The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, May 26, 1904, Image 7
I
NO RELIEF IN SIGHT
War On Boll Weevil Seems to Be a
^ Hopeless Struggle
COlTON BELT WILL BE PLAGUED
W. D. Hunter, the Department of
Agriculture Expert, Thinks That
Pest Likely to Cause an Early Price
Increase and Ultimately to Do
$250,000,000 Annual Damage.
"Washington, Special.?Some signifi ant
official predictions regarding tbs
ravages of the cotton boll weevil are
made in a report soon to be issued by
the Department of Agriculture, and
written by W. D. Hunter, who has
charge of the entomological part of
the boll weevil in\estigation, in which
half a hundred experts are now engaged.
Mr. Hunter says that conservative
authorities agree that unless
contingencies at present unexpected
occur, the pest soon will cause an increase
in the price of cotton throughout
the world. By living within the
fruit of the plant, the weevil is well
sienna that mieht I
proiutifu nuui ixuj i/u'uuuu ?? -?w?
be applied; it occupies but fourteen
days for development from egg to
adult, and the progeny of a single pair
in a season may reach 134,000,000 individuals;
it adapts itself to climatic
v conditions and is remarkably free
from parasites and diseases, all combining
to make efforts at control difficult.
Tho report estimates that the
presence of the weevil practically
-doubles the area of land required to
produce a bale of cotton, and that the
weevil caused the Texas planters a
loss of about J15.000.000 in 1903. Assuming
$500,000,000 as the value of
the normal cotton crop of the county,
Mr. Hunter says the probable ultimate
damage when the pest has become
spread over the entire belt
would approximate $230,000,000 annually,
providing nothing were done
^ to check it. Planters, however, are }
adopting changes in methods, that
tend to avoid so much damage. The
report predicts that the weevil eventi
uallv will be distributed all over tho
cotton belt, advancing into new territory
at the rate of approximately 500
miles a decade, and it probably always
will be as destructive in a series
of years as it has been in Texas since
3S94. The report suggests that the
r Krvi*-?rr narrittd tO
prooamiuy ui us
West Africa or elsewhere abroad is
not at all remote.
In case the seed happens to be sacked.
or even shipped in bulk, there is
nothing to prevent the weevils from
being carried long distances on shipboard.
as they are able to adapt themselves
successfully to climatic conditions.
It is pointed out. however, that
the danger could be avoided by fumigation.
or by leaving the seed sacked
in store-rooms, isolated from new cotTon
for a year previous to shipment.
Government Crop Report.
Washington, Special.?The weekly
crop bulletin .issued by the weather
bureau, says:
Cool weather has been unfavorable
for cotton throughout the cotton belt,
and drought in portions of the eastern
districts has proved detrimental. Complaints
of poor stands continue from
nearly all sections in the central and
eastern districts, but good stands are
the rule in Lousiana. Oklahoma and
Texas. In the last-named State the
fields are generaly clean and the
' . plants are beginning to iruu in iuc
coast districts. Chopping is well advanced.
and cultivation in the southern
districts is general. Boll weevils
have appealed and are increasing in a
number of southwest and south central
cotton counties of Texas.
In Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and
Virginia, planting is backward, but
doing well in Maryland, Kentucky and
Tennessee. Transplanting has begun
lu tbe two last-named States, and is
general is North Carolina. The fruit
outlook Is generally promising, except
for peaches in the most northerly
sections. In the Southern States,
however, a good crop of peaches, is
promised.
Japanese Squadron Fires on a Ttwn.
St. Petersburg, By Cable.?Genera!
Sakaroff reports to the general staff
under today's date as follows:
"General Samsonof? reports at 13.
CO o'clock last night that the Japanese
confined their efforts to feints at
lauding in the neighborhood of Siting
Yue Cheng and Kaai-Chau. Their *"es
sels opened fire on the town of Sinn?: I
Yu Chens, on our scouts and on the
coast.
"The Japanese squadron left after
5.30 o'clock, proceeding southwest,
and several of its vessels remained
visible on the horizon until dusk."
Forces Active.
Mukden, By Cable.?It was announced
here that the main body of
the Japanese forces is advancing on
Haicheng (about ten miles southeast
of New Chwang) and Kai-Ping and
Kai-Cbou (about 35 miles south of
New Chwang), and that a smaller
force is marching in the direction of
Liao Yang. Important developments
are probable.
An Honorable Record.
_ _ A Marblehcad (Mass.) bank which
lias boon going a hundred years paying
dollar for dollar all that time now
puts up its shutters and will go out
of business solvent and respected to
the last. It was never a big concern,
having a capital of only a little over
$100.0^0, but it shows a better record
than many a bigger one. and will
leave a memory creditable to the town
and the commonwealth in which it
has so long operated.
TWO INTERESTING CASES |
Strickland vs. the Capital City Mills
Completed and Sentell vs. the
Southern Begun.
Two quite interesting eases were argued
this week before the Supreme
Coiiii. <>ne was that of Strickland
vs. the Capital City .Mills.
Strickland aonimonced action in b
March. liH'-. against the mills to re- .
cover damages for injuries alleged to t
have been received while ai work in j,
the picker room, on loth November. c
1901. The complaint alleged that the c
plaintiff took employment to work in t
the card room, with which he was fa- g
miliar, but on November 13th. was c
transferred to work in the picker s
room, with which he was entirely un- t
familiar, and incapable of under- i
standing the danger to which this c
work exposed him: that the machin- I
cry was unsafe, without adequate a
guards; thai plaintiff's arm was c
caught and lacerated and he was ?
greatly injured, through these negli* t
gent acts of defendant?to his damage *
$1,500. t
Tho defendant denied the allega- F
tions and further alleged that if the t
plaintiff was injured, it was caused 1
by his own carelessness and negligence
and not by the negligence of
the defendant.
A verdict was rendered for $1,500
in favor of the plaintiff, and the mills
c
appealed. Mr. Frank (I. Tompkins ^
appeared for Strickland and Mr. R. W. ^
Shand for the mills.
... s
Tiie case 01 semen ?u<- tiuumg
ern railway was brought 'up from
Edgefield. Sentell. says the complaint.
was subject "to a malady
which caused him at times to lose
control of his movements and become
unconscious and compel him to sit or
he down and rest." Anyway. Sentell
sat down on the end of a crosstie of
the Southern Railway track about 300
yards south of the station at Warrenville
in Aiken county on May 28. 1900.
His head was on his hands and the
complaint says that this is a position
thai indicates that "either he was
sick or unconscious." The train
struck him and he was killed. The
pliantiff. his widow, claimed that the
engineer could have seen him, as the
track is straight for a mile or more
and the train could have been stopped.
One thousand, uine hundred and ninety
nine dollars and costs were asked,
and when the case came to trial the
entire amount asked was given. The
case was then appealed by the railroad.
Mr. J. W. DeVore began argument
for the appellant.
Murray Convicted of Forgery. 2
Charleston. Special.?(leorge W. Murray.
the former Congressman from the
third distrct, was last week convicted
of forgery, at Sumter, this State, after
a desperate fight by his lawyers to save
him. The trial consumed nearly two
days. The jury was out nearly an
hour deliberating, but returned a ver- (
diet of guilty, without recommendation 1
for mercy. Murray's attorney gave notice
of a motion for a new trial, and s
arguments will be held tomorrow. This 1
case will undoubtedly be fought to the 1
court of last resort, as Murray is the j
- K..M
largest ianu owner in mis wu III ? I _
ing about 800 acres. He was ably de- j
fended, and the conviction was the re- <
suit of the strongest possible evidence ]
of guilt, mainly documentary, and a j
part of which was given and sworn to ,
by Murray himself in a civil suit held f
last year, at which time he produced
the forged contract and offered it in
evidence in support of his case.
New Trial Refused.
Sumter. Special.?(leorge W. Murray's
attorney made a motion for a new
trial in his conviction of forgery on the
ground that the verdict was not war- '
ranted by the evidence. The attorney '
<'aimed that it was not only unwar- (
ranted in fact and law. but of far- 1
reaching effect for evil if allowi>d to '
stand. In reply the solicitor and assist- i
ant counsel reviewed the evidence and 1
showed that no other verdict could 1
have been returned by an intelligent 1
ar.d honest jury. Judge Purdy refused 1
<o grant the new trial. He stated that I
the verdict was fully warranted, and ]
the one to he expected from so into!- j
ligent a jury of representative citizens, j
Murray was then sentenced to pay a
fine cf $230 and serve three veais on
fihainfffieiiu. Notice of appeal was
j:veil and lie was hailed on a $2,000
lond.
To Cost $20,000.
Florence. Special.?At a citizen's |
meeting, held at the court house Fn- ,
day night, it was decided that the
present school building he torn down
and a new building to cost not less
than $20,000 lie built. The trustee-;
were instructed to have a committee
visit some of the modern school
buildings in tin- Fnited States and
with the aid of a school architect to
formulate a plan with costs and submit
it to the citizens at another meeting.
Florence has a good looking
building now but it was not Diuit ngnt
for a school house and is defective in
ventilation.
Clover School Closing.
Clover. Special.?The Clover High
School closed Friday morning with appropriate
exercises. The management
of the Clover school has been
for the last two years under the ditection
of Mr. \V. H. Hamilton, who
after pleasant and profitable work,
now resign; his position to resume
his studies at Davidson College, where
ho wishes to do special work preparatory
to a continuance of h.s stwli
at Johns Hopkius' University.
PALMETTO POINTS
GIVEN IN BRIEF '
J.
,T - j,
A Gruesome Find.
r
New berry, Special.?A dead n?*gro ,
abv. only a few days old. wrapped in .
ags and placed in a valise, was put on f
he Southern's night passenger train
iere one night last week. The actions j
if a negro woman at the depot had ex- t
ited suspicion on the part of Conducor
Nix, who thought the woman had .
;ot on the front part of the baggage .
oach to steal a ride. The conductor ^
ent one of his men out to look and
he valise was found with the baby in
o
t. It was put off at Prosperity. The r
oron<v held an inquest this morning. J
t appears that the baby' was born
A out last Thursday. Its skull was .
n.shed and its neck broken. A negro
roman has been arrested by police auhoriti?s
here and is now in the guard
louse. It seems that she got on the
rain, placed the valise on the front
ilatform of the baggage coach and
hen got off. This suspicious action led .
o the discovery of the valise. c
Negro Killed. *
Kershaw, Special.?Last Thursday
in altercatiou took place between Mr.
^ewis M. Horton, who lives just north
if Kershaw, and Charlie Brown, col red,
in which the latter was shot
vith a pistol, the ball entering the
;ide of the neck and lodging in the
pinal column, from the effects of
vhich he died Saturday afternoon. ,
irown was a tenant on Mr. Horton,s ,
dace and without cause left his crop
vithout providing any way to have it y
corked. Mr. Horton was trying to in- j
a kin
luce tne negro to reuim ma iohu j
rhen the difficulty took place. Coro- j
ler Caskey, of Lancaster, conducted j
he inquest, while Drs. Haile and ,
Jrasington held the autopsy. The \
rerdict of the jury was that "Brown .
ame to his death from the effects i
if a gunshot wound in the hands of <
dr. Horton while protecting his life." i
t is a clear case of self-defense, as t
Jrown was in close range of Mr. Hor- i
on and was in the act of throwing S
in axe when Mr. Horton shot. Mr.
Jorton will surrender to Sheriff Hun- J
er at Lancaster. %
! (
A Novel Move in Court. | (
Saluda, Special.?The attorneys for j |
dorgan Thrailkill and his son Clar 1
nee, who are in jail here charged
vith killing Benjamin B. Burton and 1
nurderouslv assaulting his brother, l
?ecky Burton, at Monetta some weeks 1
igo, moved Saturday before Judge 1
Srnest Gary for an order to "exhume i
he body of young Burton for further '
?xamination for a bullet the attend- '
ng physicians failed to find at the ,
oroner's inquest." In an order filed ;
fudge Gary refuses the motion wnd ]
itates that there is no authority of ]
aw for a circuit Judge to grant such >,
in order. The supposed purpose of I <
lefendants' attorneys in moving for | ]
he order was to lay the foundation
?in case the imaginary bullet was
lot found?for contradicting the
State's chief witness, Capt. E. A.
Perry. It is said that it is doubtful 1
f such a motion was ever before
nade in the whole criminal practice *
>f South Carolina.
i
9 ?????
Tampered with the Switch.
Chesterfield, Special.?On Monday i
norning when engine No. 109 on the
Chesterfield and Lancaster Railway
seas passing the switch at Thompson's ?
siding, about six miles from here, the ;
ender went on one track and the i
Jnglne on the other, twisting it badi?
L..4. ?? n-QT?o (TAintr Vf?rv qlnw*
I) , UlR on iuc; nv.iv nm>iB
10 one was hurt. Upon examing the
switch Mr. Page found that someone ]
iiad been tampering with it, and not
being able to break the lock they had
taken out a bolt, and if the train had
been going much faster it might have
been a serious accident. A reward
has been offered for the party or
parties who tampered with the switch,
and if caught they should be severely
punished. Owing to the accident tin;
passengers- for Charleston were carried
to Bennetisville, and from there
to Charleston.
Palmetto Items.
Hon. J. T. Johnson, of Spartanburg,
Is pushing claims for horses taken from
soldiers and officers at the close of the
war. He Has already obtained $723 for
five persons. and has other claims that
he is pushing through the War Depart
ment. He will leave for Washington
Monday to look after these claims and
will not be able to attend the State
Democratic convention.
Mr. A. E. Hill, a machinist at Union
Mills, was badly burned about the face
and head while at work on some stcara
pipes at the mill. Dr. S. S. Under was
Immediately summoned and did all that
was possible to relieve the suffering
man. Mr. Hill is now doing very
nicely.
Anderson is very anxious to secure
the female college to be established by
the Episcopal diocese of the State.
The chamber of commerce has appointed
a special committee and a canvas:
will be begun at once.
On the plantation of Mr. S. C. Carter,
ten miles northwest of Chester, two negro
men. Will Wright and Isaac Grant,
got into a quarrel about some trivial
matter. The result was that Wright j
fired upon Grant and death ensued in a
short while. The slayer was committed 1
to jail.
%
PALMETTO CROP CONDITIONS
What <:he Department Says of Weath- I
er Conditions for the Past Week. I
The week ending 8 a. ,m.. May 16th,
lad a mean temperatrre of about 68
legrees. The normal ft r the same peiod
is 12: The nights were cooler than
:sual. with an extreme minimum of 44
it Urecnvnie on me i-m. nu* un..
' mperatures averaged about normal,
vith an extreo maximum of 01 at i
" iorence on the 10th. There was more
han the normal amount of bright
unshine. At times the relative humility
was very low. and the light winds
icsiccating. The close of the week
\as cool and cloudless.
The rainfall deflcier cy continues in
ill parts of the State, with drought
ireva'Iing except in the extreme northrest
and limited localities in the cenral
and northeastern counties where
leavy showers occurred. The week's
ainfall ranged from none to 0.64 inch;
ho normal is 0.90 inch. Since the hennaing
of the crop season the aecur.ulated
deficiency ranges from four
o seven inches. The drought has be ome
serious in the coast region. In
hq upper Savannah valley and in the
tend Hill region wells are failing and
vater courses are dry.
Stands of corn range from good to
^ery poor, the latter caused mainly by
he ravages of worms and birds; alhought
in places poor germination,
rom lack of moisture, is the cause.
Irowth is generally slow, although,
vith exceptions, it has a good color,
md, under thorough cultivation, a
teneral imporvement has taken place,
fields are remarkably free from weeds
ind grass.
Cotton stands range from good to
rery poor, former on sandy lands, the
nttor nn rlav and red lands. Some late
plantings are not yet tip, especially In
he dryest sections. Replanting condnues
particularly of early cotton,
which makes the s.ands of that porlon
of the crop broken and irregular.
V.R improvement in condition is noted
where the fainfall was heaviest, and
Jeterioration where it was light, or
vhere none fell. The nights have been |
oo cool for rapid growth, and plants ;
ire dying in the southern counties.
Sea Island cotton is suffering for rain. [
Tobacco is being worked, but Its j
growth is slow.
Rice is doing well in the George- |
own districts, but in the southerly. I
listricts freshet water is needed for
looding. as the rivers have become
;rackish. Planting continues.
Wheat has improved and is promising
in the western parts, but is very
poor in the central counties. Oates I
rary in condition directly as the rain- ,
fall. In the droughty regions the straw j
is short, too short to cut. Spring oats j
are poor. Harvest has begun in the i
southern parts.
Peaches have undergone no change: ,
apples and pear trees are blighting. [
Stands of melons are poor, except in ,
Barnwell county. Truck yields have i
been reduced one-half, by drought, in
the coast regions, in the interior the
conditions are more favorable.?J. W.
Bauer. Section Director.
Ask Executive Clemency.
Several applications ror paruuu
icted on Friday by the governor.
Jason Watters of Spartanburg was
tonvleted In July, 1901, of housebreaking
and larceny and sentenced to
serve five years. His sentence was
rem muted to the present time on the
recommendation of Judge Townsend
E?nd Solicitor Sease.
John Davis of Pickens, given one
year and fined $200 for gambling, had
his sentence commuted to a fine of
*25. The commutation was recommended
by Judge Dantzler and Solicitor
Bogga.
Son Dial of Greenville, convicted of
highway robbery and snatching a
puree, was given three years. His
pardon was refused.
Pardon was also refused E. E.
Harberson of Dorchester, convicted of
manslaughter aifd given two years.
Another pardon refused was that of
John F. Richardson of Manning, convicted
of assault and battery and given
five years. He was convicted in Saluda
and why be wishes pardon is 1
not known, as his sentence is almost
oirt and besides, the offense does not
deprive him of citizenship.
Cocverst Teacher Dead.
Spartanburg. Special.?Miss Delia
Foster, an ins ructor in the modern
language department at Converse college,
died at the home of Prof. A Id en
on Converse campus last week after
three weeks' s ckness. Her condition
had been regarded as very grave for
several flays past, and her mother
came here recently to be with her
in her illness. Site was a gifted, accomplished
ycang woman, and was
a favorite with the student body. The
funeral services were field at me college.
and the Iicdv was carried to the
former home >f the deceased in Connecticut
for burial.
Getting Heady for Colonies.
Commissioner Watson of the department
of agriculture, commerce and im11
icration is busy listing the available
lands in the State for colonization
purposes. He has now a list of some
175.000 acres ind in this number are
tiacts of 60.000 acres. 25.000 acres. C.000
acres. 1.000 acres, 10,000 a. res and several
tracts of from 2.000 to .1,000 acres.
Every section of the State, from* the
Piedmont to ihe coast, is represented.
Commissioner Watson will go to
Aiken. Horry county and one of the
sea islands ntxt week.
t ?i? i mma?f?
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY |;
______ )
1
AN INTERESTING DISCCURSE BY THE J
REV. DONALD SASE MACKAY. J
1
(
Subject: "The Value of a Day"?We i
Should Not Want# ?111011 iu Talking i
Platitude* About the Shartneaa of '
Time?f.et L'a Re Dp and holn;. '
New Yokk Cr\Y?A sermon preached
Sunday evening 1 J* the Ktv. Dr. Donald t
Sa^p Mat-Kay. in i'olley;iie Church. Fiith j ,
avenue and Forty-eighth sirect. had tor ,
its subject "Th?- Value of a Dav." The j ,
text was from John xi:9: "Are mere noi ;
twelve hours in the day?'' Or. Mac-Kay
said:
My text this evening is Christ's definition
of a day: '"'Are there not twelve hours
in the day?" And what of it? you ask.
This much at least: The day is a great deal
longer than some people seem to imagine.
It is indeed one of the dreariest, as it id
one of the oldest of moral reflections,
which forever dwells upon the shortness
of time and the swiftness of its flight.
More mournful .eloquence and doleful
poetry have been inspired by that one
theme than by any other in the catalogue
of human thought. Of course, time is
short, and its flight is swift, but are there
not twelve hours in the day? To each
man sufficient time has beeu given to do
the task assigned to him. That is the solemn
practical truth emphasized by our
Saviour here, and it is one that perhaps
we hardly ever think of; not the shortness
of time, but its sufficiency for the tasks of
life. Are there not twelve hours in the
day? That is our subject, the value of a
day, abundance of time to do the duties
which must be done, to hear the burdens
which must be borne, to face the trials
which God sends.
At the outset I want to sec how these
words of Christ rebuke two very opposite,
but very common, tempers which men assume
in regard to time and its opportunities.
On the one hand, Christ i-ebukes
here that morbid spirit which in hopeless
impotence is forever bewailing the shortness
of time, its loss of opportunities in the
past and its smallness of opportunities in
the present. "0, if I had only done so and
so twenty years ajjo, how much better off I
had been to-day, one man exclaims, and
he sits down in a sort of sentimental fatalism,
bewailing his unhappy lot, making no
real effort to better it. To such a man
Christ says in effect,"Never mind the past; 1
it is gone; you cannot recall it; but are 1
there not twelve hours in the day? Do the |
best you can with this day and its precious j
hours."_ Vain regrets for the past are the 1
worst kind of dissipation of the present. '
But, on the other hand, these words not
less strongly rebuke ^that opposite spirit, <
which, because life seelns to stretch through *
long vista of seventy or eighty years, is J
prodigal of its time, thinks that the duties
of the present can well enough be mort- !
gaged on the opportunities of the future. 1
"What does it matter, after all, if a young '
man squanders a few years in solving his 1
wild oats? Nature is generous. You can 1
bank on her resources. A few years of '
mis spent time?well, it won't matter twen- 1
ty 3'ears after this." So in effect many '
men argue. So they stake life and immor- 1
tality on the chances of the future. And 1
to that temper Christ says: "Are there not '
twelve hours in the day?" Only twelve! |
Steal ten of them for sin to-day and you 1
cannot give twenty-two of them for God 1
to-morrow. Only twelve hours! Sufficient 1
to do life's duties in, but not sufficient to 1
serve God and the devil in. Twelve hours! 1
Abundance of time, but not a moment too *
much, not a second too many. # 1
"Are there not twelve hours in the day?" 1
It was .lesus Christ who asked that qucs- (
tion. Have you never been struck with j
what I must call the frugality of Christ, 1
not only in respect of time, but of every- ]
thing else? Cnrist was pre-eminently a
frugal man. not prodigal with His resources.
not spendthrift with His powers.
He bad the riches of the universe in His j
grasp. No millionaire that ever lived
could command such resources; and yet
when out of these resources He had fed a
multitude of 5000 people, what was it He 1
said to His disciples? "Gather up the fragments,
that nothing be lost." He was anx-1
ious for the crumbs. Frugal, not parsimonious,
He realized the value of the little
things in life.
So. too, in this m tter of time. From
pv??rf.iafcinir to everlastinc He is God. "Be
fore Abraham was, J am," the heir of all
the ages. And yet He counts life by its
hours, twelve hours in the day, while we, 1
the frail, helpless children of a day, presume
to measure life by its years. How
old are you? And the young man in the
exuberance of his vitality counts life by it<; j
years, and replies: "Twenty, thirty years
old." "How old art thou?" said Pharaoh \
to the aged Jacob. And the patriarch,
though he was 137 years old at the time,
counted his life by its days, and Jacob
said unto Pharaoh: "Few and evil have the 1
days of the years of my pilgrimage been." |
It was by its days that the old man reckoned
life.
So, too, you remember the prayer of
Moses: "So teach us to number,' not our \
years, but "our days, that we may apply j
our hearts unto wisdom.'' (
Have you ever noticed how much more
keenly this sense of the value of a day is
forced home unon us the nearer we come (
to eternity? It is when the soul stands (
upon the shore of a boundless eternity ,
that it begins to think of how much a day. ,
an hour, a moment means. "A million of ,
money for an inch of time." cried the great j
English queen, after six," long years on a
throne. A million of money for an inch of j
time! The nearer we get t(j eternity the
more precious tnc moments 'become. And
Christ, who lived in the atmosphere of
eternity and who alone hath immortality,
counted life by its hours, twelve hours in
the day?enough, but not enough and to
spare.
I want, af course, this evening to empha?ire
especially the spiritual aspect of
this subject, ana yet it cannot be out of
place altogether to remember that this
power of using the hours of a day and
gathering up these precious fragments of
time, frequently called "odd moments." is
really the secret of some of the most successful
lives. One of the striking testimonials
of biography, indeed, is this, that a
great many enduring reputations in the
world have been built out of the "odd moments"
of life. Men otherwise long since
forgotten are renjembered to-day for what
they achieved in odd moments, in .the
twelve hours of the day. One of the best
translations of Lucretius, the great Latin
?- - 1 T
writer, was me worn 01 a u?m uuuuuu
doctor while going his daily round among
hi.s patients. A great musician learned
French, and Italian while riding from om
musical pupil to another. Kirke White
learned Greek while walking to and from
a lawyer's office, so that he was enabled ;<>
graduate with honors in the university.
One of the ablest legal treatUes in the
French language was written by a man in
the somewhat depressing interval which
precedes the serving of the evening meal,
after he had come home from his oflicc.
Elihu Burritt taught himself eighteen ancient
languages and twenty-two European
languages while waiting for. the horses to
be shod in his blacksmith shop, .^ch examples
teach us forcibly enough how abundant
are the hours of the day for the no!
blest tasks of life, if we would but seek
grace to u?c thein aright. "Redeeming the
time." says the apostle. How many of u?
ask God's grace each day wo rise, to use
the tuelvo hours aright, for lli< glory and
for the benefit of our fellow men?
l)o wc realize this pmilegt ti. +w*}rr
liours a day sufficiently? T am (juite sure
if we did we should not say so often as we
do that we have no time. We should not
waste so much time in talking platitudes
about the shortness of time. Wc should be 1
: \
dfiUHI
up and doing, living, fife in earnest, y
not in spasms. Yet think hoir many
squander tht?e precious twelve hours day ?
!>v dajr. Think, for example, of the hour*
ii' idle reveries, useless, aimless dreaming*
respectable loafing, that many of us give r
jurselves tip to throughout the day. It
tor perhaps that our thoughts are vicious J
>r impure, but simply that our minds get
uto a state of suspended animation, dor?g
which an uncurbed fancy makes havod
>t our will power, paralyzes our energy* t,
ind rob.-, us of the day's most precious op>ortunities.
Meditation, indeed,* is not B
dimness -quiet. restful thought* in whick ' -J
lie soul dre.uns its visions for service, is
...? iirti< Mufc the mistake so i
ii.my o: nuke i.- tij.it nsr moments of
neiiilatiori are lost in hours of idle dreamng
which leads us now here save only into ',
he innzc- of selfish indulgence and sent!- fa
ncntal fancy. Twelve hours in the day,
md how many lost in foolish dreaming? # w
Think. too, what waste in gos&ip, is ..,1
icedless, thoughtless talk. It is not that -V
ve are deliberate scandal mongers, but
iimplv that to pass the time wc indulge in
t kind of talk about our neighbors and Jt
riends, the results of which for evil are
yeatcr than we may ever know. Who.can t.
stimate the reputations that have been
vrecked, the lives of promise that have
>een crippled, the usefulness for good in a
he world that has been checked by the . 3
etailing of evil slander throughout the v
wclve hours of the day? ". 71
Once more, think of the hours consumed jA
n the pursuit of merely selfish pleasure. ? v
Indifferent to the bitter cry of outcast hn- vdj
nanity, callous to the great moral needs of .
he hour that come knocking at our doors,
io\v many of us use up the twelve hour*
n the pursuit of schemes whose one purpose
is for self and self alone. Busy we
nay be, but so busy with the affairs of self
hat we have no time to spend for the com*
non good, for the needs of man, or the J
;lory of God. Twelve hours! and all of 3
hem strangled upon the altar of self?net
me given up to God, to wing its way opvard
like incense before the eternal throne! ,~A
Look back upon the week uat is gon& :5
vitn its treasury of hours, and what record ?
lave they left upon the tablets of the soul?
How many hours of last week witnessed 1
k>u on your knees before God? How many *
lours did you give to prayer? How many
bours did you give to studying the Bible? ,
How many to thinking thoughts of love ,.
ind translating them into deeds of kind- <
iess? How many to crucifying self and
;nthroning Christ? How many? Perhape
iot even one. And yet on these hours we . ?
ire building character fpr eternity; out of
these hours is growing that immortal self
with which at last we must stand before
:he judgment scat of God. Twelve hours
m the day to work out your salvation, and
bow many men are using these twelve
bours in working out their perdition?
How, then, are we going to redeem on* ' Jt
lays, make the most 01 those twelve hours. ,'J
-0 that at last no upbraiding memory shall
recall them with sorrow rnd shame?
I would not be so foolish as to say thai 'J
this power to use time aright means that j
we are to fill up each separate hour with
some determined, conscious effort. That
would be impossible, and, even if it war*
possible, it would turn us into self-conicious
prigs and moral pedants. You caaaot
detach every hour and say. as Franklin
said in his diary, that this hour will be de- tJ\
roted to such an ' such a duty, that hc-r
:o some other dutv, and so on. That would
destroy a great deal of the inspiration of
life and would turn existence into a grind- J
ing macLine. No, the hours rre to be r*- i
deemed, not so much by what we do in 1
them as by the spirit we bring to them, ladi
the temper in which we use them, JUOW'ya
every day be begnn with its season of
rial prayer. Let it have its molnenU shut
oft for communion with God. And then i
these moments, however brief, of coast- :
crated prayer, will give a tonic to the rest ri J
of the day *-'hich will make impossible that ;
flippant dissipation of time which is so
ruinous to character.
There are two things that this spirit "oI v3
prayer will produce in our use of tho S?
twelve hours in the day. first, grayer
Eroduccs a sense ot urgency, f. snrit ofaste,
if you like, but not a spirit flf harry. U'
It intensities the thought that time is short V;
and yet enough for each one of us to do
something for God. It is that feeling of ;
urgency in regard to each day as it comes M
that it should leave the record of something
attempted, something given for God ' />
and our fellow men, that gives richness to }
life, a beauty to character, a sunny radiance
to the soul, that makes earth tho J,
threshold of heaven. Nothing is more dia?^
gusting than to meet people who simply - *
loaf through life, without any sense of urgency.
As the saying goes, they do not
care whether school keeps or not. They
are not worried about the - ortd's necessi- a
ties. What we want is this sense of ur- ^
gency. Time is short, and yet long enougb "5
with prayer to do something that will 3
abide when we have passed away. That is
the first thing that prayer brings to tho
twelve hours of the day.
The second thirtg is a sense ot calmness, v a
a spirit ot serenity. How often we fret f
and worn' beneath .he pressure of life!
The friction of care reduces the effective- ?
ness of our energy. Many men are wearing;
themselves out before their time, simply j
because they have this hallucination that y
there is not time enough. They pet iito
fever of worry because the davl arg toft'jjg
short. But prayer brings tons the thought
that God has given us tune enough, and all CT
He asks from us is to live and work by th^ j
day. In His service we are only day labor- *i
crs. W ith to-morrow we have nothing ttK'.ffl
do. The command is. "Go, work
ind the promise is, "I will pay you a penny 3
a day." God's wages are paid, not by toe -f
month nor the week, but by the day. Each '*
day brings its duty, but each day tyring* v<
its grace and strength and blessing as went |
"Build a little fence of trust * A
Around to-day.
Fill the pace with loving work,
And therein stay. (
Look not through the sheltering bars'
Upon to-morrow; ' y*
God will help thee bear what comes ~?S
Of joy or sorrow." , '^3
With some of us here this evening the i
day of life is young. The morning light
still lends freshness to your youthful ar- '
dor. But with othc-s of vs it is already '-a
the eleventh hour, 'he eleventh hour in
iife's busy day. Although we know it not, ;
the dusk ot time :s falling fa .. The twilight
of our years s deepening and high up Ja
in the belfry of the sou' . 2
J'he curfew tolls the knell of passing day." f
And yet through the silence of this eler- J
cnth hour, throug- the shadowed market- 3
place of your life's activities, you may hear J
to-night the voice of iufinitc love and tenderness
calling, and calling yet again:
"Why -land ye here all '.he day idler' It-jS
is the eleventh hour.and Christ claims that ?
-i?? i- Ur..Ir>om time in His 1^3
trim *ruiii nwui. A.WV4W,.. ? ?.servic
e. Consec rate it to J [is glorv, and
you will in nowise !o.?e your reward. To- 4
ilay if ye will hear His voice?and remein- 3
her, "There are twelve hours in the day." 3
Affliction That Payi.
A psalmist once said: "It is good for
me that 1 have beea afflicted: that I "
might learn Thy statutes." He might 3j
not have sought the ways of God bad
he not found his own ways hedged about" "'-1
him. His experience was that of a
i ? k?.. ivlm ?luj(?nvcred
^rrat ixitui'vi v/?. .. ?.?__?
riches in affliction which were otherwise
not to be found. The depth <. human a
love and sympathy would never be known J
were it 11 t for affliction. Through sor* 1
row there liar often it'.reu a wealth ,
ot love and affection, marvelous in itl. j
sweetness and yowes. it warn not until ^
he wjg afflicted that the peslmMt saw the
glory of the n<!y law Jt in affliction .j
a'.-.. that tno T.ory of human love shine* J
out. richer by far because it is charged '
with the holy love of (lo.f. Yes. it is a la
dear price to pav l>u? m the after-glow
we shall he able to say that it was wortb
paying.?Baptist I'nion.
>-2