
before cooking, the meat will
be as good as that of the second joint,
considered by some the best part of
the fowl.
Pistachio nuts blanched and shaved
make a sightly and tasty addition to
almost any salad and to many other
dishes. They should be sprinkled
over the salad after it is dressed or
over the custarci or cream wucu n ^
ready to serve.
A bunch of herbs, the "bouque/
garni" of French recipes, consists ot
a few sprigs of parsley, one sprig of
thyme, one of marjoram, one stalk of
celery, a small piece of cinnamon, a
small blade of mace, and a peppcir
pod, tied together with a string.
Lemons are exceeding useful and
wholesome. The rind contains a
highly aromatic essential oil, which
may be utilized by grating the rind,
or by cutting the yellow peel off with
a sharp, thin knife without cutting
into the white. If sugar is to be
used with lemon oil, rub the lemon
with rough lumps of sugar or rub
the lemon on a lp.rcUuak cf loaf
Bugar.
" THE PULPIT^
ft. BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
ADAM MACDONALD REOCH. .
Theme: What Is Tour Life?
Text: For what is your life? It is
even a yapor, that appeareth for a llt[
tie time, and then vanlsheth away.?
James 4:14.
This is an apt metaphor with which
to represent the brevity and. evanescence
of life, but it does not tell the
whole story.
The cloud Trhich the text speaks of
as floating idly in the sky we have imprisoned
in our machinery and compelled
to do mighty thingB. This ca- . * *
pacity o? fleeting vapor for energy
and work well represents the capacity
of the human spirit for inspiration
and service! This constitutes man's
greatest endowment and is the life of
every faculty and attainment. |
Scripture continually speaks of man
as a "vessel" or utensil which depends
for its usefulness and worth apon .the
value of its contents. When noble
Ideals perish our life descends toward
the level of .the brute, just as vapor,
bereft of its heat, turns again to its
nrieinai liauid form, comnaratively
without value.
Life and action carried on in accordance
with true ideals will result j
unfailingly in progress. Too often '
the monotony of life consumes the
energy which should go toward the
realization of our ideals, and when
we stand before the doors of large
opportunities we are overcome with
fear and hesitation.
Man, like the vapor, will never do
his best work except under pressure.
A. brook will bable until it meets the
dam, when it begins to turn the grist
mill. Without a sense of rgBprftislbllity
a man will develop no" force of
character. We should .think of our
responsibilities as opportunities. Life
is most truly described, in the broad
sense, as a great opportunity. That
is the way Jesus looked at it. "Treasure
hid in a field," "a pearl of great
price," "talentsintrusted to servants," ;
these are the similes be used. Tney
all emphasize the element of opportunity.
Life is, in short, the opportunity to
find out; true self, and until we have
done that we can never hope to find
the true God. If a man gain the
whole world and lose himself It profiteth
nothing, for a man can actually
.and permanently possess nothing ex'cept
himself. Is a man entitled^ to
say "I live," simply because he eats
and sleeps and is physically well? A
human life is far more complex. The
first reed pipe gave forth music, but
Its descendant, thp great organ, gives .
forth completed music in which the
other parts are harmonized with the
melody. The complete life is one in
which the religious or spiritual note
gathers into harmony the moral, the
intellectual and the physical elements
in our being, bringing them also into
harmony with God, tlie source and
fountain of liffe.
Could You Pray?
Coming from Chicago one day Defore
I was a saved man, an elevenyear-old
boy made an attempt to
board my train at Hebron and, missing
bis hold, fell under the cars. A
section man pulled him out and laid
him on the platform. The boy made
a grab for his hat that was just beyond
his reach, and then realized that j
his other arm was broken and one
leg gone. He began to beg ns to kill
him. They placed him on a stretcher,
and some one ran for his mother, who jfi
lived just a block away. She came
running.vand as she knelt at his side,
cried:
"My God, Frank, is this you!"
"Yes, mother," he replied, "and > ^
won't you pray for me?"
Wringing her hands, she sobbed:'
"O Frank, I can't pray! I don't know ?
how!"
Tbere on her knees, at the side of
her dying boy, she turned to us and
pleaded for some of us to pray for
him, but we each one had to admit
that we did not know how, and he
died before us without a prayer. I
never shall forget the anguish written
on that poor mother's face. I do
thank God that I have learned to pr^y
since that time and to hold up before
the throne of grace not only my own
children, but those of prayerless parents
about me. .
Poor, But Rich.
A poor blind woman In Paris put
twenty-seven francs into a plate at
a missionary meeting. "You cannot
afford so much," said one. "Yes, sir,
I can." she answered. On being
pressed to explain, she said: "I am
blind, and I said to my fellow-strawworkers,
'How much money do you
spend in a year for oil in yonr lamps
when it is too dark to work nights?'
They replied. 'Twenty-seven francs.'
"So," said the poor woman, "I
* - *1.
round tnat i save so mucu m wa
year because I am blind and do not
need a lamp, and I give it to shed
light to the dark heathen lands."?
Detroit News-Tribune.
____?
Moral Constitution. s ?
Let a man build up his moral constitution
by thinking noble thoughts,
derived from the habitual practice of
reading good books, performing noble
deeds, association with pure worn- *
en and honorable men. Let a man
walk in the spirit and he will not fulfill
the lusts of the flesh.?Rev. William
C. Stinsman.
Jrir
1 -Vi
Beneficent Power. *[2
v .
No matter how insignificant you
may be, you can exert some beneficent
power over the tide and flow of human
passions, and diffuse a calm and
I blessed light on those that tall witnin
! your environment.?Cardinal James
| Gibbons.
A Stronger Assurance.
The faith of the heart is a stronger
assurance than all the visions of the
outward sense. \Vhen fortune smiles '
around me. I may think that I am
happy; when sanctity and love
breathe within me. I know It.
Inspiration of Self.'
I According to what a man is, is the t
j quality and amount of the virtue that
I goes out of him, and he cannot cease
| to impart this peculiar life unless he
! sinks into the lethargy of death.?
Sears.
Rejoice Constantly.
We should not found our praises of
God on things that are far apart in
their occurrence. We should look for ?
His "wonderful works" in those that
I are most constant. Tne rejoicing mat
j is in the Eternal Father should be no
I more suspended than are His bounj
ties.?X. L. Frothingham.
Faith Tliat is Able. x
i Faith is th ' eing able to cleave to
| a power of goodness, appealing to our
i higher and real self and not to our
j lower and apparent self.?Matthew
I Arnold.
i