Wl4 fef gk-Jz SfzLJ
N architectural anomaly, a beautiful build-
vinnil'il lo thn urn.
I duct of the genius, energy and Inspiration
I of an Omaha clergyman. When completed
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present an edifice of stable and dignified
beauty, yet all the material that gooa into
Its construction Is discarded junk gathered
from every available source. It represents
what can be accomplished by a few ear
nest, hard-working men under the leader
ship of a preacher full of enthusiasm and
Inspiring optimism.
When he first went to Omaha,
years ago, Rev. Julius F. Schwarz
determined that his congregation
should have a new church. The fact that the mem
bers numbered only 60 and the whole property of
the corporation was about $5,000 troubled him not
at all, and he began to build with as much faith as
if he had the riches of Solomon. Ills plan was to
gather everywhere, whenever he could, all the old
but strong timbers, all the Iron Junk available for
structural use, all the loose and Irregular stone and
all the generally discarded building materials that
could be found In Omaha and from
them to build a church. It was not to
be a mean and ugly house of worship,
but a well-equipped, well arranged,
ample meeting place for his people.
He has now extended It to Include
an 11-room house for his own family
and the whole property would have
cost $30,000 If It had been built by
contract. As built by Rev. Mr.
Schwarz and his fellow laborers It
will cost less than $25,000. The other
$15,000 has been saved to his people
by the perseverance, energy and In
genuity of the pastor.
The first charge that Mr. Schwarz
took when he left the theological
seminary was at Connersville, Ind.
For six years he remained there and
was called to Omaha three years ago
on a recommendation from one of his
instructors in the theological school.
At that time the First German
Presbyterian was a small frame
church. As soon as the new pastor
came he announced that the church
was too small. To build a church
with a membership of 60 seemed out
of the question to all but the pastor.
He thought he knew a way and he
set about it with almost no support,
at first, from the others.
For a year he sought for a suitable
location and finally purchased the lot
the new church Is on for $1,800.
When he bought this tract the fund
which be drew from amounted to $57.
His first move was to sell the old
church for $1,850. As soon as the lot
was paid for be shouldered a spade,
and replacing his ministerial dignity
with a grim and effective energy be
began to dig. The first thing that a
church needed was a foundation. He
had no money, but be could make
the foundation himself, and that
would be one step toward it..
He asked for contributions from
friends outside of Omaha and waited
(or bis own people to contribute vol
untarily. The dollars came slowly,
but they came with sufficient steadi
ness to assure him that he could
make a few purchases for a start.
While walking on the street one day
he saw that in repairing the street
the old curbs were being taken up.
"These are good blocks," said the
pastor-builder, and he bargained with
the contractor to take them off his
hands. That stone went Into the
foundation.
His next lot of material came
when the wall that supported the
yard of the old Rosewater residence
was to be torn down. Men hired by
Mr. Schwarz did the work nmi tha
brick and stone was taken out and put into the
nulla that nora .r,,.ll. "u ,nl0 lnB
ns,nS on the church
basement, and after that the money
will come In faster. In the meantime
the minister Is watching everywhere
for anything that will mnke his
church more commodious or his home
more attractive.
"The reason for my doing all this."
Bald Rev. Mr. Schwarz, as he laid
aside the tools with which he was
helping tho workmen, "U that I be
lieve that right here is the bast field
for work among the Germans that
there is in all the northwest. My
life occupation la missionary work
among my German people and the
only reason why I want to stay here
and put up this big church for my
small congregation is becauie from
here I can reach so many Germans. I
was born an American, but came
from German parents and am thor
oughly German In thought and feel
ing. When I decided to becomo a
minister I saw that the greatest need
among my own people, so i
German seminary.
Scoundrel
By M. BERTIN
And again today, like yesterday,
liko every day, he found the envelope,
tho feminine angular hand writing,
and it whs marked Personal" and
"Important."
As usual Aladjev's Mist impulse wan
to throw the letter unreud Into tho
burning log lire; but, also, as usual,
he only burned tho envelope after he
hud looked Into every corner of the
room to mnke sure that ho was un
observed. Tho letter Itself contained
the only and ever-same word "Scoun
drel." How long since he began to receive
day by day, wherever he might be,
such a letter! A rough oblong en
velope, bearing his address, in the
coiner the words ' Personal' and "Im
portant," and the letter Itself contain
ing the one word "Scoundrel."
These letters affected Aladjev In a
peculiar way. Some outraged soul
kept truck of him day by day, followed
him with unhated hatred and persist
ently threw In his face that terrible
insult. Aladjev started under this ac
cusation; he felt keenly Its painful
sting, he hated to think of it, was al
ways expecting it, everlastingly fear
ing It. Ho tried to throw the letters
away unread, but a force stronger
than his will, compelled him to open
tho envelope with trembling hands, to
take out the letter, and to search in
it for the solution of tho riddle that
tormented him. In vain. The letter
consisted always of tho same single
word "Scoundrel."
The letter In the obolong envelope
dominated Aladjev's life. An inslg
nltlcant incident nearly overthrew hltn.
One day he met and old friend who
Insisted that Aledjev come out In the
country with him and spend the night
there. Upon arising in the morning at
the home of this friend the guest
found on his dressing-table the oblong
envelope. Ills heart almost stopped
(Copyright, by Short Btorli Co., Ltl.)
transcencental
opened the envelope. "Scoundrel," the
one word, nothing more. Even here,
hatred
an unctuous
of humanity.
Th paper edited on these Ifnes flour
ished. Some loved, others hated It,
No one respected It, but everybody
rend It. Aladjev had reached his goal.
His financial resources grew dally, hh
Income became magnificent.
Hut tho years of such feverish activ
ity left their traces. Aladjev grew
old and Intirm. Against his will there
arose in the bottom of his soul
old long-forgotten, forcibly suppressed
longings. They brought In their train
the painful consciousness of a duality,
an unconquerable self detestation.
His youngest daughter the only
one of his children whom he loved
had left him after she had told hlin
Hint she was ashamed of her father.
She became lost among tho hundreds
of others pure of heart, unselfish of
purpose and deep of feeling like her
self.
Over his desk hung her picture.
Iter eyes looked reproachfully down
on him. Right under her beseeching
eyes, nay, In defiance of them, ho
wrote his clever, cold, lying articles.
And yet Aladjev felt that there was
more holy truth in ono of her mis
takes than in all his cold calculations.
Insomnia tortured him; in his sleep
less nights he could not drive away
the all-pervading dread of death.
The stillness of tho night spoke to
him in mystic dreams. The flguro of
his sorrowing daughter gave battle to
his agony In loving kindness.
He feared solitude. Late at night,
when he did his work, all tho deep
shadows seemed to become alive.
His dreams were heavy. Ho stood
before the Judgment scat and could
not Justify himself. Unknown shades,
covered with blood, abject In their
despair, passed before him accusingly
and their number did not end. "I
know them not," ho said. "I did not
beating. He pulled himself togetheM hato them; if I have harmed them
)eau6iful Edifice deinS Erected by.
if
1
fa v v
Rev. Julius F. Schwarz.
site. Some of his ennoroooii,,- i .
o . muuuu organ to con-
tribute two or tnree days' work with teams In
gathering material. ms in
The south steps from the old high school
building followed and these made the "water
table" on both sides of the church part of the
building. The parsonage end was being added to
from the stone that could be picked up around
stone yards for small expense and converted
into suitable blocks.
An opportunity came to the builders when the
driveway was constructetd leading down to the
Union station on the north side. Here was
bought 15.000 feet of lumber that had been used
In scaffolding and a carload of fine red sandstone
was purchased for $20. When, a few weeks later,
a contractor offered Mr. Schwarz $70 for that
same carload of red stone because he needed It
to fill a contract In a hurry, the minister gave
up his material and added $50 clear to the fund.
This was the only enterprise for profit that was
entered into for the benefit of the cause, except
a little deal In lead pipe which the minister had
with a prominent fraternal order. He bought
some old lead from the lodge for $1.50 and sold
It for $15 to a Junk dealer.
All winter long he has been haunting the repair
gangs about the streets, visiting stone yards and
Junk heaps and adding to the pile of materials
'.that Is being made into a building by his men.
j'One of bis biggest and most profitable finds was
a pair of Iron pillars in excellent condition which
I he bought from the street railway company for
. their price as old Iron. The street railway com
pany also furnished him with the most novel use
of old material In the whole building, which is
the making of rafters out of old steel rails. The
rails are more than strong enough and were
bought for the price of Junk.
The church, which consists of a basement
with a beautiful fireplace and an auditorium
which will seat. 300, measures 44x73 feet. The
root extends back over the parsonage, making it
a full three stories high, with one room in the
atUo. The louse part Is 24x50 feet In ground
dimensions and has
11 fine rooms.
On the front of
the church will be
a tower which will
be Just as high and
substantial as it
can be made from
what is left of the
stone after the rest
of the structure Is
finished.
The plans for all
of It were sketched
by the Rev. Mr.
Schwarz and made
exact by an archi
tect. There are no
specifications in use.
Tho plans are fol
lowed not by get
ting material to fit
them, but by con
forming them as
nearly ns possible
to material that can
be cheaply bought.
The work went
slowly, because Mr.
Schwarz could not afford to put on a large force
of men. His foreman, Fred Slather, Is a German
stone mason. The wages of the men are the one
debt which Mr. Schwarz docs not Intend to neg
lect and his men nro paid every Saturday as If
they were working for a wealthy contractor who
had thousands to back his operations. To do this
the builder has had to rely upon the kindness of
his other creditors, who Jjave helped the cause
by not pressing their claims.
That $6,000 that has already been put Into the
work was gathered mostly from the contributions
of friends all over tho country. Other pastors
have taken up benefit collections, a friend In In
diana sent $200, and the congregation has con
tributed far beyond what might be expected from
their means. Mr. Schwarz mado a house-to-house
campaign of four days down In Riley, Kan., and
raised $200 In that way. One of the church trus
tees, who declared when the project was begun
that he would not do anything to aid It, has al
ready given $100, and others have given $100 and
$200 contributions. Churches have promised
contributions that will probably average $25 each
and several hundred dollars more is expected
from that source.
"If I Just had $6,000 more I could finish It,"
says the minister, and he seems not to lack faith
that the $6,000 will come as it Is needed.
Mr. Schwarz's unique undertaking has attract
ed considerable attention and promises of finan
cial assistance have come Jn from various parts
of the country. These donations to a most wor
thy cause are for the most part In small amounts,
but ore none the less appreciated by the ener
getic pastor and the encouragement thus re
ceived has had no little part In helping along the
good work. Rev. Schwarz has announced that all
outside contributions will be gratefully received
and promptly acknowledged.
The biggest addition to the fund that has
come eo far was the $2,500 got from selling the
old parsonage, which the pastor advised as soon
as be saw tho possibility of making a home for
himself as a part of the new building. It Is be
lieved that enough more can easily be raised to
put on a roof so that services can be held In tht
position makes It possible for me to reach many
who are in need of help and many who are stran
gers and I want to stay here and make my work
effective In helping the German citizens in this
country."
It is because of this sincere desire to be of help
to his church that Mr. Schwarz has labored with
his bands and brain to build the new church. It
Las arisen out of what seemed to be Insurmount
able difficulties. Not only the cornerstone, but
every stone In It was once refused by the builders,
but when It Is finished there will be no fault found
with lis smooth, gray walls, Its modern equipment
and Its generous dimensions.
In connection with his pastoral and building
work Rev. Mr. Schwarz devotes nine hours a
week to teaching in the University of Omaha,
where he has charge of the German classes. He
Is also stated clerk of the presbytery of Omaha,
and the compensation received from this additional
work he considers providential In that It helps tn
secure him sufficient salary to bring his work to
a self-supporting basis.
Rev. Schwarz' father was a practicing physlclun
in Franklin county, Mo. He hailed from Heidel
berg, Baden, Germany.
liev. Schwarz was left an orphan at the age
of 11 months. He was taken Into the home of a
kind hearted couple who had already raised eight
children of their own.
As a tribute to the memory of his foster par
ents and as a token of appreciation of the kind
ness received at their hands, the church parsonage
has been turned into a sort of a home for the
friendless and a refuge for tho destitute. Many-
have partaken of the parson's hospitality until
work or other assistance had been offered. Should
this sort of hospitality require more space, it is
possible that nn old people's home may bo estab
lished after the financial obligations of the new
church edifice have been met.
in the home where he was by acci
dent, and where be remained for one
night only, this Implacable enemy had
reached him. Shivering from cold he
lay In his bed; an inexplicable dread
seized him. He was unable to subdue
his excitement, Incapable of collecting
his thoughts.
The explanation of this Incident was
simple. Before he left his home Alad
jev had mechanically put the freshly
nrrlved letter Into his pocket; when
the servant was cleaning his clothes
the letter dropped to tho floor, and the
servant put It on the dressing table. In
spite of this obvious explanation,
Aladjev was deeply impressed and
could not forget the incident.
SCIENCE AND FAITH
Is It true that the greater the knowledge the
less tho religious Interest? Are these two persons,
the ninn whoso zeal for religion Is equaled by his
bigotry and Ignorance and the other In whom sci
entific study has dwarfed spiritual sensibility, fair
types by which to Judge the relations of religion
and knowledge?
Is intelligence Incompatible with real ploty?
Will the growth of knowledge bring about the dis
solution of religion? Is the life of religious aspi
rations and feelings out of date in a scientific age
such as we are constantly reminded this one is
to-day? Science has overcome superstition; is
faith so bound up with superstition that It, too,
must go?
We can be sure of one thing, at least; that, no
matter what our feelings, theories or Ideals may
be, wo cannot turn our backs on the great world
of fact as it is laid before us. The faith that fights
facts is committing suicide. Appeals to our fears
cannot to-day make the facts less real to us and
we know that by them we will have to stand or
fall.
If you stop to think about It, there is a striking
significance in the fact that this question baa
arisen. Is there a religion for the Intelligent, edu
cated, scientific mind? It suggests another ques
tion: Can any other mind fully comprehend the
riches and meaning of religion? The unthinking
cling to customs, traditions and forms that are the
vestiges of truth. The trained mind distinguishes
between the garments of truth and truth itself.
Years ego Aladjev had begun to
write for a liberal newspaper. Ills
writings bore the stamp of purely
Russian liberalism, and were perme
ated with a far-off idealistic, high
minded altruism. They reflected a
vague longing toward the good and
the true, and an Instinctive hatred of
the evil and the fnlse. And he was
during almost to foolhardlneBs. This
daring pleased the readers In the
provinces and gave Aladjev the repu
tation of the banner-bearer and leader
In the fight for freedom. But besides
some sort of reputation in regions
where even the foxes bid each other
good-night, and five kopeks a line,
these writings brought no return to
the author. However, he did not be
come embittered; he merely deter
mined to make a fortune for himself
along different lines. A small mori
bund paper fell Into his hands. Be
ing a clever man, Aladjev compre
hended that hlgh-mindedness would
not make him prosperous. And so
he changed his tune.
To those in power he spoke in an
apparently daring, critical, unpreju
diced vein; but it always happened
that after his strongest attack the
mighty ones shone far moro resplen
dent than before. For the weary and
heavy-laden he had words of fatherly
bpnevolence. . With a show of com
passion, and love he pilloried their
fallings and vices. Ho discovered a
new formula In writing a cringing
flattery, clad In the garb of high
minded unselfishness, combined with
It had to be, because it was to my
advantage." Their number Increased
continually, they grew up liko a wall
between him aud tho Judge, they
reached out after him, showed him
their wounds and, in nameless dread,
he crawled out of his bed, shaking In
every Joint.
The first report of the massacres
reached the editorial rooms. His co
workers talked subdued, In whispers.
Aladjev said nothing, lie wrote
an editorial in his usual manner. Ho
said few words of regret and
then he tried to show how unavoid
able, how inevitable, how almost
necessary were these events. He
mado use of a knavish trick. The
massacres were not, he argued, the
result of deliberate Incitement; no, on Jt
the contrary, tho massacres proved
how Justified had been the cam
paign of incitement. He was pleased
by the thought that he did not in
cite tho riots.
He ate his dinner with relish and
was in good humor. Ho went to
the theater to see a French farce.
lingered at supper, and came home
late, a little tired, but pleasantly agi
tated. On his drcsslngn-table was the
oblong envelope; this time It had a
wide black border.
"So you are mourning for the vic
tims of the massacre!" he exclaimed,
sneerlngly. He placed the letter with
out opening It under his pillow, and
Immediately fell asleep.
He awoke suddenly. He did not
know what had happened. Icy dread
was strangling him by the throat
The black border of the letter stood
in front of him and gripped his chest.
A terriblo pain had made hhu
Insensible. Soon he began to compre
hend. Yes, that was It. Why had
he put the letter under his pillow? It
was the black border which had ter
rorized him. Suddenly ho saw clearly.
Those hateful letters were the dread
ful shadows which tortured him. If
he could but get rid of them all would
be well, the shadows would disappear,,
and his soul would find peace. He
arose from his bed and, without put
ting on any garment, he tiptoed Into
his working room. Tho full moon
flooded the room wlih pale light. He
opened the drawer. There were the .
letters. There were many, many of
them. He took them out one by one,
read each, and threw it away. But tho
more he threw away, the more re
mained. Everything was littered with
them the floor, the chairs, the couch,
the tables. He hurried in fear, for
these yellowed sheets whispered be
hind his back he was afraid to turn
around they conspired against him.
They flew around like a flock of white
birds, and touched him with tholr
wings. He drove them away, but they
surrounded him in ever narrowing cir
cles, their number grew and grew.
The picture was no longer there. He
himself had removed It yesterday to
escape tho everlasting reproach of
those mournful eyes. With a wild
cry he threw himself against the
black-bordered letter.
In the editorial rooms the night
force had heard the shriek. They
hastened into Aledjev's room. Thoy
found him atop of a heap of letters,
his face distorted with horror. A few
weak signs of life remained in him.
they laid him on the couch. Everyone
had picked up Instinctively one of the
letters. The solemn silence around
the dying man was broken by a sub
dued whisper. As they looked at the
letter each one pronounced In an un
dertone tbe one word, "Scoundrel."
