Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Calm age Sermon By Rev. Frank De Witt Talmatfe, D. D. erty. " e can say that the Bible should be driven out of the public schools. We can demand that no session of the national legislature shall be opened with prayer. We can place upon the statute books the statement: •The I’nited States government is entirely a human government. No divine hand is today ( guiding the helm of state. Therefore no name of God and no prayer to any God shall ever be heard in any of its; legislative buildings or public halls. We. the people of this fair land, can decree that hereafter we can attend to our business. We will make no public recognition of an overruling Divine i Providence.’ ” My friends, as intelligent Americans, | have you not recognized the fact that the infidels, the agnostics, the atheists, the deists and all those who would Los Angeles, Cal., July 24.—With the national conventions as a theme and an oriental fable as a text the preacher makes some timely reflections on cer tain evils that afflict our politics and threaten the well being of government and people. The text is Judges lx, 14, “Then said all the trees unto the brain-, ble. Come, thou, and reign over us.” j This is the year of great national conventions. The Republican party lent its representatives last June to Chicago to nominate their candidate for the presidency of the I’nited States. The Democratic party this month met in bt. Louis to nominate their candi- late for the same office. The Prohibi- ion party, the Populist party, the La bor party, all have had their conven tions and nominated their leaders. Thus the first great political battle for aatlonal office in America is not fought jver the ballot box at the November jolls, but in convention ball. There the different political parties agree imong themselves on which of their members shall be chosen as the stand- »rd bearer of their party’s principles. We, as intelligent men and women, are moral principles. I claim that as edu- composed of the worshipers of wealth. When the members of this faction rise to make their nominating speeches we see that the speakers’ teeth are all of gold, and their arms are of gold, and their hair Is of gold, and their legs are of gold. Their fingers are of gold, though they have gold rings upon those . ogers. Their necks also are of gold, though the collars around those necks are of pure gold. Their feet are of gold, though the shoes which cover those feet are out made of leather, but of goid. By the old Homan law a man could not vote unless he was a pro- erty owner and his property was vniued. I believe, at something like in our money. Today there is a tendency not so much to restrict the vote in presidential elections to the property owner as to those who either own gold or can be influenced by the deny public recognition of God are try-: Ing to drive out the Almighty from the prospect of getting gold control of our public life? What is the meaning of the movement that has ac complished this one fact? There is hardly a state college in all this land where the Bible is now studied as a text book. In all those different schools the faculty makes provision for the teaching of English belles lettres. They are willing to teach Grecian and Ho man and Scythian ami Alexandrian and Asiatic mythologies. They are If gold is not becoming a great fac-; tor in American political life, what was the meaning of the sudden change of American sentiment in reference to war when, in 18U4, Grover Cleveland, president of the United States, drifted dangerously near to war with Great Britain? When the president’s demand that the British government submit its dispute with Venezuela to arbitra tion was first learned, there was an willing to teach Buddhism, Confucian- Dutburst of approval of his daring ism. Brahmanism and all other isms, but they are not willing to teach who i Jesus Ghrisi was and is and for what! the gospel of Jesus Christ stands. Now, for my part, while 1 hold that; denominationalism ought never to be | taught in a state institution, I contend that no young man is properly edueat- S ed who has not been made familiar! with the Bible and its religious and conversant with the struggles which the different political parties made in late convention halls. It is not inap propriate, therefore, for us to take as jur sermonic theme today the vision which Jotbam had when all the trees jf the forest came together in conven tion in the valley of Sheehem, with the blue dome of the heavens for a roof, and selected the useless, destroying bramble as their king. This famous parable or fable of Jotham was truly realistic in more ways than one. Kor a convention of trees it had a perfect topographic set ting. Un the southern side of this fa mous valley is mighty Mount Gerizim. On the northern side hoary headed Mount Ebal lifts its seared and wrin kled faee. These two mountains as sounding boards tossed the echoing voices of the cheering delegates back ward and forward. Here the gurgling waters of many fountains sounded a musical accompaniment to the mur- murings of many voices trying to win votes for their favorite sons. Isaiah, in prophecy, saw “till the trees of the fields clap their hands.” Jotham. in vision, saw the trees, as convention delegates, with moving hands, moving feet, moving lips and sparkling eyes. Their rustle was to him articulate speech. Their branches were out stretched anus. Their names were y^nbols to him of honor and truth or ordishonor and disgrace. Hardly had this great convention of trees assembled in the valley of She- chom to select a king than it became self evident that the great majority of the delegates were ready to be stam peded for one tree. “Come,” the ma jority cried, “come, let us make the olive tree our king'.” To Jotham the olive was the symbol of strength and wealth and power as well as of heal ing. But the olive tree would not be come king. It declined the scepter of kingship over the trees. Then this great convention wanted to elect the fig tree king. The delegates next of fered the nomination for rulershlp to the vine, whose rich blood had made the vineyards of Sheehem famous. But tin* fig tree and the vine Ixdli refused the scepter of the forest, even as 'Wil liam T. Sberjuan, when his friends wanted to mTffiinate him for the presi dency, replied: “I will not accept your offer. If I am spoken of in yonder con vention hall, tell my friends I am not a candidate. If I am nominated, I will not accept the nomination and will not run. If I am elected. I will not serve. I am a soldier, not a statesman; a war rior, not a politician.” Thf- Mad Kl«'nn*iit» Hot Control. But in this Jotham parable, after the olive and the fig and vine had all re fused the scepter, the worst elements got control of the convention hall Then these bad elements said to each other: “Let us nominate a king after our own spirit. Let us make the curse of the field our king. Hail, bramble! King Bramble! Hail, bramble, our fu ture ruler!” As the undesirable ele ment of the old Federalists nearly stain peded congress in ITbfl to elect Aaron Burr president of the United States, so the evil elements of Jotham’s parable stampeded the convention of trees in the valley of Sheehem and elected the worthless bramble king. Jotham’s purpose In this parable was to show a danger which menaced his own country and has menaced our country all through its history. There have been in the past, as there are to day, men who conspire to get control of the political parties in order that they may nominate men utterly unfit for the high office of the presidency of the United States. Thank God, they have not succeeded yet, for the men who have been nominated by the vari ous parties are rn<*n of high character and sterling worth. But we need to lie on our guard against the conspirators, who will never cease their efforts to win that great prize. I,et us identify them, that we may sedulous!} guard against their insidious attacks. First among the Satanic eonsplraton- %re the infidels. They say: “We can not tight God in the open. We cannot as yet blot off the American silver dol lar the sentence, ‘In God we trust.’ But we can plead for so calk'd religious lib catt*d men and women it is just as im portant to know who were Moses and Joshua and David as who were Shakespeare and Burns and Walter Scott and Goethe and Victor Hugo. I claim that it is more important edu cationally to know who Jesus Christ is than who Mohammed was and what was the cause of the Trojan war. If the atheistic elements of this country are not trying to get possession of this government, why did certain infidel newspapers a few years ago denounce the presidential act of taking the oath of office upon the leaves of an open Bible? They claimed that, as the government had no established church, therefore the president elect had no right to render allegiance to any one particular God. Men who write sophistries of this kind are enemies whom we cannot afford to deride. They masquerade under the banner of “free thought,” and they appeal to the intellectual pride which flourishes among uneducated or half educated elements in our population. Do not imagine that they are despicable op-1 ponents or that there is no danger of their ever electing a president of the American people. I tell you that to day the church as well as the people at large should recognize the evil in fluences which are working under neath us and all about us to render this a godless nation and to exclude all recognition of God from the acts and policy of the United States. Tin- “Bramble of Free Tlioniclit.” I would especially plead with the American people to fight the evil “bramble of free thought,” because re sistance to God is the spirit of anarchy, which, when developed, becomes social and political anarchy ami is subversive of every form of civil government. When under the teaching of that great infidel Voltaire the churches of 1’aris were closed and a harlot dressed in gor geous robes and seated upon a gilded throne was carried about the French capital and worshiped, then the “reign of terror”‘was at hand. Where were the bullets of the slayer of Garfield and of the slayer of William McKinley molded? Amid the hot, hissing flames of a fire started in the attempt to bum up the throne of God! You never saw in your life* an anarchist who was not it heart an infidel. Furthermore, you never studied the history of a stable form of earthly government which did not first give its allegiance to an over ruling ITovideuee before it gave its al legiance to an earthly ruler. I was never more Impressed with this thought than when some years ago from a noted atheistic as well as anarchistic paper I cut out the full developed poisonous results of those two accursed doctrines. Like Siamese twins, these two words, aflieism and anarchy, in their ultimate meaning should never be separated. This was the editorial I found in that famous sheet: “This is our doctrine: We be lieve in no divine government. We be lieve in no human government. Might only is right. The only remedy for wrongs is butchery. The tree of lib erty bears fruit only when manured with the bones of fat usurers, insolent despots, perfidious politicians and blacklegs generally. If squatters op press you, plant rackarock for their buggies; also fire low and lay them out. If Shy locks of the bloody city fleece you, make their homes desolate. Study the science of death. Use bul lets, steel, melinite, kerosene, phos phorus, fire sticks, torpedoes, lltho- fracteur, poison, blasting powder, bombshells—any weapon you can get hold of. Also you must steal like Spartans, think like heroes and lie like hell.” Such is the full grown poison ous plant which the soil and seed of atheism will ultimately produce if left alone. Ah. my fellow countrymen in the convention hall of the American people, fight this foe miscalled “free thought" us you would fight death Drive God away from your land, and you hand over this government to be the plaything of an arch lata. Tli«* Wtirftblvt-ra of Wealth. But standing today in the great con vention hali of Jotham’s vision we see the bramble being advocated as king by another powerful faction. It is course. But tke next there was a fall in the price of stocks in Wall street, the money markets of the world were convulsed, and the millioniares joined with ministers of the gospel and wise patriots throughout the land in urging the president at all cost to avoid war with Great Britain. What was the cause of the sudden change? Why was the policy applauded on one day deprecated on the next? Were the principles of the Monroe doctrine, which the president was praised for championing, discovered to be fal lacious? Was Venezuela any less worthy of our protection on one day than on the other? Was it not rather that the money power of the country realized that war would involve ruin to some and loss to all? So the good men and wise patriots who had de- nouneed the prospect of war at the beginning on righteous principles were unexpectedly re-enforced by men who know no god but the golden calf. Do you profess to believe that gold —yellow gold - as a would be bramble king Is not trying to g**t possession of this government? Do you for one mo ment profess to believe that the United States would be as quick to declare war against England or Russia or Ger many or France as it was against a poverty stricken nation like Spain? Touch the nation’s poeketbook and in many parts of this land you will make the word “patriotism,” written in let ters of gold, turn as black as the heart of selfishness and deceit. One of the great dangers threatening the welfare of our land is the power of the great money combinations. It is a rapidly developing power, and it is ever aim- 1 Ing to seat in the presidential chair of this free nation its bramble l^ing, gold, as the supreme ruler of this great peo ple. When the great railroad trusts ami the oil trusts and the tin can trusts and the beef trusts and the sugar trusts and the steel trusts can dictate who is to be president of the United States let us beware! Take thy cloven foot. O yellow and would be King Bramble, from off the front doorstep of the White House. Thou didst de stroy the Roman and the Grecian gov ernments when their national power passed into the hands of the few cap italists. Thy foul breath Is now hot upon our cheeks, but by God’s help thou shalt not be allowed to destroy us. Klnic Alcohol um Bramble. But again we find the destroying bramble canvassing for supremacy in American politics in another way. Hi now appeals to the diseased and in flamed appetite of man for strong drink. But, though, if a man may look at this bramble long enough, he can see him changed into the wriggling coil of a snake; yet, like Molusina, the i most famous of all the French fairies, when first he appears he looks like a beautiful god, instead of like a devil. His hair is a cluster of luscious grapes, rich as those of Eshcoi, which the spies carried back from the promised land to the Hebrew encampment. His check has not upon it the pale look >f a corpse, but It is flushed with what looks like the redness of health. He comes to us not as a pauper. In his pocket he jingles the coin of his taxes as he says: “You cannot, you dare not. do without me. I am King Alcohol. There is not : political convention in all this land except one that has dared hurl a defiance at my scepter. My den may seem to be the saloon, but my throne will yet be built under the great dome in the rotunda of our national capitol. I shall yet be publicly n*cog- nixed as king in American politics as I am everywhere in secret recognized as King Alcohol now.” Is not the defiant assertion true? What political convention, with the ex ception of the Frohibitlon convention, dared double up its fist and smite this bramble alcohol a staggering blow? Some years ago the head of the in famous Mormon church spake thus for the encouragement of his follow ers: “I do not anticipate that there will come a day in the near future when we shall elect a follower of Brigham Young to the presidency of the United States, but I do look for ward to the time in the near future when our church will grow so large that as a polltleal institution one of the great political parties will be com pelled to bid for our vote. Then we can have in American politics what we would.” Thank God, the dream of the Mormon hierarchy la shattered even as an Inconoclastlc bludgeon could break a heat! i Idol into bits. But though the dream of a Mormon president has faded that of the would be King Alcohol Is a sad. realistic fact. Not one alone, but all of the great polit ical parties, with but one exception, arj bidding for the alcoholic vote today. There may be silver planks, antitrust planks, anti-imperialistic planks,woman suffragist planks, high tariff planks and low tariff planks found in the dif ferent convention platforms upon which the various candidates for the presidency stand, but with the excep tion of the Prohibition party not one assembly of delegates to a national convention called to nominate a candi date for the presidency of the United States has dared say to the saloon keeper, to the brewer and to the wine merchant: “Get out of this convention hall! Be off! We defy you and your Satanic hirelings. You are destroying our youth and our strong manhood with your liquid poison. Out, agents of darkness! Out! Out!” No, that is not the way the different conventions spoke. In their suggestive silence they say: “Bramble alcohol, we may yet elect you king—but not now. However, if you promise to help us now we will promise not to hurt your trade here after.” Am I wrong in stating that bramble alcohol Is one of the threaten ing dangers confronting the future sovereignty of this land? Evlla of Lleentloaanesa. I would like, if there had been time enough, to have spoken of another form of evil threatening this land and bidding for kingship. I allude to the bramble of licentiousness or of immor ality. I know that most people will lift their hands in horror as I speak and say, “Why, there is no danger like that threatening us!” Yes, there is, my friends. When an honest man is elect ed to the highest executive office of a city he finds out, much to his surprise, he cannot shut up the brothels as he would. He cannot stop the immoral evils of the low dance halls. Every where our cities are honeycombed with vice, merely because the voters at the polls back up dishonest officials in their willingness to allow these evil resorts '.o exist. I have spoken only the sober truth when I have warned you that bramble atheism, bramble gold, bram ble alcoholism and bramble licentious ness, the four great evil forms of the would be bramble king, are trying to take possession of our American liber ties and throttle out their life. "Well,” says some one, “how, then, are we to keep the bramble—the hate ful,. worthless bramble—from becom ing ruler in American politics?” Ah, my friends, the direct teaching of this Jotham’s fable tells the whole story. When did those delegates of trees down in the valley of Sheehem do? They first offered the rulership to the olive tree, then to the fig tree, then to the vine. But these three practically said: “Nay, we would not leave our respectability and comfort to go and mingle in dirty politics. We would stay off here alone in dignity and quiet and ease.” That is the whole story. The reason the bramble be came king in Jotham's fable was be cause the olive, the fig and the vine refused the rulership for which they were so eminently fitted. And today the reason the bad element predomi nates in so many of our city and coun ty and state elections is because so many of the better element refuse to go to tin* primaries, refuse to be can didates for the humbler offices, refuse to see that public moneys are adminis- tered as honestly as private funds. It is said that when Michael Angelo was painting his most famous picture in the Sistine chapel of the Vatican there was a member of the pope’s household who himself would do nothing to right the wrongs of the Vatican. All that this member of the household would do was to stand around and find fault. Thus when Michael Angelo painted the archfiend in his great canvas of "The Last Judgment” he painted the ! face of this fault finder, this critic, who was also a do nothing. So today, j if we would draw a verbal picture of | one of the greatest evils of American politics, we would not describe the dis honest official who for years is a chron- j Ic candidate and holder of public of fice; we would describe the so called Christian man who is the “stay at home;” we would picture the Chris tian olive tree, and the Christian fig tree, and the Christian vine, who, like those in Gotham's fable, refused the scepter and lazily and Indifferently allowed the destructive bramble to be oh*oted king. Thus Jotham's fable or parable teaches us that a man has a responsi- bility to bis government as well as to his home; a responsibility to those who shall rule over him as well as to those under him. By this statement am I here to tell you for whom to vote^ Oh, no! I would speak to you Just as that great and good man Andrew Jackson said to that great future statesman, Richard Thompson of Indiana, when a young l*>y he* went with his father to call upon the president. After a short conversation Richard Thompson’s fa ther turned and said: “Mr. President, my son Dick is not of my political faith. I fear he is going to vote against you in the next election.” Instead of upbraiding the son, “Old Hickory” turned and said: “Young man, I have no advice to give you except this: ’Al ways think for yourself and let your conscience be your guide.’ ” So in the coming election I say to you, “As a Christian man think for yourself and let your conscience be your guide.” But hereafter, in the home or on the street and in church, always make your public business your Christian busi ness. Always make your duty to your city, to your state, to your nation, your Christian duty. Then the great dan gers which threaten this our native land from tin* rulership of the worth less bramble and its kind will l*e done away with, for the olive and the fig and the vine will bo bending the knee In national worship at the foot of the cross. [Copyright, IM, by Louis Klopsoh.] SS'r A. 'r B M EC N 'I' O J-f National Bank of Gaffney, Gaffney, S. C ( ondenfed from Semi-Annual Report, at close of business .lum-SOth. 1904. Resources. i Liabilities Loans, Including Overdrafts... 10 United States Bonds ... 12,500 00 Redemption Fund Furniture and Fixtures ... 2.i»;i i:. Stocks and Ronds. . Cash in Vault and with Banks 4.l,43ti 50 Total r>!'.2ss 10 Capital Stock t 50.000 00 'urpius and Profits :jl,550 35 Dividends Unpaid . Dividends Declared. i :so oo 2,0C0 00 2.000 00 < irculation ... .» Rediscounts 27,.*'00 00 Deposits (Individuals) *101,9*25 14 Deposits (Banks)... 3.4S2 07 105,407 SI Total CUT I-*I'J ICES I have “knifed” the prices on all Slippers, Straw Hats and summer Dress Goods. Now is your time to get Slippers and Straw Hats for less than whole sale price. My entire line of summer goods, consisting of Lawns, India Linens, Batistes, Organdies, Dotted Swiss, Dimities and White Waistings in lace-stripe . effects will be sold at cost for cash—no goods charg ed in this sale. I will also close out a lot of Ladies Summer Under vests at greatly reduced prices during this sale. We will offer a big lot of youths’, boys’ and chil dren’s Suits at cost for the next few days. Bring the little gents around and let us fit them up in a nice suit for a little money. We will also offer a few men’s two-piece Suits at cost to close out. We have had a very flattering trade on Negligee Shirts and Gent’s Fnrnishings generally but still have a nice assortment to select from. See us be fore buying your shirts. Good Flour from $2.00 to $2.00 per 100—every sack guaranteed. One and two two quart Fruit Jars at prices that can’t be beat. If you are looking for goods at money-saving prices go to my store at Goforth’s, S. C., or come to my store in the city. Yours for trade, J. I SAR w * ; ¥ V v *1* & y v ft* * y v y >!< rt* v fti y 1 y t v v V y v V V »I* V V y v V y v y * Remember The Discount Sale is Still On 33 per cent, off on two-piece Suits. 20 per cent, off on Boys’ Clothing. Mother’s [Friend Shirt Waists $ y y y •> y y * y y y I for Boys. The 50 cents and 75 cents kind for 25 cents. Come and get them before the sizes are all gone Any and everything in Men’s wear. Wilkins-Bristow Clothing Co, :: : 1 i i & ■y ISoIt’s Oxt'ords. The knowing ones who keep posted on footwear styles will realize the combination of fashion, comfort and economy shown in the handsome line of Ladies’ Oxfords on display here. In variety of material and slia^e» our stoekjs superior in every detail. SPECIALS 'I'O OEOSK. We are offering some SPEC! \L INDUCKMENT* on Oxfords and White Goods to close out the season’s stock. It will be to your interest to inspect these goods and the prices before you buy. Come early. & L-ipsoom.t>. FURHAN UNIVERSITY, GREENVILLE, 5 C. EDWIN McNEAL POTEAT, President. Courses leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) and Master of Arts (M. A.) Library Reading Room Laboratories, Large and Comfortable Dormitories. Expenses reduced to a Minimum. Next session begins Sept. 14. For rooms apply to Trof. IE T. Cook. Tor Catalogue or in formation. address. The Secretary of the Faculty. •