The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, April 24, 1889, Image 1
VOL. V. MANNING, CLARENDON COUNTY, S. C., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 1889. NO. 20.
HARD TO UNDERSTAND.
Ssrmon by Rev. T. DeWitt Tel.
mage, D. D
Some of the Tough Bible Truths Ez.
plained-The Creation, the Deluge.
the Stopping of the Sun and the
Whale Story - Wherein the 1
!nfidel Blunders -
"Tough Things in the Bible" was the sub
ject of Dr. Talmage's recent sermon-at the
Broklyn Tabernacle, and his text II. Peter,
iii:16: "In which are some things hard to
be understood." Following is the sermon:
The Bible is the most common sense book
in all the world. But there are many things
in it which require explanation. It all de
pends on the mood in which you come to
this grand old book. You may take hold of
the handle of the sword or its sharp edge.
You may employ on its mysteries the rule
of multiplication or substraction. There
are things. as my text suggests, hard to-be
understood, but I shall solve some of them,
hoping to leave upon all honest-minded peo
ple the impression that if four or five of
them can be explained, perhaps they may
all be explained.
Hard thing the first: The'Bible says the
world was created in six days, while geology
says it was hundreds of thousands of years
in process of building. "In the beginning,
God created the heaven and the earth." "In
the beginning." There you can roll in ten
million years if you want to. There is no
Particular date given-no contest between
science and revelation. Though the world
may have been in process of creation for
millions of years, suddenly and quickly,
and in one week, it may !lave been fitted up
for man's residence. Just as a great man
sion may have been many years in building,
and yet in one week it may be curtained
and chandeliered and cushioned and up
holstered for a bride and groom.
You are not comi elled to believe that the
world was made in oir six days. It may
not have been a.day of twenty-four hours,
the day spoken of in the first chapter; it
may have been God's day, and a thousand
years with him are as one day. "And the
evening and the morning were the first
day"-God's day. "And the evening and
the morning were the second day"-God's
day. "And the evening cnd the morning
were the sixth day"-God's day. You and
I living in the seventh day, the Sabbath of
the world, the day of Gospel redemption,
the grandest day of all the week, in whiah
each day may have been made up of thou
sands of years. Can you tell me how a
man can get his mind and soul into such a
blasphemous twist as to scoff at that first
chapter of Genesis, its verses billows of
light surging up from sapphire seas of gloryI
The Bible represents that light was created
on Monday and the sun was not created
until Thursday. Just think of it! a book
deelaring that light was created three days
before the sun shone i Why, don't you
know that heat and electricity emit light
independent of the sun? Besides that,
when the earth was in process of condensa
tion, it was surrounded by thick vapors and
the discharge of many volcanoessin the
primary period, and all this obscuration
may have hindered the light of the sun
from falling on the earth until that Thurs
day morning. Besides that David Brester
and Herschel, the astronomer, and all the
modern men of their class agree in the fact
that the sun is not light, that it is an opaque
mass, that it is only the candlestick that
holds the light, a phosphorescent at
mosphere floating around it and chang
ing, so it is not to be at all won
dered at that not until that Thursday morn
ing its light fell on the earth. Besides that,
the rocks in crystallization emit light. There
is light from a thousand surfaces, the
alkalies, for instance. The metallic bases
emit light. There was a time in the history
of the world when there were thousands of
miles of liquid granite flaming with light.
Besides that, it has been found that there
are burned out volcanoes in other worlds
which, when they were in explosion and
activity, must have cast forth.an insuffer
able light, throwing a glare all over our
earth. Besides that there are the aurora
borealis, and the aurora Aachzhlis. A book
on physical science says:
"Captain Bonnycastle, comlig up the Gulf
of St. Lawrence on tbe 17th ot September,
1826, was aroused by the mate of the vessel
din great alarm from an unusual appearance.
It was a starlight night, when suddenly the
sky became overcast. In the direction of
the. high land of Cornwallis County an in
stantancons and intensely vivid light, re
sembling the aurora, shot out on the hitherto
gloomy and dark sea on the lee bow that was
so brilliant it lighted every thing distinctly,
even to the masthead- The lightspread over
the whole sea between the two shores, and
the waves, which before had been tranquil,
became agitated. Captain Bonnycastle de
scribesa the scene as that of a blazing
sheet of a-ful and most brilliant light
-a long aind vivid line of light that showed
the face of the high frowning land abreast.
The sky became lowering and more intense
ly obscure. Long, tortuous lines of light
showed rmmense numbers of large fish
darting about as if in consternation. The
top-sa'l yard and mizzen boom were lighted
by the glare as if gaslights had been burned
directly below the-n, and until just before
daybreak, at four o'clock, tbe most minute
objiects were distinctly visible." My hearers,
there are ten thousand sources of light be
- sides the light of the sun.
Arnother hard thing: The story of the
deluge and Nah's ark. They say that from
the account there it must have rained eight
hundred feet of water each day in order that
It might be fifteen ccbits above the hills.
They say that the ark could not have been
large enough to contain "two of every sort,"
for there would have been hundreds of
thousands'and hundreds of thousands of
creatures. They say that these creatures
would have come from all lands and all
zones. They say there was only one small
window in the ark, and that would not have
given fresh air to keep the animals inside
the ark from suffocation. They say that the
ark finally landed on a mountain seventeen
thousand feet high. They say they do not
believe the story. Neither do I. Thire is no
such story in the Bible. I will tell you what
the Bible story is. I-must say that I have,
changed my mind in regard to some matters'
which once were to me very mysterious.
They are no more mysterious. This is the
key to the facts. This is the story of an eye
witness, Noah, his story incorporated after
ward by Moses in the account. Noah do
scribed the scene just as it appeared to him.
He saw the flood and he fathomed its depth.
As far as eye could reach everything was
covered up, from horizon to horizon, or, as it
says, "under the whole heaven." He did
not refer to the Sierra Nevadas or to Mount
Washington, for America had not been dis
covered, or, if it had been discovered, ho
could not have seen so far off. He is giving
the testimony of an eye witness. God
speaks after the manner of men when He
says every thing went under, and Noah
speaks after the manner of men when he
say-s every thing did go under. An eye
witness. There is no need of thinking that
the kangare'o leaped the ocean or that the
polar bear came down from the ice.
Why did the deluge come!I It came for
the purpose of destroying the outrageous in
')aabitnts nf the tha thinlypnOpulatedearth.
nearly all the popmlation, probably very
near the ark before it was launched. What
would have been the use of submerging
North and South America. or Europe, or
Africa, when they were not inhabited? And
as to the skeptical suggestion that in order
to have the water as deep as the Bible
states, it must have rained 800 feet every
day, I reply, the Bible distinctly declares
that the most of the flood rose instead
of falling. Before the account where it
says "the windows of heaven were opened,"
it says, "all the fountains of the great deep
were broken up." All geologists agree
in saying that there are caverns in the earth
filled with water, and they rushed forth,
and all the lakes and rivers forsook their
bed. The fountains of the great deep were
broken up, and then the windows of heaven
were opened. Is it a strange thing that we
should be asked to believe in this flood of
the Bible, when geologists tell us that again
and again, and again the dry earth has been
drowned out? Just open your geology, and
you will read of twenty floods. Is it not
strange that infidel scientists, wanting us
to believe in the twenty floods of geological
discovery, should, as soon we, believe in one
flood of the Bible, pronounce us non compos
mentis?
Well, then, another thing, in regard to the
size of the ark. Instead of being a mud
scow, as some of those skeptics would have
us understand, it was a magnificent ship,
nearly as large as the Great Eastern, three
times the size of an ordinary man-of-war.
At the time in the world when ship building
was unknown, God had this vessel con
structed,'whichturned out to be almost in the
same proportions as our staunchest modern
vessels. After thousands of years of ex
perimenting in naval architecture and in
ship carpentery, we have at last got up to
Noah's ark, that ship leading all the fleets
of the world on all the oceans. Well, Noah
saw the animal creation going into this ark.
Be gave the account of an eye-witness.
They were the animals from the region
where he lived, for the most part they were
animals useful to man, and if noxious in
sects or poisonous reptiles went ity it was
only to discipline the patience and to keep
alert the generations after the flood. He
saw them going in. There were a great
number of them, and he gives the account
of an eye-witness. They went in two and
and two of all flesh.
Years ago I was on a steamer on the river
Tay and I came to Perth, Scotland. I got
off and I saw the most wonderful agricul
tural show that I had ever witnessed. There
were horses and cattle such as Rosa Bonheur
never sketched, and there were dogs such
as the loving pencil of Edwin Landseer
never portrayed, and there were sheep and
fowl and creatures of all sorts. Suppose
that "two and two" of all the creatures of
that agricultural show were put upon the
Tay steamer to be transported to Dundee.
and the next day I should be writing home
to America and givipg an account of the oc
currence, I would have used the same
phraseology that Noah used in regard to the
embarkation of the brute creation in the ark
-I would have said that they went in two
and two of every sort. I would not have
meant six hundred thousand. A common
sense man myself, I would suppose that the
people who read the letter were common
sense people.
"But how could you get them into the
ark?" asked infidel scientists. "sow couTd
they be induced to co into the ark? He
would have to piok them out and drive them
in, and coax them in." Could not the same
God who gave instinct to the animal inspire
that instinct to seek for shelter from the
storm? However, nothing more than or
dinary animal instinct was necessary. Have
you never been in the country when an
August thunder storm was coming up and
heard the cattle moan at the bars to'get in?
and seen the affrighted fo-l go upon the
perch at noonday, and heard the affrighted
dog and cat calling at the door, supplicating
entrance? And are you surprised that in
that age of the world, when there were
fewer places of shelter for dumb beasts, at
the muttering and rumbling and flashing
and quaking and darkening of an approach
ing deluge, the animal creation came moan
ing and bleating to the sloping embankment
reaching up to the ancient Great Eastern
and passed in? I have owned horses and
cattle and sheep and dogs, but I never had a
horse or a cow or a sheep or a dog that was
so stupid it did not know enough to come in
when It rain~d. And then, that one window
in the ark which afforded such poor ventila
tion to the creatures there assembled--that
small window In the ark which excites so
muh mirthfulness on the part of infidels.
If they knew as much Hebrew as you could
put on your little flager nail they would have
known that that word translated window
there means window course, a whole range
of lights. Those ignorant infidels do not
know a window pane from twenty
windows. So if there is any criticism of
the ark, there seems to be too much
windows, for such a long storm. And as
to the other charge that the windows of
the ark must have been kept shut and
consequently all inside would have perished
from suffocation, I have to say that there are
people in this heuse to-day who, all the way
from Liverpool to Barnegat lighthouse, and
for two weeks have kept under deck, the
hatches battened down because of the
storm. Some of you, in the old time sailing
vessels, were kept nearly a month with the
hatches down because of some long storm.
Then infidels say that the ark lajided on a
mountain seventeen thousand feet high,
and that, of course, as soon as the animals
came forth they would all be frozen. in the
ice. That Is geographical ignorance!
Ararat Is not merely the name for a moun
ta, but for a hilly district, and it may
have been a hill one hundred feet high, or
five hundred, or a.thousand feet high on
whih the ark slighted., Noah measured
the depth of the water above the'hill, and it
is ifteen cubits, or twenty-seven feet.
Ah! my friends, this story of the ark is
no more incredible than if you should say to
me: "Last summer I was among the hills
of ew England, and there cante on the
most terrific storm I ever saw, and the
whole country was flooded. The waters
came up over the hills, and to savo our lives
we got in a boat on the river, and even the
dumb creatures were so affrighted they
came moaning and bleating until we let them
in the same boat."
We are not dependent upon the Bible for
the story of the flood, entirely. All ages and
all literatures have traditions, broken tradi
ions, indistinct tradi~ions, but still tradi
tions. The old books of the Persians tell
about the flood at the time of Ahriman,
who so polluted the earth that it had to be
washed by a great storm. The traditions
of the Chaldeaus saty that in the time
when Xisutt rus was king there was a great
flood, and be put his family and his
friends In a large vessel and all outside
them were destroyed, and after a while the
birds went forth and they came hack and
their claws were tinged with mud. Lucian
and Ovid, celebrated writers, who had never
seen the Bible, described a flood in the time
of Deucalion. He took his friends Into a
boat, and the animals came running to him
in pairs. So all lands, and all ages, and all*
literatures, seem to) have a broken and in
distinct tradition of a calamity, which
Moses, here incorporating Noah's account,;
so grandly, so beautifully, so accurately, so
solemnly records.
My prayer is that the God who created
the world may create us anew In Christ
Tesus. and that the God who made light
three days before the sun shone may kindle
in our hearts a light that will burn on long
after the sun has expired; and that the God
who ordered the ark built and kept open
more than one hundred years in order that
the antediluvians might enter it for shelter,
may graciously incline us to accept the in
vitation which this morning rose in music
from the throne, saying: "Come thou and
all thy house into the ark."
Another hard thing to be understood:
The story that the sun and moon stood still
to allow Joshua to complete his victory.
Infidel scientists declare that an impossi
bility. But if a man have brain and strength
enough tb make a clock, can he not start it
and stop it, and start it again and stop it
again? If a machinist have strength and
brain enough to make a corn thresher, can
he not start it and stop it, and start it again
and stop it again? If God have strength
and wisdom to make the clock of the uni
verse, the great machinery of the worlds,
has he not strength enough and wisdom
enough to start it and stop it, and start it
again and stop it again? Or stop one wheel,
or stop twenty wheels, or stop allthe wheels?
Is the clock stronger than the clock maker?
Does the corn thresher know more than
the machinist? Is the universe mightier
than its God? But people ask how could
the moon have been seen to stop in the day
time? Well, if you have never seen the
moon in the daytime, it is because you have
not been a very diligent observer of the
heavens. Besides that, it was not necessary
for the world literally to stop. By unusual
refraction of the sun's rays the day might
have been prolonged. So that while the
earth coutinued on its path in the heavens,
it figuratively stopped. You must remember
that these Bible authors used the vernacular
of their own day, just as you and I say the
sun went down. The sun never goes down.
We sim; ly describe what appears to the
human eye. Besides that, the world; our
world, could have literally stippe: without
throving the universe out of balance. Our
world has two motions-the one around the
sun and the other on its own axis. It might
have stopped on its own axis, while at the
same time it kept on its path through the
heavens. So there was no need of stellar
confusion because our world slackened
its speed or entirely stopped in its
revolution on its own axi%. That is none
of the business of Jupiter, or Mars,
or Mercury, or Saturn, or the Dipper.
Beside that, within the memory of man
there have been worlds that were born and
that died. A few years ago astronomers
telegraphed. through the Associated Press,
to all the world-the astronomers from the
city of Washington-that another world had
been discovered. . Within a comparatively
hort space of time, astronomers tell us,
thirteen worlds have burned down. From
their observatory they notice first that the
worlds look like other worlds, then they be
came a deep red, showing they were en fire;
then the became ashen, showing they were
burned down; then they entirely disap
peared, showing that even the ashes were
scattered. Now, I say, if God can start
a world, and swing a world, and
destroy a world, He could stop
one or two of them without a
great deal of exertion, or he could by un
usual refraction of the sun's rays continua
the illumination. But infidel scientists say
it would have been belittling for other
worlds to stop on account of such a battle.
Why, sirs, what Yorktown was for Revo
lutionary times, and what Gettysbiurg was
in our civil contest, and what Sedan was in
the Franco-German war, and what Water
loo was in the Napoleonic destiny-that was
this battle of Joshua against the five allied
armies of Gibeon. It was that battle that
changed the entire course of history. It
was a battle to Joshua as important as
though a battle now should occur in which
England and the United States, and France
and Germany, and Italy, and Turkey and
Russia should fight for victory or annihila
tion. However much any other world,
solar, lunar, or stellar, might be hastened in
its errand of light, it would be excusable if
it lingered in the heavens for a little while
and put down its sheaf of beams and gazed
on such an Armageddon.
In the early part of this century there was
what was called the Dark Day. Some of
these aged men perhaps may remember it.
It is known in history as the "Dark Day."
Workmen at noon went to their homes, and
courts and legislatures adjourned. No
astronomers have ever been able to explain
that dark day. Now, if God can advance
the night earlier than its time, can he not
adjourn the night until after its time? I
often used to hear my father describe a
night-I think he said it was in 1833-when
his neighbors aroused him in great alarm.
All the heavenly bodies seemed to be in
motion. People thought our earth was
coming to its destruction. Tens of thousands
of stars shooting No astronemers have ever
been able to explain that star shooting. Now,
does not your common sense teach you that
if God could start and stoptens of thousands
of worlds or meteors, He could start and
top two worlds? If God can engineer a
train of ten thousand worlds er meteors.
and stop them without accident or collision,
can not He control two carriages of light,
and by putting down a golden brake stop
the sun, and by putting down a silver brake
stop the moon? Under this explanation,
instead of being skeptical about this sublime
passage of the Bible, you will, when you
read It, feel more like going down on your
knees before God as you read: "Sun, stand
thou still above Gibeon, and thou moon in
the valley of A jalon."
Thea there is the Bible statement that a
whale swallowed Jonah and ejected bim
upon the dry ground in three days. If you
will go to the museum at Nantucket, Mass.,
you will find the skeleton of a whale large
enough to swallow a man. I said to the
janitor, while I was standing in the mu
seum: "Why it does not seem from the looks
of this skeleton that the story in the book
of Jonah is so very improbable, does it?"
", no," he replied, "it does not." There
is a cavity in the mouth of the common
whale large enoug'h for a man to live in.
There have been iguarks found again and
again with an entire human body in them.
Besides that, the Bible says nothing about
a whale. It says, "The Lord prepared a
great fish," and there are scientists who
tell us that there were sea monsters in other
days that make the modern whale seem very
insignificant. I know in one place in the
New Testament it speaks of the whale as ap
peting in the occurrence I have just men
tioned, but the word may just as well be
translated "sea monster"-any kind of a sea
monster. Procopius says, in the yearx 532, a
sea monster was slain which had for fifty
years destroyed shuip<. I suppose this sea
monster that took care of Jonah may have
been one of the great sea monsters that
could have easily taken down a prophet, and
he could have lived there three days if he
had kept in motion so as to keep the gastric
juices from taking hold of him and de
stroying him, and at the end of three days
the monster would naturally be sick enough
to regurgitate Jonah. Besides that, my
friends, there Is one word which explains
the whole thing. It says: "The Lord pre
pared a great fish." If a ship carpenter
prepare a vessel to carry Texan beeves to
Glasgow, I suppose 'it can carry Texan
beeves; if a ship carpenter prepare- a vessel
to carry coal to one of the northern ports, I
suppose it can carry coal; if a ship car.
penter prepare a vessel to carry passengers
to Liverpool, I suppose it can carry passen
gers to Liverpool; and if the Lord~ prepared
a fih to car ne npasngoe I annns it
could carry a passenger and the ventilation
have been all right. - W
So all the strange things in the Bible can
be explained if you wish to have them ex,
plained. And you can build them into a
beautiful and heathful fire for your hearth,
or you can with them put your immortal in
terests into conflagration. But you had
better decide about the veracity of the
Bible very soon. I want this morning to
caution you against putting off making up
your mind about- this book. Ever since
1772 there has been great discussion as to
who was the author of Junius Letters,
those letters so full of sarcasm and vituper
ation and power. The whole English nation
stirred. up with it. More than a hundred
volumes written to discuss that question,
"Who was Junius?" "Who wrote the let
ters of Junius?" Well, it is an interesting
question to discuss, but still, after all, it
makes but little practical difference to you
and to me who Junius was, whether Sir
Philip Francis, or Lord Chatham, or John
Horne Tooke, or Horace Walpole, or Henry
Grattan, or any of the forty-four men
who were seriously charged with the
authorship. But it is an absorbing question,
it is a practical question, it is an over
whelming question to you and to me, the
authorship of this Holy Bibe-whether the
Lord God of heaven and earth, or a pack
of dupes, scoundrels or imposters. We can
not afford to adjourn that question a week,
or a day, or an hour, any more than a sea
captain can afford to say: "Well, this is a
very dark night. I have. really lost my bear.
ings; there is a light out there. I don't
know whether it is a lighthouse or a false
light on the shore, I don't know what it is;
but I'll-just go to sleep, and in the morning
I'll find out." In the morning the vessel
might be on the rocks and the beach strewn
with the white faces of the dead crew. The
time for that sea captain to find out about
the lighthouse is before he goes to sleep.
0, my friends. I want you to understand
that in our deliberations about this Bible
we are not at calm anchorage, but we are
rapidly coming toward the coast, coming
with all the furnaces ablaze, coming at the
rate of seventy heart-throbs a minute. and
I must know whether it is going to be har
bor or shipwreck.
I was so glad to read in the papers of the
fact that the steamship Edam had come
safely into harbor. A week before the Per
sian Monarch, plowing its way toward the
Narrows, a hundred mi'es out, saw signals
of distress, bore down upon the vessel, and
found it was the steamship Edam. She had
lost her propeller. She had two hundred
passengers on board. The merciful captain
of the Persian Monarch endeavored to bring
her in, but the tow line broke. He fastened
it again, but the sea was rough and the tow
line broke again. Then the night came on
and the merciful captain of the Persian
Monarch "lay to," thinking in the morning
he could give rescue to the passengers.
The morning carne, but during the night
the steamship Edam had disappeared,
and the captain of the Persian Monarch
brought his vessel into harbor, saying how
sad he felt because he could not give com
plete rescue to -that lost ship. I am glad
that afterward another vessel saw her and
brought her into safety. But when I saw
the story of that steamship Edam drifting,
drifting, drifting, I do not know where, but
with no rudder, no lighthouse, no harbor,
no help, I said: "That is a skeptic, that is
an infidel, drifting, drifting, drifting, not
knowing where he drifts." And then,
when I thought of the Persian Mon
arch anchored in harbor, I said: "That
is a Christian; that is a man who does
all he can on the way, crossing the
see to help others, coming perhaps
through a very rough voyage into the har
bor, there safe and safe forever." Would to
God that there might be some one to -day who
would go forth and bring in these souls that
are drifting. In this assemblage how manx
a score shall I say. or a hundred, or a thou
sand-not quite certjain about the truth of
the Bible, not certain about any thing.
Drifting, drifting, drifting. 0, how I
would like to tow them in! I throw
you this cable. Lay hold of that cable
of the gospel. Lay hold of it. I invite
you all in. The harbor Is wide enough,
large enough for all the shipping. Come in,
0, you wanderers on the deep. Drift no
more, drift no more. Come into the harbor.
See the glorious lighthouse of the gospel,
Peace on earth, good will to men." Come
into the harb or. God grant that it may be
said of all of you who are now drifting in
your unbelief as it might have been said of
the passengers of the steamship Edamn, and
as it was said centuries ago of the wrecked
corn ship of Alexandria, "It came to nass
that they all escaped safe to land."
.AN EXCELLENT PLAN.
How a Chicago .Vudlge Attendi to the
Disagreeable Duties of Life.
"There are many disagreeable things
which occur in the course of a man's life,"
remarked an ex-judge in my hearing the
other day, "and it was to the end that I
might meet the unpleasant duties wvhich
present themselves in the course of my
dealings with men that I appointed a 'duty
day,' on which I did nothing else." Asked
to explain the duties of such an odd day in
the human calendar, the judge continued:
"Well, I had one near the middle of this
month, and I will tell you about a few
thngs which I did that day. In the first
place, I went to a man whose note I had
held almost long enough after maturity to
have it outlawed, and whom I had avoided
speaking to personally about its payment
and gently but firmly gave him the priv
ilege of paying it-all or in part-or giving
a new note, or being sued. In his case,
he had been accommodated so long
on a friendly basis that he 'gently but
firmly' decided to let me 'sue and be dashed.'
Then I went to settle with a lawyer who
had done some work for me over a couple
of years ago, and whose claims for services
-whether little or great-were an unknown
quantity to me. I knew that, if I should
die, it was better to have this little thing
adjusted. I got the bill-he had lost one
ease for me and had won another, and, by
deducting what he had collected from what
it cost to do so, I was enabled to get out
with a comparatively small loss. Then]I
went to an agent to whom I owed past-due
interest, and g ave him a set day when
positively won ld meet it, went from there to
get certain 10 nig-neglected papers from an.
other agent and to soe a party whom I did
not want to see-about a patent of his crea,
tion-but on whom I had promised to call
some time before. All this consumed a day
-a miserable, rainy day-and, though there
was probably not a cent of profit in it, I fell
much better when I lay down to sleep,
knowing that such things had much better
be attended to by one's.self than to be leftI
to an executor who could not possibly un
derstand the facts in the case." The old
judge's remarks made me resolve to adopt
a 'duty day" for myself, and to recommend
it to every man.-Chicago Journal.
-It is not enough that we be constantly
employed; activity should be directed to
worthy ends. There are those who are for.
ever bustling and rushing, and yet never
accomplish any thing. T s
seems to lead an aimless existence, as welt
as the bee that stores the hive with o es,
tiits from flower to Ilowver.-Methodist rro
testant.
-He who foresees~calamitiessffers thelp
twie over.
AN EXTENSIVE SCHEME
BEING HATCHED OUT IN THE MINDS OF
REPUBLICAN LEADERS
To Increase Republican Representation
in Ithe House of Representatives-It is
Proposed to Transfer the Whole Busi
ness of Elections to the Houso from the
States to the Federal Government.
(From the New York Time".)
A correspondent of the Baltimore
News, writing from Chattanooga, Tenn.,
describes a plan that is believed to be on
foot and to have grown out of the recent
visit of Mr. W. W. Dudley to that and
other points in the South According
to this authority, the immediate purpose
of Mr. Dudley's trip was to look into a
bill pending in the Tennessee Legisla
ture for redistricting the State, with the
view to converting the Third Congres
sional District from a Republican to a
Democratic district. In the course of
his inquiries Mr. Dudley ascertained
facts that suggested the expediency of
taking the whole business of elections to
the House of Representatives out of the
hands of the States and into those of the
Federal government. The correspondent
says that Mr. Dudley and other lawyers,
mostly from the North and naturally
Republicans, are engaged in drafting a
bill which will contain the following
provision:
"That Congress shall divide the differ.
ent States into Congressional Districts.
Where State districting is satisfactory
Congress will adopt it without change;
where not satisfactory Congress will re
district the State. The bill- will further
proviie that all elections for Federal
ofilces shall be under the control of the
Federal courts and shall be in charge of
the United States Marshal in whose dis
trict the election shall be held. It is
believed that the Republican representa
tion can be increased by two in Tennes
see, one in Kentucky, two in West Vir
ginia, three in North Carolina, two in
South Carolina, two in Georgia, two in
Alabama, three in Mississippi, one in
Florida, one in Arkansas, one in Louis
iana and one in Texas."
It will be seen that this provides for a
gain in all of twenty-four seats in the
House of Representatives, and it is ex
nected that, in addition to this substan
tial advantage the electoral votes of
Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee
may be added to the Republican column
at the next Presidential election, in
1892.
It is not at all improbable that some
such schemes as this may be hatching
in the minds of the Republican leaders.
It is quite in harmony with the general
idea of Senator Sherman's electoral bill,
and is, in fact, logically a development-of
that idea. The authority for the project
is found in Section 4 of Article II of the
Constitution. which declares: "The
times, places and manner of holding
elections for Senators and Representa
tives shall be prescribed by each State by
the Legislature thereof; but the Con
gress may at any time make or alter
such regulations, except as to the place
of choosing Senators." It is not likely
that there will be any serious obstacle
based on its constitutionality, to the
plan described above. As to its pro
priety or expediency there will be very
strenuous objections. It is perfectly
true that the Legislatures of the various
States have, ever since thefoundation of
the government, been guilty of what is
known as gerrymandering-that is, of
distributing the population of the vari
ous States in such a manner as to secure
as many districts as possible for one
particular party. The method is fa
miliar and simple. It consists in di
viding up the voters of the favored
party into numerous districts in each of
which they will have a safe, but not a
large majority, while the voters of the
other party are concentrated in a small
number of districts in each of which
they will have a large majority. That
such an arrangement is vicious, unjust,
in direct violation of the spirit and
intent of the Constitution, there is no
doubt.
If this wrong conld be remedied by
Congressional action, there is no ques.
tion that it would be a great advantage
to the whole country. But it would not
be. It would, on the contrary, only be
greatly aggravated by transferring the
business to Congress, because the pcliti
cal majority in that body would be con
stantly tempted to commit, on a larger
scae, precisely the wrong that is now
committed in thbe several States. Where
as the wrongs in the States may and do
balance each other in a rough way, ac
cording as one party or the other may
prevail in the Legislatures, the wrongs
perpetrated by the political majority in
Congress would be all on one side. Such
action would give rise to an infinite
amount of dispute and agitation in Con
gress, each party seeking, when it had
the power, to undo what its rival had
done, and to advance its own interests.
Moreover, a comparatively small major
ity in Congress would have the means
of doing a great deal of mischief through
out the whole country, and it would be
ractically impossible to hola the ma
jority party to any direct or effective re
sponsibility. We point out these facts
because it is to the interest of the public
to know them, and because, with the
slight majority held by t?.e Retpublicans
in the House, public opinion may bave
some influence. We have very little
doubt that if the Republican managers
see their way clear to consummating
this scheme, they will do so. It is with
no hope of checking them that the facts
are commented upon. For the'opinion
of decent people Mr. Dudley and his as
sociates have very little respect unless it
cn be enforced. But they arc working
on a v-ery narrow margin, and may be
brought to see that their plan is not
safe.
Not Built That Way.
The most contemptible fellow on the
face of the earth is he who borroweth
and readeth his neighbor's paper, and
trieth to do business without advertising
in the same, but worketh ye editor for a
free $5 puff. Verily, we are not built
in that manner, and if ye would be wise
and prosperous in this generation ad
vertise and divide your "filthy lucre"
with ye printer, but if ye don't ye will
follow a long way behind the procession
in company with the little yellow dog.
Oi1 City, Derrick,
A BABY ON THE TRACK.
The Well-Nigh Miraculous Escape of a
Child from Death Under the Wheels of
a Passenger Train.
(From the Columbia Daily}Register.)
A little child sitting on the railroad
track.
A passenger train sweeping down
upon it at the rate of thirty-five miles an
hour.
These were the factors of what seemed
a certain tragedy which confronted En
gineer Syphen of. the Columbia and
Greenville road, as, with hand on the
throttle and eyes on the track, his train
rounded a curve two miles this side of
Pomaria yesterday afternoon.
What was to be done must be done
promptly, and not an instant was wasted
by this vigilant ,engineer.
To blow the whistle and reverse his
engine, while his fireman put on brakes
as if his life depended on it, was the
work of but a few seconds, but in that
time the rushing train had fearfully
narrowed the space between the child
and the iron horse.
Slowly, it seemed to the anxious en
gineer and fireman, the speed of the
train lessened. The impetus was too
great to stop it before the child was
reached, and surely, but at greatly
slackened speed, it reached and passed
the spot.
Before the train had fairly stopped,
the train employees were off and seeking
the child, fearing to find its dead body
beside the track.
When the whistle blew it had appa
rently turned its head, and right across
the forehead the end of the draw-baron
the pilot of the engine had barely
grazed, and only struck the child with
sufficient force to throw it gently one
side.
When first picked up it was apparently
a little stunned, but the application of a
little cold water brought it to, and by
vigorous cries it gave notice that it was
still in the land of the living.
Meanwhile the parents of the child,
Mr. and Mrs. J. Koon, whose house was
but a few hundred yards from the track,
came rushing to the spot, the mother
nearly distracted and filling the air with
cries that her darling baby was killed.
Naturally both were rejoiced at their
little one's fortunate escape, and the un
conscious two-year old heroine of the
episode was carried home, while the de
layed train resumed its progress to Co
lumbia.
* THE POLITICIAN'S WIFE.
How an Incivility Was Avenged After
Many Years.
WASmNGTON, April 13.--There is a
history attached to the recent awarding
of a foreign mission, according to a
story now going the rounds of the friends
of the gentleman accredited to one of
the European countries. Though an ar
dent politician, he is far from being a
favorite with his party.
Some years ago, when the President
was in the Senate, Mrs. Harrison, in
company with a friend, called at the
house of the. politician, who for many
years past has made his home in Wash
ington, where his wife has been one of
the acknowledged society leaders. At
the time Mrs. Harrison was announced
the hostess was engaged in animated
conversation with a young stripling, a
member of the diplomatic corps, and in
stead of leaving him and turning her
attention to her lady guests, continued
to bestow upon him so much attention
that Mrs. Harrison, after waiting a few
moments, turned to her companion with
the remark that they would go, as their
presence was evidently so unwelcome,
and without further ceremony the two
ladies quitted the house. After that
little episode the intimacy between Mrs.
Harrison and her indifferent hostess
waned.
As soon as the fact of the President's
election was established beyond all ques
tion, he was overwhelmed with congrat
ulatory letters, telegrams and pleasant
messages of all descriptions from the
politician and his wife. The evening of
the President's arrival in Washington,
he found awaiting him in a pile of other
letters one from his former frien-i, urging
him to accept the hospitality of his house
until the inauguration. The first thing
the following morning the wife called
upon Mrs. Harrison at the hotel andl re
iterated her husband's invitation, using
every art of persuasion to induce its ac
ceptance, but without avail. Soon after
this it became whispered about that the
Hon. Mr. Blank was an aspirant for
diplomatic honors, and had set his af
fections upon one of the best missions
in tho gift of the Executive. So the
friends watched and waited, wondering
what would be the outcome of the mat
ter. Finally, in the list of appointments
sent to Congress for confirmation ap
peared Mr. Blank's name, but instead of
the mission upon which bis hopes had
been set, he had beeu accredited to one
of the smallest, most unimportant and
out-of-the-way places on the continent.
So, after all these years, the incivility to
Mrs. Har risoni has teen avenge~d, and
during their residence abroad Mr. and
Mrs. Biank will hereafter take ample
time to meditate upon the wisdom of
entertaining all their guests politely..
THE WAR ON TZE WIRES.
Continuation of the Work of Cutting
sDown the Poles in New York.
NF~w YoRK, April 17.-The work of
cutting down the poles and wires on
Broadway above Fourteenth street pro
ceeded to-day. Berter progress was
made than on yesterday, as there was
no longer any danger from live wires,
and hecause yesterday's experience
tended to facilitate the safe lowering of
poles with less delay than when the
work first begun. On account of the
rain, there were very few people watch
ing the downfall of the wires, but the
most casual observer could not fail to
notice the difference in appearance of
the thoroughfare bereft of its network
of wires.
Cowboys as Car Drivers.
S-r. LoiSs, April 18.-Forty-one cow
boys from ranches ncar Garden City,
Kansas, left Kansas City this morning
for Minneapolis, to take the places of
striking street car men of that city.
More will follow.
A COWBOY CAPTURES A BANK.
The Cashier Thinks it Best to Hand Him
Over the Money.
CHEYENNE, April 15.-A lone cowboy
rode from the plains this morning into
Grover. Colorado, a village on the Qhey
enne and Burlington Railroad. He dis
mounted in front of the Commercial
Bank, and, throwing his bridle rein over
a hitching post, entered the building.
He walked directly to the window of
Cashier C. C. Smith, who tells this story:
"The fellow was as polite as a drum
mer. He smiled at his six-shooter as he
pushed it through the window and" lev
elled it at me. Allowing me an instant
to regain my composure, he inquired if
I would be kind enough to hand him
about all the cash in sight. There was
over $700 in view. I counted him out
$500 in gold and bills. This seemed sat
isfactory, and my visitor was profuse in
his thanks. Then he looked about the
place and said he would like an interest
in the business:
"Seeing a I nchester rifle, which I
keep near the vault for emergencies, he
grew more earnest in manner, and de
manded the weapgn. I handed it out,
butt first, as he ordered. He then
backed to the door, and, leaning the
rifle against the outside wall, placed his
revolver in its holster, landed into his
saddle by a leap from the ground, and,
putting spars to his horse, was off at
furious speed."
There were six persons in the bank at the
time, but the cowboy did his business so
quietly and so expeditiously that he at
tracted no attention. Cashier Smith ran
into the street as soon as he could, and
seizing the Winchester, began firing at
the rapidly moving horseman. The fel
low ducked in regular Indian style, and
cut loose with a cowboy yell at every
crack of the rifle. Smith is a poor shot
at best, and in his excitement to-day
failed to hit even so large a target as the
horse. A posse of twelve men are now
in pursuit of the bandit.
DIED IN HIS 110TH YEAR.
"Uncle Johnnie Fielder," a Soldier Over
30 Years Old in the War of 1812.
"Uncle Johnnie Fielder" was buried
at Nazareth last Saturday, having died
at his home in Laurens County. He
would have been 110 years old in May.
Four generations were present at his
funeral. His last visit to our town was
in May, 1881, when the Morgan monu
ment was unveiled. He was then in his
102d year. His birth carries us back
through the whole of our national his
tory. In 177P our country was entering
the darkest days of their long struggle
for a separate nationality. Presidents
and Congresses were only a dream. The
white population of the whole country
was less than is now found in three of
our largest cities. Washington's inau
guration as first President of the United
States came when Uncle Johnnie was 10
years old. He was a soldier over 30
years old in the war of 1812 and he was
considered an old man when the Mexi
can troubles began in 1847.-Carolina
Spartan.
REVIVINGAN OLD RUMOR.
The Reported Scheme to Capture Lower
California Again.
Los ANGELES, April 15.-There is an
authenticated report of a scheme to cap
ture Lower California. A reporter yes
terday found two gentlemen who had
been asked to join in the undertaking.
They are Grand Army men, well known
and reliable. At their request their
names are not given, but if it becomes
ecessary their identity can be estab
lished.
One of them occupies an official posi
tion in this city, and the other is a well
known capitalist. One said: "Yes, sir;
I think there is a sche'ne to capture the
loer peninsula, and if the plan is as
well organized and has the powerful
backing that the members claim for it,
they will make considerable trouble for
Mexico. I was asked to join and was
offered suitable rank and pay. Of course
would have nothing to do with such a
scheme, and did not want to know too
much about it."
The second gentleman, when interro
gated, admitted that the same offer was
made to him. The scheme is being
worked through a secret order, which
has a large membership through the
South. He said:
"They are well organized and number
now over 1,000 men in the military de
partment. The civil department takes
in many prominent and influential men.
refused to have anything to do with
the scheme, but expect to hear from it
before long.
"Any one who has watched the pro
gress of things on the peninsula during
he last year and who has known of the
cistence of this society can easily see
that trouble is brewing."
A DRUKEN MrTLTIONAIRE.
His Wife Will Make It Warm for the
Saloon Men Who Sell Him Drink.
MICriAN CHTY, ind-, April 14. -s
W. O. Leeds, wife of one of the richest
men in Indiana. has secured evidence
h t nineteen saloon keepers in Michi
.an City have sold liquor to her husband
-i .eae tfter she ha,, in accordance
w~th th. 1aw, forcaaiy notified them not
t do so T he notices were served by
r in pers~on. Mrs. Leeds attributes
Mr. Leeds's drinking hnabits to the influ
ence of politcians and s~doou men, who
have fastened themselves upon him.
Mrs. Leeds says she pr'oposes to have
the saloou keepers suffer from $10 to
$100 for every arimk sold to Mr. Leeds
after notice was given. Her investiga
tion showed incidentally that out of
sit-five places in Michigan City where
liquor is sold only fifty one are licensed.
She intends to have the unlicensed four
teen forced to close. Mrs. Leeds adds:
"I'm not a prohibitionist; i'm a tem
perance woman. i've told them in one
place in town that Mr. Leeds can go in
there and take his beer, but he must not
take too much, and they must not sell
him too much." Mrs. Leeds is well sup
plied with money, and looks like a de
termined woman. The saloon keepers
do not appear to be worried. It is
rumored that Mr. Leeds has promised
to stand back of them in any proceed
ings and supply the sinews of war. The
amount of money he can control is esti
mted to be $5.000.000.