The ledger. [volume] (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1896-1907, August 23, 1904, Image 3
I
Los Angeles, Cal., Aug, 21.—In this
sermon the freedom of this world, with
all Its restrictions and limitations, and
the larger freedom of the spiritual
world are picturesquely contrasted,
rhe text is John viii, 112, “The truth
shall make you free.’’
The word freedom has a charming
sound. Like unto a xylophone, each
ane of its letters seems to be a golden
bar. Like unto a silver throated trum
pet, its voice sounds just as enchant-
Jig in the rich man’s palace as in
the peasant’s hut. Like unto the pheas
ant’s call for his mate, it seems to rec-
agnlzo no government save the scepter
yt love. Like unto the aeolian harp,
which emits its most thrilling notes
when the wintry storms throb through
Its strings, this word freedom never
has a more plaintive melody than when
It is uttered by beings who pine for it
while they cringe under the lash of the
taskmaster and spend their lives in
the bondage of tyrants at whose word
they may have to die.
There have been orators whose tones
were so penetrating and impressive
that the words they uttered took a new
and deeper meaning. It was said of
3eorge Whitefleld, the famous evan
gelist, that his voice was of such com
pass and pathos that he could melt an
audience into tears by the intonation
he could throw into the word Meso
potamia. Hut it is not by melodious
tones that the word freedom reaches
the heart most powerfully, but by the throb.
ne died from orerwork at forty when
he should have lived out his threescore
years and ten. A few months before
his death he said to the famous sur
geon, Dr. liouthe: “Yes, you see me at
a little over forty having a tine prac
tice, making my several thousand
pounds a year, but I am today a phys
ical wreck. 1 have a fatal disease of
the heart, the result of overwork. I
.•annot live many months, and my pnrt-
advice to you is this: Never mind
•t what less, take your annual six
we ks' holiday. It may delay your suc-
.. but it will insure your develop
ment. Otherwise you may find your-j
seif at my age a prosperous practition
er, but a dying old man."
I am not here going into the details
of tin* errors and the reasons why a
man should not abuse his physical or
ganism. Hut I am here to state that
as God limits the natural realms in
which the fish can live, and the plants
can live, and the ensq ing things, like
the worms and the snakes, can live, so
God gives to man a physical realm,
and In that realm he must live. If he
persists in going out of that realm he
must die.
An Ali-dliIp Tour.
I step into the airship of Snntos-Du-
inont, that wonderful wizard of the
»ir. The Brazilian aeronaut says: |
’Where would you like to go? Would
you like a sail over the waters of the
Mediterranean? Would you like to
view Paris from a height higher than
the Eiffel tower? Would you take a
sightseeing trip above the buildings of
the St. Louis world’s fair?" But I am
ambitious, and, forgetting the limita
tions of my body, I say: “Nay, not any
of these journeys would I go. But, as
a sailor might sight the gleaming eye
of a lighthouse from afar and head
toward an open harbor, I would head
toward the lighthouse of some star. I
would explore an unknown world.”
With that request a smile twitches the
corners of my companion’s lips. The
machinery of his airship begins to
We mount higher and higher
heroic deeds of men ,vho have suffered
and died to win the blessing for their
people. It was thus uttered by Spar-
tacus, the Roman slave and gladiator,
when he led the insurrection against
the throne of the Caesars and offered
as a libation for that word his own
blood, which was shed upon the battle
field of Silarus in 71 B. C. We can
hear it thus spoken in the clarion calls
of a Bernardo O'lllggins, the great lib
erator of Chile, or of a Toussaint L’Ou-
verture fighting for the liberty of Haiti,
*or of a Maeeo dying for Cuba, or of a
Garibaldi struggling for the liberation
of his beloved Italy.
O freedom, thou art more than a
mere word! Thou art a strong armed
angel of light, breaking the shackles of
the slave, unmuzzling the lips of the
patriot, lifting the shadow from the
home. Under this benignant rule every
man’s abode is his castle, surrounded,
£ke the ancient fortresses of the old
world, with the moat whose waters
were Impassable to the minions of a
king. Thou art the messenger of God,
who would place the coronation robes
around every human shoulder. Thou
wouldst put the crown of gold upon ev
ery manly or womanly brow as thou
lost say: “Man, lift high thy forehead,
for thou art a king! Woman, God has
made thy head the resting place for a
diadem whh h is the equal of the crown
that I have placed upon thy husband’s
brow.” Y’es, yes; no word in all the
English language has a more potent
sound than that of freedom, for, as God
gave to King Solomon everything a
prince could want because the young
king had asked of him “wisdom,” so
every good thing in life is accessible to
the earnest, aspiring soul when free
dom removes the harriers to its tlight
AY hut In Freedom?
But as I began to study my text I
asked myself this important question:
"What is freedom?” Is it unbridled li
cense? Does it practically say, "Man,
you are free; therefore you can do as
you will, no matter what your desire
may be?” Does it mean an emancipa
tion proclamation which liberates from
obedience to all law? When, on Jan. 1,
1803, Abraham Lincoln In the White
House signed his name to the famous
state paper which declared that all
black men and black women under the
stars and stripes “are and henceforth |
shall be free," it did not mean that tl>fl
negro was set free to follow his own
unbridled Inclinations, hut that he
passed from under the control of his
owner to he under the control of the
same law that ills owner himself has to!
obey.
Freedom has its limitations. We |
find those limitations in the physical,!
the mental and the social as well as
in the spiritual world. Biologists find playground
them in the dumb brutes and In the
vegetable and mineral kingdoms as
well as In human society. Thus my
subject today, "The Limitations of
Liberty,” offers a wide scope for natu
ral and spiritual investigation, and 1
shall endeavor to show that the only
true freedom that the spiritual man j
can enjoy is lu the surrender of him- j
self to the service of Christ. In be
coming a servant of Christ, in taking
his will as the law of our lives, we are!
set free from the dominion of sin and
enjoy the glorious liberty of the ehll
dren of God.
The physical man is surrounded by
and higher until It seems the blood
must hurst from my agonizing brain.
“What is the matter?" I cry. "Turn
the ship, turn it, or I shall die!" With
that Santos-Dumont turns the airship’s
rudder, and as we begin to descend he
says: “I took you on this journey to
prove to you that it is an impossibility
for man to live far above the earth.
When the air becomes rarefied there is
not enough substance there for man to:
breathe. God has decreed that phys
ical man never can fly like a bird away
to tin* stars. He is free to live in this
ilr only as he breathes that air when
his feet are planted upon the solid
earth.”
Down Into the shaft of a coal mine 1
descend. Farther and farther I go
until the darkness seems to be hurled
it me. I cling in dumb fear to the
miner by my side. We go down and
lown until the heat becomes like the
blistering sands of the Sahara desert.
Fresli air from above is now pumped |
to my panting lungs. But the heat
grows more and more intense until it
seems I cannot live. Suddenly we come
to the end of a long coal shaft. "Why
not farther?” I ask my guide. “Has
the coal vein stopped here?” “Nay,”
is the answer, “the coal is just as rich
farther on, but it is au impossibility
now to work it. The farther we bur
row into the earth the hotter It be
comes. God has decreed that physical
man must live on the earth’s surface.
He may pass around the surface of the
earth, but cannot go through It. He
can never tunnel his way from New
York to' I’eking.” What is true of the
air and land is true also of the sea.
In that wonderfully interesting hook
calh*d “Intra Mundi” the author de
scribes one of the pleasures of heaven
as walking through the crystal halls
of the river of life. We know not
what may be the delights reserved for
us In that celestial sphere. It may be
ours to pass dryshod through the river
of life as the Hebrews passed through
the Jordan. But while we are In this
mundane life we can never explore the
crystal halls of the Atlantic ocean nor
sail through the ether of the skies. If
man leaves his natural element he dies
as surely os did the fish we caught
some weeks ago when they were drawn
out of their natural element. Physical
man has his limitations of life. If we
would physically live we must obey
certain physical laws. We cannot eat
pebbles like an ostrich. We cannot
hibernate like a snake. We cannot
drink in water like a bluefish*- We can
not eat grass like an ox. We cannot
breathe the foul and fetid air of u
mlasmic swamp as the firefly, with Its
little lantern, makes Its home among
the hogs and calls the green slime Its
Physical limitations hem
lu the liberties of physical mau. We
can live our physical life only as we
obey God's physical laws.
Oar Sorliil Limitation*.
We also have social limitations. By
that I mean in the liberties of social
economies. Every man’s liberty ends
where his neighbor's liberties begin. As
a citizen of the United States I have no
right in the sight of the law which Is
not possessed in an equal degree by ev
ery other private citizen of the United
States. Neither has any other cttizei.
of the United States a social right whlefc
I as an individual citizen do not pos
sees. Ip other words, my liberties art
limitations which, like impassable bars, mine only as long as I do not transgress
restrict him to a certain kind of life, the rights of my neighbors.
If he tries to break out of the inclosure
he bruises and hatters his body against
those burs. I am not now alluding to
the penalties suffered by the glutton
and the drunkard, which are only too
Obvious. There are penalties against
overindulgence in legitimate courses.
business or profession as to neglect the
proper care of his body. He has to
pay the penalty for overwork In prema
ture exhaustion and decrepitude. A
conspicuous illustration of the fact was
In the confession which the great and
brilliant Dr. Golding Bird made when
Let me illustrate my thought by the
civilized laws of our country. America
is called the "land of the free.” Bui
freedom does not mean license. For the
benefit of our social life we have estab
lish«*d restrictions on liberty, and those
restrictions must be obeyed. I see a
A man may so devote himself to his B hip sailing hither from the orient. It
is magnificently furnished with lavisl
splendor. It Is owned by an oriental
gentleman of high caste who Is coining
to live among us. He has heard that
America Is the land of the free and sup
poses that here a man may live as k«
nleases. He has on hoard eight wives
and be sets up his harem in one of our
great cities. One day an officer of the
law comes to him and says: “This kind
of household Is contrary to our laws.
You have seven wives too many.” But
the oriental replies: “I have taken out
naturalization papers, and I am a free
citizen. I can live as I choose.” But
the officer answers: "No; you are under
legal restrictions. If you continue to j
violate them we shall send you to pris
on as a bigamist.”
The land of the free? Yes, if you
obey our laws, but uot otherwise. You
are free to do as you will in your own
home—that Is, if you do not abuse your
offspring. If you do, as an agent for
the Society For the Prevention of Cruel
ty to Children I can step in and take
your children away from you. The j
land of the free? Yes, hut you dare
not sell to my children obscene pic
tures, for if you do I can make you
wear convict’s stripes. The land of
the free? Yes, it is the land of the
free if you do n >t try to forcibly
enter my home, or rob my store, or re
fuse to pay your taxes, or to go to war
as an American soldier when you are
drafted, or to serve in the Jury box
when you are impaneled. You are
free, in a social sense, only when your
liberties do not conflict with the equal
liberties of some one else.
Not only does mau have his physical
limitations and social limitations, but *
also his mental limitations. As the
United States government first has its
national legislature, and then this na
tional form of government is subdivid
ed into states, and these states into
counties, and these counties into town- j
ships, so I find the great human race :
is divided and subdivided and again
redivided in reference to its limitations.
And in no way can you trace these
limitations more than in the mental
makeup of the Individual.
Educational Limitation*.
Under the old educational system ev- i
fry American college used to exact a
hidebound course. The young mau
who was a candidate for the B. A. de
gree had to take just so much of mathe
matics, so much of languages, so much
of the sciences, so much of philosophy,
so much of this and that and the other
thing. But now our college systems
have beioine broadened. The “elective ,
system” is in vogue. Great educational
leaders have come to the logical and
right conclusion that what is meat for
one brain may la* poison for another.
Charles Sumner was one of the great
est men America ever produced,.but it
was simply an lmi»osslbility for
Charles Sumner to grasp mathematics.
As a result of this deficiency Sumner,
one of the greatest of all Massa
chusetts' scholars, was unable to grad
uate from Harvard college. When my
father graduated from college Howard
Crosby, then a professor in the New
York university, declared he was the
finest student of “belles lettres” who
had ever studied within the walls of
New York's great Institution of learn
ing. But, though my father was strong
in certain studies, he was very weak
in others. Among his weaknesses was
his Inability to grasp a foreign tongue.
For years he wanted to go forth, as
did my Uncle John, as a missionary to
foreign lands. 1 le was, however, de
terred from this purpose by the (to him)
almost Insurmountable difficulty of be
coming proficient in a foreign lan
guage.
Sometimes there Is born a child, as
was Edmund Clarence Stedman, with a
brain of myriad possibilities. As au
American poet he treads closely upon
the heels of our greatest poets. Yet
Stedman the poet is also Stedman the
Wall street banker, as he was also Sted
man the famous war correspondent.
But such minds as that of Edmund
Clarence Stedman are the rare excep
tions. For the most part God gives to
man hut one first class talent and not
ten. The reason Theodore Parker be
came the great power he was In his day
was because, as he said: "Everything I
ever saw or did I ground up into the
mental grist for my sermons. I wan
born a preacher and can do nothing else
but preach.” When U. S. Grant drew
his sword as commander of the Ameri
can armies, he curved out for himself
one of the greatest names In American
history, but U. S. Grant made a failure
at everything on earth he ever attempt
ed except the vocation of a soldier.
Many a soldier has been a failure as a
statesman; many a statesman has
proved his utter incapacity when he
tried to command an army.
Beecher nnd HI* Father.
The limitations of brain power can l>e
well illustrated by comparing the men
tal makeup of Henry Ward Beecher
with that of his illustrious father, Ly
man Beecher, one of the greatest eccle
siastical leaders of his day. The fa
mous pastor of Plymouth pulpit was In
every sense a prose poet. He spoke, he
thought, he lived, in symbol and pictur
esque verbiage. The songs of the birds,
the beautiful wardrobes of the flowers,
the autumnal sunsets, the beehives, the
snow bunks, the murmuring brooks—all
had to him a message. Lyman Beecher
was made of angular Puritan granlt*.
He was in every sense a logician and a
I*)lemlc. Like John Calhoun, he was
skillful in argument. Grant his simple
premises, and you must grant his con
clusions. He appealed mostly to the
brain as gray matter and not to the ar
tistic sentiments.
It was a great source of sorrow to
Henry Ward Beecher that his father
never loved nature as he loved It.
Lyman Beecher loved to hunt. He
loved the woods for game, but not for
the flowers. He never loved Mowers as
flowers. Facts always had to he pre
sented to him as bare, unbreakable
rocks, nnd not as rocks clothed In gar
ments of green and In Joseph’s couts
of many floral colors. One day, much
to Henry Ward Beecher’s surprise, he
saw his father standing before a beau
tiful picture. It was a hunting scene,
but the son prized it for the beautiful
colors, such as are always found In the
retreat of the woods. “Ah,” said Henry
Ward Beecher, “father is at last learn- 1
lag to love nature!" He stepped up to
the side i f the old man and said: “Fa
ther. how do you like the picture?
Wh. t do you like about It most?”
“Well. Henry,” said the old man, “I
was studying that picture to see wheth
er the artist had alined that gun right.
Yes. I think that hunter will hit the
rabbit. I think he will. 1 think he
will.” “Ah. father." said Henry Ward,
“can you not see anything more in
that picture than a cruel man shedding
the blood of an innocent, playful rab
bit ?”
No, Henry Ward Beecher’s mind and
Lyman Beecher's mind were cast in
different molds. They both had their
limitations. What one could do iu a
mental way the other could not do,
though both of those brains belonged
to the master minds of the last cen
tury. Now, as we all have our phys
ical limitations, is it preposterously un
just for us to complain because we
also have our spiritual limitations? If
the only way to cross the Atlantic or
the Pacific is in a steamship or a sail
ing craft, is it not absurd for us to
complain because we have to sail over
the great sea of eternity In a gospel
lifeboat?
If the United States government
compels us to obey certain social laws,
enacted upon the statute books by the
lietates of Its own national legisla
tors, is it unjust for God to declare
that when we surrender our hearts to
him we should come to him in bis
way and not in ours? If we have our
mental limitations and only in a fee
ble and incomplete way can grasp the
infinite thought of God, are we not
foolish in setting up ourselves as
judges and critics of his methods?!
Ought we not rather to" accept his
plans anil humbly to submit ourselves
to his rule? That Is the way to true
freedom. When we accept the truth
that he has revealed to us and give
mrselves to his guidance, we learn by
experience that the truth makes us
free. The finite mind yields to the
infinite and grows into its true develop
ment. Then fore shall we not today
yield our minds and hearts to the su-
prenmey of God's will, whose
"thoughts are not our thoughts and
whose ways are not our ways?"
I.iiiillntiniiH of Freedom.
True freedom always has its limita
tions. The Christian life, too. has its
rightful limitations. Christ said, “I am
the way, the truth and the life; no man
cometh unto the Father but by me.”
There is only one way to God, one
door, one true life. But after we have
once entered through that open door
then we are free. Aye, we may become
transcendently and eternally free. Is
not my text right when It says, “In
Christ the truth shall make you free?”
The freedom he gives is the freedom
from sin, the freedom from punish
ment. but that freedom, like all others,
can be obtained only by submitting to
Christ’s rule. In one way alone can
we gain that freedom, and that is by
the way of the cross. In his service
is endless joy and pleasures for ever
more.
My brother, my sister, are you ready
to let the truth make you free? In
antebellum days there was a beautiful
scene enacted in one of the southern
slave markets. A young black girl
stood upon the auction Mock and was
being sold to the highest bidder. Rough
men were trying to buy her for evil
purposos, but in that group of by
standers was a Christian gentleman,
holding by the hand his own young
daughti r. The youiqr girl's heart went!
out for the sufferings of her black sis
ter. and sh-.* persuaded her father to
purchase tie* slave. Higher and higher
went the price, but at last the Chris
tian gentleman bought the young slave.
When the black girl was handed over
to her new master he said: "Mary, 1
bought you for my daughter’s sake.
I now give you your papers of freedom.
You can go where and when you
please. You are free.” “What, mus
ter, am I free? Can I go where I will?
Then 1 shall go and stay with you.”
< ih, she was a slave before the auction.
She was a slave after the auction. But
now she had become a slave of love.
Will you not, O man, O woman, hear
Christ's proclamation of emancipation
from sin? Will you not let “the truth
make you free”—that is. will you not,
In Christ's name, cease to be a subject
of sin, but in bondage for the love of
Christ? He died to make you free.
With his divine limitation will you not
be eternally free, yet still in bondage
to Jesus Christ?
Lord, oh, tr-ach me what to do:
Make me faithful, make me true.
Help me. ere too late It be.
Bdhiething yet to do for thee.
[Copyright, 13o4, by Louis Klopsch.]
WANTED!
All youi clothes 1 hat Deed brightening up,
bring them to us. We will make then) look
fresh and new.
All work done by expert tailors.
See us and Join our pressing club.
ROBINSOll & JONES, Tailors.
Over W. U. Telegraph Office.
Phone No. *1
We have tried to produce
a Drug Store worth hav
ing and one worthy of
the town it represents. As
you consult us through
out the year we trust you
will be reminded of our
ability aud/lesire to serve
you whenever drugs are
needed. We provide ser
vice ofthe highest possible
character: we appreciate
your trade and we hope
you will make this your
family drug store during
the year to come.
Our
Prescription
department
is presided over by two
liscensed pharmacists and
prescriptions are com
pounded by scientific
methods under ideal con
ditions, and the com
pounding is guarded by
a system of checking that
renders, error practically
impossible. We have a
superb stock of the finest
drugs obtainable and feel
justified iu urging you to
bring ycur prescriptions
to our prescription de
partment.
Cherokee
Drug Co.
Cor. Limestone and Frederick Sts.
■Villiam S. Hall. J a. james A. Willis
HALL & WILLIS,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW.
STAR THEATRE BLDO.
CJA I- r I- r I>i hC "V, ». C2.
Notary Public In office. Prompt attention
given to all business.
at the same
place, No. 3?!
Rutledge St. I
am ready to do
your work O.
K. New build
ing, 2,400 feet
floor space; general repair, from forge to
last coat of paint. Wagons, buggies,
carts, &c; any part repaired or new part
put in. Tire setting a specialty.
Good stalls and water for your stock.
I am here to serve you.
W. T. Thompson.
a
Kp
{
<
4\, S. >
^ j5>
I-
; - r'Y A
Very Little
need be said
about our :: ::
Photographs
t o those who
have seen them.
Their beauty and
fine finish lift
them high above
the work of the
ordinary photo
grapher. :: ::
We can make an
artistic picture of
anyone. Every
individual h a s
some feature or
expression which
- makes him at
tractive. We find
this and catch it
with the camera.
June H. Carr,
Phone 176.
Residence, 171,
625 Limestone Street.
The Gaffney City Land and 1 . ‘ Go.
Offers for sale BulldiriK Lots In this flourisliint: town, Gaffney; also Farms ne
by and In reach of the Schools of Limestone Springs and of this place, In lots of 30
to 100 acres on liberal time rates; also Agricultural Lands to rent for Farm purposes
For full particulars apply to
J. V, SARRATT, Agent.
N. H.—All persons are forbidden to enter on. walk or ride through or over the lands of this
company, cutting and removing timber, fishing or hunting, under penalty of law.
Gome to Us for Your Wagons
We handle the W. E. Spach hand made Wagon, also
the Piedmont, two of the best makes of Wagons that are
on the market.
“Don’t Forget It, The Anchor Buggy”
We are Agents for Gibbs Machinery Co,, of Columbia,
S. C., and can fit you up with any kind of machinery
on short notice.
IU M. Wilkins Hdw. Co.
Jay Cooke n* an Angler.
Jay Cooke, now eighty-four years
old, and a party of friends from
Ogontz and Ashbourne made the star
catch of the season at Beach Haven,
Mass., recently. The result of the trip
affords a good example of Mr. Cooke’s
skill as a fisherman. The party of five
caught 474 fish lu all, of which 177
were caught by Mr. Cooke himself.
The entire lot of fish was expressed by
Mr. Cooke to Ogontz, to be distributed
among the members of his Bible class.
This Bible class has been conducted
by Mr. Cooke for more than fifty years
and has at the present time eighty
members.
A Ilnaalan Incident.
A young Russian Jew was obliged to j
go to tbe war in Manchuria. At first |
his father got letters from him regu
larly, but presently they ceased. One
day the father was called to the police
headquarters, where he was told there
was a telegram regarding his son, but
that he would have to pay 20 rubles to i
get It He did not have the money,
and It took him some time to collect It
from his friends. When he finally
opened the telegram. It contained the
announcement of his son’s death.—New
York Post.
CUT UPTICKS.
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 iu 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 Furnishings generally but still
have a nice assortment to select from. See us be
fore buying your shirts.
Good Flour from $2.00 to $2.GO 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. SARRATT
■