The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, July 16, 1903, Image 7
fpfliSETTD GLE1IH8S.!
I
jp flinor Events of the Week in a ?
a Brief Form. jg
State Wants a Part.
A special from Columbia says: Mr.
L*. J. Williams, chairman of the State
board of control, will leave inside of
two weeKs ior wasaington uu a ui?sion
of great importance to the State
ofg South Carolina. For some time
past the United States government has
been tapping the revenues of the State
dispensary, the institution from which
so much income is derived for the benefit
of the common schools of this
State. The constabulary is wont to
seize whatever contraband lipuor that
may come under their observation and
it is customary to turn it over to the
dispensary, which usually disposes of
It by sale. For some months, however,
the employees of the United States
? ~ ? V A Kaam AvrtAArl incrl V
gcveruuitrui. uatc ucxu cAt,nuiufti;
zealous and a large amount of liquor
which is brought to the great distillery
is confiscated by Uncle Sam because
in many instances it has no revenue
stamp upon it. or some other complication
which makes it legally the
property of the government. The State
of South Carolina feels, however, that
jBome of the revenue derived from the
N^ele of contraband liquor is due her.
as the constabulary seizes the liquor
often at considerable cost, and it is
this that Mr. Williams has gone to
Washington to urge upon the authorities
there. He will call upon Hon.
John T. Yerkes, the commissioner of
internal revenue, and discuss with him
this question which so vitally affects
the revenue of the State. The seizures
by the government have been lately
considrably over the average; during
the month it is said fully two-thirds
01 tcr coniniuuuu mjuui uao 5uup wu
the government. Mr. Williams will report
the result of the conference to the
State board and to the governor and
steps will be taken in accordance with
the results obtained. In case the government
does not take the view that
the State is entitled to any consideration
from the internal revenue service
the case may be placed in the courts
through the attorney general.
A Shocking Tragedy.
Spartanburg, S. C.?Special?A fatal
shooting affray occurred at the home
of John Wham, six miles east of Laurins.
at an early hour Thursday morning.
Wham shot and killed Lafayette
itamage, a neighbor, and the neighborhood
is greatly excited over the affair.
Several days ago Wham wrote an alleged
improper note-to the fifteen-year
-old daughter of Tom Simpson, a
brother-in-law of Ramage, and as a
result the men were momentarily exk
pecting to meet and settle the difficultly.
Thursday morning Ramage called
at the home of Wham in order to brine
about a peaceful settlement, as the
latter had expressed a desire so to do
The two shook hands in the presence
of mutual friends, and it appeared that
all would end well. However, the
men renewed the trouble and Ramage
fell dead, with a bullet hole in his
heart from a pistol in the hands oi
Wham. The dead man has a large connection
and a later report has it that
summary action may be taken by the
relatives of the dead man. It is claimed
that Wham took advantage ol
Ramage after requesting him to disaim.
Palmetto Gleanings.
The bronze plate stolen about a yeai
ago from the Spanish cannon mountec
in the State house yard in Columbia
has been recovered.
At a meeting of the directors of thf
First National Bank of Sumter it was
tr> iior>inre a 33 1-3 Der cent
stock dividend, increasing the capital
stock from $50,000 to $100,000.
The Neeley Compress company, ol
Chester, has applied for a charter, the
capital to be ?100,000. It is said thai
the company owns a new patent foi
compressing cotton. The corporator
are J. N. Neeley, T. J. Cunningham, J
K. Marion.
Abraham Ancrum. a negro living
somewhere near Springtown. is in Jail
In Bamburg charged with a horrible
and revolting crime. It is said that he
has beaten his 14-year-old daughter tc
death.
The secretary of State Thursday issued
a charter to the Carolina Claj
Company, which will have headquarters
in Columbia. The capital stock U
?50,000. Wm. Lockhart, of New York
is president.
Col. Williamson H. Martin, a prominent
attorney of Laurens, died ir
Asheville. N. C.. Friday afternoon. He
was in his 52nd year, and had been ii
w 1H health for the past six months.
The First South Carolina Regiment
of State troops will encamp in Columbia
this summer, the 20th of July, and
will continue in camp for a week.
The people of Mecklenburg county
TC. C., are protesting against the bureau
of marriage kept up by 'Squin
W. 0. Bailes and the feeling is suet
that Gov. Heyward has been asked tc
remove the notary public of upper Fori
Mill township, who marric3 over 30(
couples every year.
Thursday in Columbia Joe Friday
colored, stobbed Walter Stephenson
also colored, with a knife, inflicting
a wound from which the blood flowed
like water and which proved fatal ic
a short while. The cause of the cutting
was a dispute over a game of craps
Friday escaped.
J
;[ PALMETTO CROP BULLETIN
j Most Favorable Bulletin Issued By
; the Department This Season.
"""tsn? c a m Monday. I
1UO CUUlUi w v.. ,
July 6th had a mean temperature of
about 81 degrees, which is 1 degree
above the normal. The day temperatures
ranged from S6 to % degrees, and
the nights from 68 to 75 degrees, both
very favorable for crop growth and development.
There was about the usual
amount of sunshine. The winds were
light, and generally southerly. The relative
humidity averaged above the narmal.
At the beginning of the week the !
ground was thoroughly soaked by the
rains at the close of the previous week, 1
Und there were light scattered showers
on the 2nd and again on the last day,
but the ground was generally dry 1
enough to permit cultivation after the 1
1st of July, with the exception of very 1
low lying lands, and where the rains
on the 2nd were heaviest. A few local- 1
ities need rain, but generally the soil '
i- ?~n with moisture. Hail '
lft WCU OU|/|/iivu ???M
that damaged tobacco fell in Horry '
county. 1
With the exception of isolated and
limited lcalitiea where the ground is ]
still too wet to work, the week was the '
most favorable of the season on all 1
crops, and afforded opportunity to 1
clean fields of grass and weeds, and '
give them much needed cultivation, al- i
though complaints of grassy fields con- ,
tinue to be receiyed from all parts of
the State. The warm, humid weather,
and the moist condition of the soil,
were conditions conducive to growth, 1
and all crops responded, except on light j
soils that have been leached by the
excessive rains of June, and crops that
have not been properly cultivated. The f
hot weather, following the heavy rain- i
fall, scalded corn and cotton in parts ,
of Hampton county. ,
Old corn has about all been laid by, '
and is earing well. Young corn has a '
good color generally. On replanted bot- I
torn lands, corn is coming up to gcod i
stands. .
Cotton continues small, and on light
! soils is yellow, but generally it has a '
better color than heretofore, and is 1
growing rapidly. Lice have about dis- j
appeared. Some fields are blooming
freeely, in the eastern part or tue staie,
but in other parts, blooming is not yet 1
general, and many fields have not put
on any squares. Clean fields are the
exception.
Tobacco curing is in progress in all ]
sections. The crop has improved recently,
except where previous heavy
rains caused irreparable damage. '
Rice is not doing well generally, j
Teaches and grapes are rotting extcn- ,
sively, and the fruit crop is less prom- (
ising than heretofore. Melons arc '
srpall and late. Minor crops, pastures
and gardens are excellent. The hay crop
promises to be heavy.?J. W. Bauer, i
Section Director. i
!
P-opie Feel Uneasy. (
Norway. Special.?John T. Phillips,
the olu Confederate soldier, who was ]
shot five times while at his supper ]
' table by the negro Charles Evans, 1
lynched for the crime, died here Sun- 1
day morning at 6:50 o'clock, after liav- j
ing suffered mortal agony for but little
less than a week. That ho lived so
\ long is considered by the physician j
( of this placo but little short of a ;
, miracle. Three of the wounds admin- j
istered by the- negro fiend were said 1
, by the physicians tc be fatal and how I
, tbe >ld man managed to live all that 1
, time has puzzled the doctors not a j
- little. I
Just what effect the passing away i
cf Mr. Phillips will have on the al- i
; ready very much strained situation i
> here it i3 difficult to say. Conserva- i
tivc residents of this section have
: been hoping against hope that he
would live at least a few days longer,
believing that if he did not die Just
now the conditions here would adjust 1
themselves. Now that the end has 1
come the feeling of anxiety and un 1
easiness has increased and there arc
I many persons hereabouts who wear 1
' mors trouble. 1
The massing of the negroes at Bush
> Fond yesterday and tneir open tnrcaxs
i on the Huttos and other persons in
this vicinity have made matters
worse and the local merchants say
they will regard It as exceedingly fortunate
if they are able to pass safely j
, through the ordeal necessarily consc ,
; quent upon the old man's funeral. The
! presence of the Richland Volunteers ,
[ here last night and this morning, of
course, acted as a forcible preventive
* on any move that the negroes pro- (
posed to carry out In lieu 01 uiew i
tijreats. I
j It was with no little regret that the
[ * 'dagers saw the troops depart and
1 they did not hesitate to say that, theJ
feared additional trouble would en
' sue if Capt. Haskell withdrew his i
men. Assistant Adjutant General Pal |
rick, however, explained that now tha; ,
' Sheriff Dukes was on the ground i!
looked like a reflection on him for tlu
i troops to remain as he was ostensibly '
, able to cope with the difficulty and ar i
r<st the ringleaders among the no i
. groes who had made the threats. }
t This explanation did not exactly sat- '
} L.fy the Norway people and they
! showed their anxiety in more way? 1
than one. Assistant Adjutant Cenere! l
Patrick did not think the troops would
" be required on tte ground anv longer
l" end as it was quite a material ex
pense tc the State it was dee'dea to
withdraw them. 1
, Escapes From Jatl.
( St. Louis. Specia'?Wm. Randolph, of
) Union, ?>lo? who has been confined in
| the city jail for several months on the '
charge of having participated in the
robbery of the bank of Union, last win'
ter. and also charged with the killing
: of Detective Schumacher who was at'
tempting to arrest him, made a des|
perate and successful escape from jail
late Monday afternoon and is still at
large.
... ^
TROUBLES MULTIPLY
Negroes Threaten to Precipitate Rioi
In Mew York
THE POLICE RESERVE CALLED OUT
Arrest of a Leader of a Gang Who
Were Making Trouble In the Negro
Quarter Resisted.
IxVw York, Special.?A riot which
required the reserves of three police
precincts to suppress, broke out Sun
day night in the negro quarter in
West Sixty-second street. The trouble
was precipitated by the attempt of a
policeman to arrest Wm. Johnson, the
loader of a gang of negroeB who were
making a disturbance in the street.
The policeman secured bis prisoner
ifter a sharp fight and was dragging
lim to the station house, when he was
A3sailed by a mob and volleys of
bricks and stones were hurled at him
Ircm the roofs of adjacent tenements.
On the arrival of 20 other policemen,
Connor opened Are on a negro
on a roof and shots were returned
from the windows of the house. Reserves
cleared the streets and chased
the rioters over the roofs, making
several arrests and finally restoring
order.
Quiet at Evansville. ^
Evansville, Ind., Special.?The town
las been quiet all day and the officials
bave had an opportunity to re3t up
ifter a week of excitement. The negroes
have remained at their homes
ill day and the services at their
ohurches were not well attended.
Many of the negroes who left the city
iuring the week are returning and by
Lhe middle of the week business will
be resumed in Baptist Town. The authorities
will keep no extra guards
this week, as they believe the excitement
is at an end. It is not thought
It will be necessary to guard Lee
Di-Awn + r*ocrrn nrhon ho iq hrnilfht
back here for trial for killing Policeman
Massey.
The Pope Improving.
Rome, By Cable.?Pope Leo has
lived to see another Sunday, and with
the Sabbath quiet which fell upon
Rome, came nlso peace and even progress
to the Pontiff. Beginning Sunlay
morning with distinct signs of
improvement, he maintained this
throughout the day. At night Dr.
Lapponi made the following important
statement in answer to the question
if he thought that the improvement
in the Pope's condition could
continue:
"I believe that if the improvement
lasts until July 21, we may not perhaps
achieve an absolute cure, but
we will secure such a general state of
health in the patient as will allay our
anxiety."
Storm in Baltimore.
Baltimore, Special.?A severe wind
and rain storm occurred here Sunday
afternoon, which was particularly violent
in a limited portion of Northwest
R.iltimore. where within a radius of
about four blocks 50 houses were unroofed,
walls demolished and trees uprooted.
The damage to houses and
household goods is estimated at $100,)00.
Twenty persons were injured, one
>eriously, but none killed. The rainfall
here for the day was 3.90 inches
and the velocity of the wind 16 miles
an hour.
Cloudburst at Winchester.
Winchester, Va.. Special.?Sunday
afternoon the most serious cloudburst
ever experienced here, broke over the
city, submerging the place in from
three to six feet of water. The damage
will reach thousands of dollars, as
every store, residence and a building
in the centre of the town is several
feet under water.
Death of Major Brown.
Beaumont, Tex.. Special.?Cap. F.
Brown, of Asbury Park, N. Jr.. one of
the best known operators la the Texas
oil fields, died in the hospital here. He
? from WpqI Point and
nno i. - ?
served as civil engineer in the SpanishAmerican
war, with the rank of major.
He was an operator in the West Virginia
oil fields and he became prominent
in the Texas oil field soon after
Its discovery.
Storm in Nebraska.
Beaver City, Special.?A terrible
electrical and wind storm prevailed
here Sunday afternoon, lasting for 45
minutes, in which time two and onefourth
inches of rain fell. The wind
blew with great violence, doing much
iamage to small buildings, wind-mills
and the wheat crop, which is just
ready for harvest. The Union Salva
tion Army of Kansas and Nebraska,
now holding a camp-meeting here, suffered
much loss. Nine of their tents
were blown down. Commander Holland
was struck by a falling tent pole
find sustained a dislocation of the
shoulder.
Rank Wrecked By a Cashier.
Newburgh. N. H., Special.?Joseph
W. Cummin is in jail here on the
charge of grand larceny. He was secretary,
treasurer and cashier of the
Cornwall Bank, and is alleged to be a
defaulter to the extent of about $50.000,
wrecking the bank. The State
bank examiner appeared at the bank
and before the examination of the
books Cummin confessed that he was
short in his accounts between $40,000
and $50,000.
PROMINENT PEOPLE.
General ;:Joe': V\*Wki: guoat of President
ltoosovelt at Oyster Bay.
Secretary Shaw received the degree
[ of Doctor of Laws at Wesleyan University.
Jaime Angles, a cooper, is the first
workingman ever elected r. member of
the Spanish Cortes.
Mrs. Payne, wife of the PostmasterCcneral,
expects to remain in Washington
with her husband through the
( fticuivi i'?ui Ui auuiuit'i out1 nus
bcu an invalid for many years.
1 When the will of Paul B. Du Cliaillu,
African explorer, was filed, the Interesting
fact was revealed that it was a
disappointment in love that led the
, wealthy and brilliant writer to turn
explorer.
As foreign representative of the St.
Louis Fair, John Barrett, the newly
1 appointed Minister to Argentina, has
traveled 45,000 rulles in the past 5*oar.
He has interviewed fifteen kings and
emperors.
Sir George Williams, the founder of
the first Young Men's Christian Association,
is still living at the age of
eighty-two in London. He was knighted
in 1S04. the fiftieth anniversary of
the Y. M. C. A.
Ninety-five years old, the oldest living
graduate of Harvard University, a
grandson of the Revolution and a son
of the War of 1812, is the proud record
of the Rev. Joseph Warren Cross,
of I^awrence, Mass.
Baron Maximilian Washington died
recently at Graz, seventy-four years
old. He was a member of the Austrian
House of Lords. He belonged to the
family of Washin^tons in England
and America, and his son was named
George.
Moses Ezekiel, the Cincinnati sculptor,
now a resident of Rome, Italy, has
presented to the Virginia Military In
I Mi III It; U iliUUUiiit'Ul iU LUIiiUiCUiUI UL1UU
| of Ills schoolmates who fell at the battle
of Newmarket, Va., in 1804. He
! was formerly a student of the institution.
_ .... . One
Killed and Two Injured.
Wasbinton, Special.?During a terrific
thunder stcrm which passed over
the city Sunday, lightning struck a
boat house near the Potomac river, in
which about a dozen men had taken
' refuge on their way home from the
! bathing beach. One man was killed
; outright, another so badly injured he
j may die and still another is in the hos!
pital suffering severely from the effects
of the bolt. The man killed is Rover
B. Smith.' white, aged 33 years, married.
The seriously injured are:
Charles Slaughter, colored, 20 years;
may die.
Planter Killed.
Osceola, Ark., Special.?Arthur
j Shadden, a prominent young planter,
! living about four miles south of
; Osceola, was shot and killed on his
I farm at an early hour Wednesday
J morning. Mr. Shadden had had trouble
| with a negro in regard to an account
i which he was trying to collect from
j him. The negro made his escape, but
the sheriff and a posse are in pursuit.
' A lynching is proDaDie n me negro
J is caught
News of the Day. ,
I Tho Charleston Lumber Co. ol
Charleston. W. Va., has increased its
capital stock from $25,000 to $50,000.
The schooner Ergar C. Ross cleared
from Charleston, S. C., last week with
314,269 feet of lumber for Baltimore.
The Acme Lumber Co. of Timberland,
N. C., will remove its plant to a
point near Bcnnettsville, S. C., and
install some new machinery.
J. W. Fisher of Newport, Tenn., has
purchased 17,000 acres of timber
lands in Blount county, but as yet has
made no arrangements to develop the
Fame.
The Rock Creek Coal & Lumber Co
of Rock Creek, Ky.. has been incorporated,
with a capital of $50,000. by
E. S. Moss, J. L. Manning, William
Hayes and others.
The Alpena Lumber Co. at Philiippi,
W. Va., has been incorporated, with
a capita! of $10,000, by J. M. Hauser,
, C. Woodford, J. W. Woodford, W.
G. Keys and others.
Jt!.UUIL3 are UClUfi IU4UC IU uigauui;
a $500,000 cotton-mill company at
Jackson, Miss. It is stated that North
Carolina capitalists have offered to
supply half the amount of the investment
provided local capital subscribe*
the other half.
The Gimnich Furniture Co. of Louisi
ville, Ky., is about erecting a switch
to connect its factory with the railroad.
The Gimnich Company recently
sold its old plant, and will erect a new
factory to be finished in thirty days.
Work has commenced on the box and
crate factory at the Seago mill site, two
miles north of Big Sandy, Texas, J. A.
Smith, an expert machinist, is superintending
the building of the plant.
The Nassan County Star reports the
shipments of wood products from the
pert of Fernandina, Fla., for the fliscal
year ending June 30, 1903, as follows:
Lumber 118,543,162 feet, crossties 896,654
pieces, and cedar logs 1942.
The Skylark.
Bird of the wilderness,
Blithesome and cumberless,
Sweet be thy matin o'er moorlanfi and
lea!
Emblem of happiness,
Blest 1b thy dwelling place?
O to abide in the desert with thoe:
Wild is thy lay and loud
Far in the downy cloud.
Love given it energy, love gave K birth!
Where, on thy dewj, wing.
Where art thou Journeying?
Tby lay is on heaven, thy love is on
ear in.
O'er fell and fountain sheen,
i O'er moor and mountain green.
O'er the red streamer that heralds the
day,
i Over the cloudlet dim.
Over the rainbow's rim,
Musical cherub, soar, singing away!
Then when the gloaming comes,
i Low In the heather blooms.
Sweet will thy welwcme and bed of love
be!
! Emblem of happn.-ss,
1 Blest by thy dwelling place?
> O to abide the desert with thee!
?James Hogg.
" A SUNDAY SERMON.
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD.
Broadmindedness oa the Consiatent
Christian Contrasted With the
World.
New York City.?Dr. Henry C. Swcntr.el,
rector of St. Luke's Church. Clinton
avenue, near Fulton street, preached Sunday
on "The Broadmindednesn of Chrisfiunifv
" Mo frtnL- hia tort frnm P-tfllma
cxix:9(': "Thv Commandment is exceeding
broad." Dr. Swentzel said:
The Son of God has called men into a
J dace of liberty and has set their feet in a
arge room. His example, His teachings
j and His whole tone illustrate and prove
His broadmindedness. No one who rightly
appreciates the Gospel can well contend
that it seeks to make human nature smaller
and feebler than it is. or that it would
lower the dignity and lessen the freedom
and banish the opportunities of human
life.
In the broadmindedness of Jesus is one
of His most notable characteristics. He
lived in the open, and His every word
indicates the comprehensiveness of His
thinking and the perfect sanity of His
conclusions. He is the broadest being
who has trod this earth and He has given
the broadest religion that man has known,
a religion which is not racial, national or
provincial, but worldwide. It is intended
to inspire the most liberal ideas and to
make the largest men. It is the embodiment
of broadmindedness in doctrine and
ideal, in itR outlook, its estimate of possibilities,
and its conceptions of human destinv.
Every follower of Christ should divest
himself as far as possible of narrowness and
pettiness in living his life and doing his
work. Let him be thoughtful and honest
and industrious and brave: let him be
sane, broadminded in his ideas, generous
in his principles and loyal in his conscience.
He is not called upon to emulate the
paltry disposition of the past, or to try
to restore the regime of a bygone age or to
clamor for the return of conditions which
were well enough for a younger civilization,
but which should not be installed in the
iwenuecn century. neiigion is not superstition.
faith is r.ot bigotry, godliness is
not intolerance.
We all do well to take account of the
Lord's admonition concerning the use of
language. He has warned us that we must
answer at the last for every idle word we
speak. How many idle words are used,
and how massive is human guilt in this
particular. Even those words which
should be pronounced with reverence are
mixed with frivolities. Other words which
should be used always seriously and with
the utmost accuracy are connected with
the pronouncements of garrulous brains
and flippant lips. "Breadth" is one of the
i words against which people sin most often,
so that earnest sou's have almost reached
the point of suspecting its tenor whenever
they hear it. In common parlance a
"broad" Romanist is a Roman Catholic
who cares little or nothing for his church
or for the religion which it preaches. A
"broad" Christian is a man who. though
he may not have broken with Chiistianity,
has no definite religious principles, no
c'earlv slated rules of right and wrong,
and has r.o fault to find with a propaganda,
the success of which would mean not
only the overthrow of faith but the ruin
of society. It is supposed to be "broad"
to be not too scrupulous about one's amusements.
to encourage irreligion. to disregard
the sanctities of Sunday. It is supposed
to be "broad" to sav and to do nothing
that would indicate that one has religious
feelings, to put himself in the attitude of
sympathy with bad things. It is oiipposed
to be "broad" to upset the Bible, to cast
discredit upon the church, to brand holy
traditions as a rack of lies, to make the
go?nel mean as little as possible, to reduce
religion, not to it* lowest terms. Put to no
terms at all. Thus the noble word is
clothed with a sense which it ought not to
have. When people tell of a "broad statement"
they mean a statement which '9
susoicious. if not inaccurate. When they
, refer to a "broad storv" they mean a storv
which is not quite decent. Tt were well
i to distinguish between a true breadth and
a spurious breadth, so that we might be
spafed from the ills that follow in the train
of a mere catchword, and have the blessing
and (be power which are imparted by the
breadth of thought and sympathy which
is one of the very finest marks of a son
of God.
From whatever standpoint iWs viewed
the religion of .Testis Christ is ol"-actemed
for its broadmindedness. It is to-dav the
only world religion, and the church ^ooks
forward to the time when all the neople
of all the nations will become the Lord's
i disciples. An examination of the theories
or schemes which have been set' up in
opposition to or rivalry with the everlasting
gospel will disclose their essential narrowness.
both as to ideas and life. In contrast
with the notions held by those who
stand aloof from Christ, how broad and
strong is the platform of Christian belief!
In all the world there is no creed or cone
t_ i_ i - i 1:1 i ?
iession wnicn is so amp e ana uoprai anu
1 comprehensive as the Nicene creed. It is
great in what it says and in what it does
not say, in what it defines and what it refuses
to define. Its expressions and its
reticence are mgnificant and impressive. In
it technical terms have been reduced to a
minimum, and it stands as an unfailing
source of truth and aspiration which shall
bless and enrich all classes of humanity until
the close of the latest age. It proposes
the divinity of the Trinity and the trinity
of divinity, but not in the foims of phi!1
osophv. It. dec'ares the Fatherhood of God,
the Sonship of Christ, the perpetual ministry
of the Holy Ghost, but not in the
elaborate phrases of the theologian. It
upholds tne virgin birth of .Teaus, His
worldwide office and His omnipotent endeavors
"for us men and for our salvation,"
but without the glosses of a mistaken
devotion. It proclaims the continuity
of the church of the apostles, but without
the speculations and dicta of the ecclesiologist.
It announces the nearness of God's
children in everv world, and the blessed !
life of endless felicity which awaits the
souls that He has redeemed, but without
the fancies and guesses and vagaries which (
have vainly tried to explore the hereafter. .
These truths are not only re. tarkable in
the manner of their statement, but also in ,
themselves. They are the foundation on (
which we are asked to build while we are
here, and the structure of our thoughts
and motives and efforts should be spacious
accordingly.
What an unspeakable crime it is to attack
such a belief on the scpre of its al- !
leged narrowness. It presents the largest (
iitone that man has known, and it nresents
them in the largest possible way. Its portrayal
of Jehovah is in harmony with His
divine majesty; its account of Jesus has
the sweetness and reverence of the gospel
according to St. John; its interpretation
of the Holy Spirit is a comforting and inspiring
doctrine for the needs ana sorrows
and possibilities of the present; its declaration
of the church marks it as a society
of grace and blessing which was founded
by the Lord. and. like a oeatitiful angel,
it points to "the life of the world to come." |
These are the dearest of all doctrines, the
best and the brightest, the largest and
mo3t liberal. Whatever else they are, they
are not contracted or paltry, but as catholic
as God and as universal as man. In- 1
deed, our religion is the only thing in the '
world that professes to desire the allegiance '
of everybody. It has the length and 1
breadth and depth and height of the love 3
of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. It does i
not give us views or conjectures, but only 1
the commandment of God which is "ex- 1
ceeding broad." I
The clever pettifogger can make it diffi- >
cult for us to defend anything, though we 1
may be infallibly sure of its truthfulness. <
The cross-examiner may succeed as far M ]
to bring us to the verge of doubting tiw . :
testimony ot our own senses. Even so aw
doubts easily possible concerning the matters
of Christian belief. It is not the par?
pose of this discourse, however, to disciiw g
the grounds of skepticism except in so far '
as they would impeach the breadth ot (
Christianity. Several forms of unbelief, ;
or of indifference, which is in a sense tb?
same thing logically, present a sorrjr spee? I
lacie in me presence- ui me imuumuw ^
of the Gospel. What are the troths for '
which they stand, and how real are those
troths? They talk perhaps of their intellectuality,
but they should remember thai
the men who are responsible for the Hi- &
cene Creed were pastmasters as metaphysicians.
They refer to the liberty
of which they are the champions, but the
liberty which they advocate is ir. essence
the very doctrine of nihilists and anarch- ;2
ists in society and politics. With blare
of trumpet they herald their own broad- S
mindedne8s. but if they had their way, and
if tusy could sweep religion from the fae*
of the earth, burn ud the Bibles, dynamite
the churches, it requires no propbet to
foretell what a dreadful situation would
ensue as the result of their havoc. The
man who puts agnosticism against the
creed has nothing to give this world except
what would make men more narro# than
they are, and would speedilv plunge them
into conditions first of civilized paganises
a..d a little later of rank barbarism. The j
skeptic is no more an apostle of liberality
than is tire anarchist an apostle cf liherty.
With great regret it must be confessed
that there are and have been multitude*
of narrow-minded Christians. Inasmuch
as human nature finds it difficult to attain
unto liberality, it is not to be wondered at
that so many fall short of the breadth of
our holy religion. Christians have not
onlv been' persecuted, but they have actually
persecuted one another, because of
differences of opinion. Only 100 frequently
have they failed to recognize the comprehensiveness
of the Gospel, and they
prefer their confessions to the catholic
faith and therr sects to the catholic
church. It is simply impossible to apologize
for them or to offer any argument in *
extenuation of their grievous offenses Idonr .
this line. They have restricted their God .
and their Eibie and their creed, 'and
have stood up stoutly to resist the largemindedness
of their Lord. But this does
not really affect the issue which we have L ~*i
in hand. It does not at all impair our . J
contention that the gospel of Christ itself
?not Protestantism or Puritanism or 'i
Medievalism, but the gospel?contains the -fi
broadest doctrines, the broadest ideas of
God and of man and of destiny, and the
broadest working principle oi thought and ^
of life.
God's "commandment is exceeding . A
broad" in its practical application to man a
conditions. It preaches God's Fatherhood,
which is a mighty foundation for Ihe in- f
tellectual life, and man's brotherhood.
whi^h makes the scope of moral obligation. v-i
God's relation to us is most assuring, and ^
our relation to Him and to all our nroihera
makes toe theatre of action and sete < ^
forth the sphere of conscience, sympathy /*
and endeavor. One of the miseries of irreligion
is that it despoils humanity of alt
this. The heart which cares not for th? i
doctrines of Christian belief is sadly im- *'?
poverished and reduces this present existence
to a small affair, for it has nothing
to say of the higher things or of an eternity
of blessedness, and nothing that avails for
the enlargement of aspiration and the reinforcement
of energy. Christ truly di??
covered the individual. He argued that S '3
man's soul was more important than the
gain of the whole world; He came ex- ?3
pressly to 1 ft human nature out of tte ."J
stnallness and to place it in an environment
where the sons of God rightly belong; He -1
revealed the model which is nothing lew
than the character of the King of kings. sj
and called all the sons of men to a royal
life; He disposed a large meaning for doties
and eriefs, pleasures and possibilities; ^
He would have His people stand on the
Mount of the Ascension whence they caa
see the present in its perspective, snd hsre
an expansive outlook for the study of them* .
selves and their lives. The broadrainded , ' >?
Lord has given a broadminded religion for
men when thev pray and work and suffer, i
and He would inspire them to rise n?
to the oblications and opportunities which j
wait upon them every hour in the day. . >';js
How narrow is the average man! Modera
conditions are not an unmixed boon
to the masses. Tiiere have been many '
gains, but there have been manv lotnwalso.
Amonz the losses in the world as we ; /
know it to-day is the almost inevitable
tendency of our way of living and oor J.
methods of business to curtail the individ- ^
ual in the living of his life and the doing rof
his work. More and more are the people
of the workaday world hampered and \V
restricted l>v the demand for specialization. J
T.ie individual is being called upon to do
^ome one ta?k and to do it over and over
.-main three hundred days in the year. aB
of which is equivalent to shutting hiitt
within confines where he can scarcely hopo
to develop into his best self. Thia effect
is one of the deplorable ills of the times.
The rules of offices and fa^tqjics and shops
which encourage erncrts is ruinous to~tMi
individual who indeed learnR to do one r
thing perfectly, but who is thus hindered
from knowing anything else outside* of bis
daily task. Then. too. the spirit of the
business man that makes him ambitions
and satisfied to become a man of busineaa \
and thus reduce his 'ife to the level of a
mere monev-maker, is likelv to produce
the same direful result. No one should
willingly become a machine. In spite of
the advancement which is one of the won
ders of the age. the people of the United
States are now face to face with a situation
which soielv requires a crusade in favor of
hroadmindedness?a crusade that will ex- *
hort the people, in spite of discourage- i
ments to the contrary, to find leisure for
considering tonics and resorting to occupations
in addition to those which belong
.l Wn
LU men nniiv ciipiautniciuo. n t muov o???ply
make time for thought and reading and
recreation; we mint rise to the glorious
liberty of the children of God; we must
insist for ourselves that the most important
things are not meat and drink, but th*
kingdom of God and His righteousness. .
We need the broadmindedness of Jean*.
We need His outlook, His doctrine, liis
model of thought and life. His symmetry
of character, His proportions of manhood.
The Saviour of mankind would save as
from pettiness and illiberality. He would
have us accept God's largest estimate of
ourselves. He would call us to a life which
will issue at last in the heavenly land. He
would fill us in mind and heart and sonl
with God's commandment which is so exceeding
broad.
Oar Part Essential.
God has a place for each one of us and *
work for each one of us. God does not expect
us to fill more than our own place, or
to do more than our own work, but each
one of us is important in his or her ova
tnhere. All the offerings of the wealthy in
the courts of the temple in Jerusalem^
were well in their time and amount. But^
the poor widow, who had only her two
mites, should not have felt that her gift
was unimportant. It seemed as if Jesus
?at watching and watting for that little of- ?
ferirg, and the story of ner doing her part j
has been told the world over in the centur??
n Incsnn a a n lit.
icj* suae vucu, as ?* ? ?? ? ? ?
?piration. Even though our part ia bnt ft
little one God, as it were, watches and
waits for that. Shall it be lacking?
Superiority In Confession' of Wrong.
A confession of wrong may be proof of ft
possession of superior ability. One who in
making progress is likely to see truth > ft
new light to-day, and to perceive that ho j
was not right in the light which he had
yesterday. Pope says truly, "A man should
never be ashamed to say he has been ia
the wrong, which is but saying in other
words that hf is wiser to-day than he was
resterday." Therefore it often require*
more ability to admit having been in the
wrong than to stand by the position which
me maintained yesterday. Jiave you this
power to grow 1 _