University of South Carolina Libraries
THE WATEREE MESSENGER , Published Every Tuesday by CIIAS. W. BIRCHMORE, Prop. Subscription $1.50 A Year in Advance Entered as Sccond Class Matter at the Postofficc at Camden. S. C. Tuesday, November 13, 1S>28. HOOVER ELECTED In the presidential election helJ last Tuesday the republican party was successful, Herbert Hoover, their can didate, being elected by the laigest vote ever given a presidential nom inee. From the first the chances for Gov. Smith, the outstanding demo cratic candidate, were slim, for there were so many agencies operating a gainst him. ; Many unreasonable charges were brought against him be cause of his religion, he being a Roman Catholic. This should not have had any influence, for the cath olics are good people ami as patriotic as those of other denominations. There were some who were fooli?h ert,mrh to beluve ihai the pope would move into the White House and take charge of the country. Many unkind and untruthful things were said of Gov. Smith because lie was a catholic. Then there were those in the demo cratic ranks who believed that he would have power, and wou'd use that power to repeal the 1 St h amend ment. We did not like his views on the prohibition question, but we ad mired his absolute honesty and be cause he was the overwhelming choit\ of the democratic convention we sup ported him heaVtily an 1 desired .his election, for we believed then and believe now, that he would have made a great president, and his administra tion would have been an outstanding one. But the religious intolerance, manifested s0 greatly, along with oth er movements for his defeat, it is n wonder that he got as great a vote as he did. One thing we are proud of, is that Kershaw county gave him a practical ly solid vote and our great state was overwhelmingly in his behalf. Several southern states, however, went repub lican. Florida, North .Carolina and Texas are among those that are now linod up with the republican party. The attitude of Mr. Hoover since his election, has been very commend able, and he will no doubt make good president, and we would, see him have all the cooperation in his great responsibility as possible. CAN'T PROTECT CARELESS MOTORISTS The results of well directed, sys tematic safety education and practice lire well illustrated by the fact that the railroads have reduced fatal acci dents to employes 57 per cent during the last 15 years. While this is true of railroad em ployes, President Crowley of tho New York Central Lines, points out thnt accidents at railroad grade crossings have greatly increased during the same period, due to carelessness of automobile drivers. "Safety work was first undertaken on the railroads in 1913," says Mr Crowley. In that year 3,353 employ es were killed and 170.231) injured. In 1927, after 11 years of earnest effort to prevent accidents, including con stant urging of employes to be care ful, 1,427 employes were killed and 83.H83 injured. That is, by system atic effort, the number of employes killed was reduced 57 per cent and the number injured 51 per cent, although the business 0f the railroads greftly increased during that time. "In startling contrast with this en couraging showing is the fact tint the number of persons killed at high way crossings on the railroads in 1913 was 1,125, while in I9S7 the total had increased to 2.371." The railroad companies have ef fectively reached their employes, while automobile drivers continue, through pheer carelessness or disre gard of adequate warnings and safety devices, to contribute to the list of grade crossing fatalities. TWELVE BILLION A YEAR. According to the National Industri al Council, authoritative estimates state that the annual outlay for public expenditures in the United States has passed the 12 billion dollar mark. It is said, further, that spending of the majority ()f this sum is controlled by stnte and local governments. Within the space of a few years governmental expenditures have reached proportions that would form erly have seemed the wildest flight of fancy. State, county and munici pal governments seem each trying to outdo the other. As the Industrial Council points Out, what is needed is greater effici ency; better budget methods, improv ed borrowing practices, reorganization And economic improvement in the vArtouD departments of local govern ? in such ways as these can ' expenditures and taxes be lowered. DII) GOOD WORK A detective from Gov. Richards' , office, J. \V. Richardson, and a form er Columbia detective, now located in 1 Atlanta, Ga., John W. Lowe, did sonic mighty good work last week. Some nights ago Detective Bickley at the Jefferson hotel, was called out to a car which contained three passengers, two men and a woman, and was shot down and instantly killed. They then sped away in the car and for soem time it appeared that they had suc ceeded in making their escape com plete. The hotel management offered a reward which was supplemented by a very substantial one by Gov. Richards. Last week a man and a woman were arrested in Atlanta, Ga., charged with being occupants of the car, and after their arrest made a confession of the horrible crime and implicated C. R. Vaughan, formerly of Jacksonville, Fla. The man and woman were brought to Columbia and are being kept in the penitentiary. The detectives also captured the death car and the pistol that was used 11 committing this foul murder, and at this writing are closing in on Vaughan who is said to be the one of the trio who shot and killed the detective, lie will hardly make good his escape, f< r a nation wide search is being made for his capture. A VIOLATION OF LAW. It is a violation of law to mal<<" statements about the condition of batiks, which are liable to cause a run on a bank, yet this seems to have happened in the lower part of the state renntly. Several banks closed their doors, and in at least ne in stance the statement was made : a it false reports about the eon Jit-ion of the bank was made outside of th county and this caused chose who had money in the hank to begin t? with draw it, and after two days of this the directors decided to close the bank in order to prottct the depositors. It is never ju-tifiahlc to make false statements about any institution, and if the parties who started the false statements about banks could he de tected and punished as they deserve to be, it would be a great help to any community. We imagine that co! 1-ctions at most of tike banks have not been any too good, hut as a rule they are secure and are rendering a pient service in their efforts not only -o protect their own interests hut the interests of their patrons. Flip pant remarks some times prove rath er costly, and with regard to banks lis a violation of the laws of the state. ALL FIRES PREVENT ABLE. The majority of fires result frcm hazards that could have been lemoved at the beginning, at a small cost or .vith a little caution. Hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of lives arc destroyed each year because of ignorance or carelessness. The unpreventable fire is almost non-existent. The chi?.f causes of conflagrations are defective chim neys and flues, carelessly handled matches and cigarettes, defective wir ing and electrical equipment. It is better to prevent fires than to extinguish them after tht y have lone their damage. It should be the ivie duty of every citizen to see that .!. possible fire risks under his con rol are regularly inspected and made safe. WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL GOLD EN RI LE SUNDAY? In the autumn of 1023 an interna tional group of social workers, moot ing in Geneva, Switze rland, expressed despair of educating the world to ?ho better day of brotherhood thr.i-ig'i the customary persuasions of war and dip lomacy. Yet the aim was so infinitely to be desired! Could the persuasion of the Golden Rule be- made effec.i - e ?? If on an appointed day, say the first Sunday in December, th< whole world should sit at a common table, eat bread and salt and think of the iuing ry and the sorrowing and make a donation for their aid, would not a great advance1 be made in nravtica! religion. The idea find the imagina-im of the world. Presidents, kind's : r.d premiers; the Pope, religious le and Patriarchs; powerful financier*, influential statesmen, < ducat'u , labor leaders, approved and led frieii l.< ?' ro followers to ? community of thought and feeling such as this old r >;in I earth has never known. On tin third anniversary of International Golden Rule Sunday fifty-three countries united in its observance and contrib uted to the near Kast Relief orphans who nre the foremost beneficiaries. The day falls on December 5? this year. FARM GOSSIP Jack Frost is a great pulverizer of fall plowed soils. The time to get rid of grain smuts is before sowing the seed. Farmers pay cash to insure farm building!* and then fail to store cot ton baleg to initure quality. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON November 18, 1928. Paul in Jerusalem Tex^: Acts 21:17-23:35. So much ground is covered by \^he chapters assigned for this date that one may only hope to touch the high spots in the lesson period. There are many spiritual lights in these experi ences of Paul' and a careful study of these three chapters will yield a rich reward to the earnest student. Let us recall the sorrowful farewell spoken on the beach, the hot tears, and fond embraces as Paul left tlv devoted believers at Ephesus (ch. 20). The feeling seemed to be present in every heart that they would nevei meu again on earth. A speedy voy age is recorded, and the first recorded incident of note occurred at Tyr< (21:1), where the ship tarried seven days. IL re Paul was surrounded b;. Christians who said "through tht Spirit that lie should not go up t. Jerusalem" (cf. 20:22-"23). Paul's motive in desiring to <;() ; Jerusalem was doubtless his affec tion for the Jews (Horn. <J:l-2"?). I is difficult to understand the stat ment of v. 1 as meaning that it wa the voice only of human affection that warned Paul "not to go up to Tecu salem" (lit. "not t,> set font insid< of Jerusalem" >. We are plainly told that it was "through th- Spirit." Pan later admits (22:17-18) that 1k> wa> v .irned of Christ to leave Jerusalem at once. \\ e must stick to plain words, though we part company with some of the commentators who would represent Paul as a pi r feet man. It is difficult t() know the differ ence between the voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice of our own spir its (2ft:U). A (*hristian may have tin sincerest motives and. be misled Simetimes men take queer methods of getting guidance, such as casting lots, opening the Bible at random or de pending upon d-eams or sudden im pr. ssions. No action of great impor tance should be taken unless we are sure that we have seen from heaven the light of Ciod's approval on our way. This means faking time to pray and nuditate. Paul went on his way. At Caesar ea they tarried again. There he met Agabus, a prophet (v. 11; cf. 11:27 30), who ''took Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver Him into the hands of the Gentiles." This waVning was even more definite than the previous one. It is God's way to make things clearer as we go on. Does it not seem that the voice of the Holy Spirit was clearly protesting against the act of this devoted servant of Christ? The people "besought him not to go" (v. 12). The commentators come to the rescue and explain that Agabus did not forbid, but merely, through the Spirit warned Paul that he was going to have a hard time. In our day, we would say ? "a joy killer," "ca la m i t y-h owl e r . " But the best judges of what Aga bus meant are those who were present They interpreted his word as a warn ing of Gofl that Paul should not go ? that he should' avert unnecessary peril and prolong his usefulness. Paul n.eded no one to tell him he was getting into trouble. Already he had been given a premonition of it (20:22). Furthermore, it is not like God to keep taunting His child, un less it is to change his course. When one is in the absolute will of God, it is His usual way to divert His servf^t's mind from future perils. n ready not to be bound only," say,. . ..ul. ''but also to die. . . for the name of the Lord Jesus" (v. 13). We cannot help admiring the splendor of hi-! heroism. For twenty years ho had known nothing but persecution an.-l therefore gave lottle thought to it now. More than once, he had been in the grip of death (2 Cor. 11:23). "When he would not be persuaded" tlie Christians said: "The will of the Lord be done'' (v. 1-1). We can only judge by the fruit. It is striking that there is no record of the conversion of unbelievers at Jerusalem; that Paul got. upon Jewish ground, coni P" mising hiu testimony ami ending his missionary work, and that he lan guished in prison two years, after which he was sent to Rome in chains. He arrives at Jerusalem and re ceives a warm welcome from believers (v. I '). I he day following, he put his foot into a snare. It had been rumored, he was told, that he was opposed to thetMosaic law. In ord' r to quiet this talk, why not enter into a vow with four men? Then "all may know that those things whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing" v. 21). What a chance to make good with the Jews! Take a Nazarite vow (Num.' ft) and enter upon ceremonial purification, a cere mony lasting seven days! The ad vice was well meant, but it wns of doubtful policy. It was meant to save Paul ? but it didn't. It was meant to gain the Jews? but it didn't. It was meant to recommend Christianity?but it didn't. I GOAL OF REQ GROSS ANNUAL ROLL CALL f 5,000,000 MEMBERS a ?4 (Disaster Relief and Work for Vet erans Cause Heavy Drain on Resources. In order to enable the American Rod Cross to carry on Its broad notivl tie 3, ranging from service to the world war veteran to Instant response In time of disaster, a membership of r>. iioo. 000 should be enrolled, and In this year of 1928-1929 that Is the goal sel 'lor the twelfth nnnnal roll call, to be hold from November 11 to 29. Armis tire to Thanksgiving Day. John Barton Payne, chairman of the American Red Cross at Washington, in calling upon the nation for 5,000.000 I a lult members, directs attention to ? tiie great expenditures required of the tiled Cross for disaster and veteran re hlef work, and for Its many other ac tivities devoted to health preservation and improvement and to cutting down | ho number of accidental deaths, through life saving and llrst aid oourses. "The Red Cross should at all times have a large reserve fund." Judge l'ayne slated, "because when disaster strikes, and this organization Is called Into instant action, there Is no time to i.top and raise funds. Dollars may m- "t lives, so we should have at all times a good reserve. We lu.ve been to reed each year to draw upon our ?reserves, and wo lind that the de mands are increasing annually." Judge l'ayne pointed out that In the fiscal year of 1927-26, the Rod Cross had extended aid In GG major catastro phes lu tho United States and Its Insular possessions, and lu 22 nations abroad. This does not Include the '"West Indies hurricane disaster in {Porto Rico and Florida, which oc curred after the close of the Red Cross liscal year, June 30, 192S. Tho Red Cross expenditures for dis aster In that period were $16,544, 253.87, of which approximately $13. 000,000 was expended in the Missis sippi Valley for tho flood relief work, which canto from a fund contributed by tho public. More than $1,000,000 ?was expended in the St. Louis tornado damage, and more than $1,000,000 In New England. In both cases public relief funds were raised, although In No# Englaud tho Red Cross contribu ted in excess of $500,000 from Its own funds for tho relief work. In the ma Jority of tho other 06 disasters, and In all of tho 22 foreign catastrophes In which the Red Cross extended aid, the money came from Its own re sources. The largest Item In the annual bud get offlTo Rod Cross Is for its veteran relief and work for disabled ex-sorvice and service men, upon which It ex ponded in this year $1,1G9,795. Every man and woman Is asked by Juilgo Pnyue to Join tho Red Cross during the roll call period, to aid in those hum.-!- ? nil enterprises. Good men may give very bad advice and may even take false steps in defense of the Gospel. It is of little use to devise any schemes to silenca wgging tongues. Why fuss with critics who do not care to be convinc ed ? (1 Pet. 2:111-23). We certainly cannot prove our orthodoxy to men by going through religious forms for their benefit. Let us be true to Christ and go on our way of serving others. God wll take care of the reputation. Paul went through the ceremony (v. 2G). The result ? he was arrest ed (v. 27). In characteristic .Jewish fashion, the people didn't even hesi tate to interrupt a religious service in order to lay hands on Paul. En gaged in a non essential ccremony, in the attempt to gain favor! Was it worth while? Put for the chief of police, Paul would have been mobbed (vs. 31-32). As he was taken into custody, tho cry for Mood rang out: - "Away with him" (v. 30). Standing upon the castle stairs, Paul was given leave to say a few words to the people (v. 40). The next chapter records his address in which he recited the marv< lous story of his conversion and call to service. Then he came to the subject of his call to preach to the Gentiles (22:21). That moment all rr ason or reverence ..is overborne in the outburst of rage, .halousy that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the promises flamed lip. They threw dust in the air and tore up their clothes to express their indignat ion. Again Paul was saved from them only by an appeal to his Roman cit izenship (22:24-26). No earthquake came to his deliverance now*; no an gels led him out. He devised his own shelter. He took the only lawful means at hand to protect himself. We should not depreciate the benefits of earthly citizenship, nor forget that there are many dark places through which it cannot take us. The privi lege of a heavenly citizenship brings ns all that is desired (Phil. 3:20). Standing before the council, Paul pleaded his own case. Almost 25 years before, he had endorsed that very council's persecution of Stephen (Acts 0:12). It was al?o the very snot where Christ had stood when Caiapha* pronounced him worthy of Telephone service, - a public trust THE widespread ownership of the Bell Telephone System places an obligation on its management to guard the savings of its hundreds of thousands of Stockholders. Its responsibility for so large a part of the country*! telephone service imposes an obligation that the serving shall always be adequate, dependable and satisfa<Sory to the user. The only sound policy that will meet these^obliga tions is to continue to furnish the beSt possible service at the lowe?t coSt consistent with financial safety. There is then in the Bell SyStem no incentive to earn speculative or large profits. Earnings muSt be sufficient to assure the beSt possible service and the financial integrityof the business. Anything in excess of these requirements goes toward extending the service or keeping down the rates. This is fundamental in the policy of the company. The Bell System's ideal is the same as that of the public it serves---the moSt telephone service and the be?, at the leaSt coSt to the user. It accepts its responsibility for a nation-wide telephone service as a public truSL SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY Incorporated, WILSE W. MARTIN HARNESS and SADDLE MAKKK Wholesale 1 eather and Shoo Findings Auto Ton Maker and Kepairei HIDE DEALER I ' 1 4 - 1 6- 1 >! Hampton St. Phone 6820 COLUMBIA. S. C death (Mt. 2C> :,">7). "Men and brethren," he began, "I have lived in all Rood conscience" (23: 1). His hearers looked upon him as an apostate.'. They could not tolerate this assertion of innocence (v. 2). Perhaps also they were offended hy the way he looked them in the eye ( v. 1). At the high priest's com ma:. d, someone struck Paul across the mouth. "God 8hall smite thee, thou whited wall," said Paul in sudden anger (v. 3). We will grant that Ananias rich ly deserved the title. Sitting there in his white robe, Jehovah's repre sentative, he was little more than mud , daubed with whiti wash. ''Decorated hypocrite" was a choice name for him. It is remarkable that such a f i 1 1 i n K name came to Paul's mind while he had a chance to use it. But ? was Paul right? Was the passion with which his remarks were 'accompanied, the fruit of close fel lowship With the Lord? We fear int. Kvidently he had a lively temper. Re call the "paroxysm" with Marimbas. The commentators need not try to fix it up for Maul. We ne< d not think he was perfect. Where is there any man it the Mible who was the equal of his divine Master? Kven the ? x cellence of Paul comes short of our Lord's behavior, "who when lie suf fered, threatned not, and when lie was reviled, reviled not again." Maul's ready apology is evidence enough of his mistake (v. f>). He re cognized lhat be had done an unscrip tural thing. A Christian must al J ways be courteous. A man is a truly great man who can humbly apologize to one who has done him a gr at wrong. That is Christianity. In Paul's letter to the Romans (HI: I -7) I he teaches our duty toward the prop erly constituted rulers, corruct as they may bo. God often tests us by giving us hard masters. We lose t he opportunity of proving the reality f our religion when we ''fly off the handle.'' Paul next saw his opportunity to throw thn whole assembly into an uproar by playing their party spirit. There were both Saddueees and Hhar isees present. "I. am a Mharisee," he said, and immediately the Mharisees began to give battle tf the Sadducees on the question of resurrection (vs. 0-7). This would be considered good politics, but from the Christian stand point, \vt cannot help questioning Paul's method. Paul himself later had some question in his min I as to his course (21:20-21). How could he describe himself a Pharisee when he knew he had utterly and permanently broken with them? It was a clever device for starting a riot. Again watch the result he nearly lost his life. Such a rumpus was stirred up that it was necessary to call out th? reserves (vs. K-10). With Pharisees pulling at his feet and Sadducces tirrging at his arms, he would have been pulled in two had not the police emkv't tlx t n k ' I war. lie was probably a wiser and a taller man after this experience. Did Paul become dnwnhvuiT 1? How good of the Lord to come and stand by him and whisper a word of cheer into his spiritual ear (v. II! Cheer up, Paul "thou must bear witness at Rome." (!od could over rule all thes" secular events to give Paul an opportunity to witness, lie slv>uld have his desire to go to Rome fulfilled (Rom. !:!? I'l) and the gov ernment should pay his traveling ex - penses. Forty Jews handed themselves to gether under a curse to ki Inap Paul from the authorities and make short work of him (v. l'J). The plot lell through because f 1 permitted Paul's sister's son to overhear th< plot and reveal it to the officer- (v. 1 <? ) . It was a minor part in Cod's urogram, but necessary, and well taken. Cod can use a young man to up-ei mighty calculat ions ? > f the ?devil. How little wr know the worth of this little deed in Christ's name. This youth secured for the church a rich legacy of ^n r iliiol li ! ? ? r :i t tire. Had the conspirator- won. 1 li ? ? prison epistles of Paul wou'l not h:ive been written. I ,<? t us b willing to be just a cog in life's vast wheel. I.et us lo the small deed for the goo I of our fellow man. Mt'-rna) is-mes may hang upon it. The devil's agents may be outwitted. A rich reward may be won for our faithful and humble ser vice. South Carolina's percentage of the Annual loss of $<>0,000,000 from forests, fir; is inexcusably great. Frank Farmer says: "I have quit growing corn to feed weevils in tho bin; carbon bisulphide is to() cheap."