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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1909)
The - Plattsmouth - Journal Published Semi-Weekly it R. A. DATES, Entered at the Postoffioe at Plattsmouth, Nebraska, as second-class matter. . $1.50 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE Poor old England! In addition to an alarming Increase In the number of her paupers she must have a gen eral election right away.' :o: At Upper Sandusky, Ohio, a man has been granted a dfvorce and $100 alimony. Can anybody continue to doubt that woman is getting her rights In this country? . . ; :o: The British lords have upset the paste pot on magna charta, but it is hoped by some of the more opti mistic people of England that the muss may be cleaned up without as sistance from Germany. :o: Another government official has Just returned from Panama says the canal will be finished in 1915. It's a long time to wait, but it is hoped by thnt time those In charge will feather their nests to the extent that they will be able to" retire to pri vate life. It Is Biniply a steal from beginning to end. -:o:- T1IK MF.SSAGK. The lover of swift action, pictur esque description and forcible lan guage In llterture will turn to Bwana Tumbo's Tales of the Jungle in pref erence to President Taft's newest an naul message. There Is nothing ex citing in this document, not even in the few paragraphs devoted to the Nlcaraguan trouble. It is the placid production of a genial gentleman who lies to avoid trouble. It is at least a relief after the orgy of liter ary fireworks which characterized the message of Mr. Taft's predeces sor, it also has the virtue of being twice as long as It need bo, whereas Mr. Roosevelt's were generally four to six times the comfortable and ne cessary length. I On the Nlearaguan Imbroglio the president, believing with amplo Jus tification that the secretary of state's 'lolfer to Niearaguan charge d'af ifulrs was sufficiently emphatic with out adding to Mr. Knox's vocabulary of denunciation, refers congress to the secretary's letter and makes a half-promise of a special message on the matter later. The trustful, childlike confidence of Mr. Taft in J. Plerpont Morgan and the others of his "group of American bankers of International reputation" is well shown in hlB com plimentary references to them In connection with the Manchurlan railway In Chinese loan matters, In which the eminent bankers referred to used the United States govern ment as a lever to force China to borrow money from them. PreHldent Taft deprecates any fur ther tariff tinkering at present, though admitting that the cost of the necessaries of life has risen and continues to rise to figures disastrous to the average' wage earner, and practically conceding that revision will be demanded ere long. He fa vors a ship subsidy, but is horrified by the dlsocevry that the second class mall rates enjoyed by news papers and periodicals almost from the beginning of the government, and which have mado possible the wide diffusion of reading matter among Americans, is In itself a form of government subsidy to newspa per and periodical publishers. He lias nothing to say about the exorbi tant rates paid the railroads for carrying the mall or the government al assistance In the maintenance of an express monopoly, the reform of which abuses would eliminate the postal deficit. Even Mr. Taft'B phlegmatic tem perament Is disturbed by the spectre of enormous ( deficit which hovers over the government. The deficit for the current fiscal pear will reach tho appalling sum of over $73,000,000. Part of this Is due, as the president explains with charming naivety, to the fact that the Panama cdnal la Plattsmouth, Nebnsku Publisher. costing more than double the amount the government engineers and ex perts figured it could be built for. The president urges upon congress the necessity of strict economy; hence he asks for but two new Dreadnaughts this year. Mr. Taft la grieved to learn that the sugar trust has been so naughty as to be caught stealing from the government. But he hopes congress will not Institute an investigation as it might hamper the administration of Justice. Also, though this Is not A - 1. 3 ... luucnea upon m the message, it might place the Republican party in an embarrassing position by show lng up the scandalous relations with I 1 m a . maieraciors or treat wealth." Tt would never do to take any chance of undermining "party solidarity" by roveallng to the public all the ugly details of the sugar scandal. -:o:- FKO.M Till: HUSV WOULD. Isadora Duncan complains about the scant praise her dancing received In this country and says Americans don't know art. Let Isadore come vest and see whether they do or not. She can't Judge Americans by New York. Hoyt McMurray, aged 14, of Carmi, HI., wouldn't take a dare and stuck his tongue up against a cold wagon tire. It took the combined work of several physicians to keep off lock jaw as a result of his experiment and part of his tongue 1b still on the tire as a painful memento of his foolishness. Carrie Nation Is back In business again. Wednesday at Washington, D. C, she raided the buffet at the Union station and put $50 worth of red-eye out of business using a hat chet to accomplish her fell purpose. Times must be getting hard with Cnrrle again as she has been quite peaceful for a long time back. She Is now back at home In the cltv Jail. Here Is a case In which genuine love prevails and princely rank and riches count for naught. Prince Wlt- tegensteln of Germany met and be came enamored of Marie Louise Vertllng, a woman of the middle class, and he married her. In ac cordance with custom he was com pelled to renounce his royal claims to become one of the middle class people himself. This he has done and no longer is a prince but Is a plain baron, Emperor William haV' lng conferred a baronetcy on him We sincerely commend tho prince for whether he be prince In name or not, he Is Just the same a true prince of the peoplo and his cast ing aside riches for the love of the woman he loved is a noble deed Most of the Eupopean princes would have looked long on the title be for they would have let it go for a mere woman but this prince N was of another sort. Out of the muck and ruBh of a busy world comes the glad intelll gence to the Chicago papers that there Is a possibility of the passage by congress or legislation favor a fourteen foot waterway through the Mississippi valley. The Chicago pa pers with great unamlty want this to be carried through. They are will lng to forget their fight for lower duties on print paper, they were willing to forget all the fights they have been making against Joo Can- non In order to Bocure a little pat ronage for Chicago and the Missis sippi valley and let tho general pub lic carry the burden on. These things can all bo judged by the action of the papers in so suddenly finding much favorablo in tho president's message and the probable action of congress in granting them an ap propriation for their' favorablo project. William Gould Brokaw, a New York millionaire, is alleged to have usually greeted his fond and loving wife with tho epithet "liar" in dif ferent degrees of Intensity, accord ing to a petition for divorce filed by her in court. Added to this he used to lock her in her room and make her eat by herself and on one oc casion, when she rose in her might and slammed the door in hla face, he smeared red ink over hla fore head and raced madly about the corridors of the hotel complaining to the bellboys. He also was Insane ly jealous of his wife and imagined every man he seen was in love with him. For these several reasons, she says she should be set free from him and that be should contribute $60,000 per annum to help her buy bread, meat and box. If these things be true, she should have all she asks and then a little more for he isn't fit to live with a woman. The anti-Cook combine ia again in the limelight with a lot more af- fladvlts from sea captains and others to the effect that they were the part ies who fixed up Cook'B Journal of his trip to the pole for him and they tell of amazing Ignorance on his part about astronomical matters. It seems strange that a man like Dr. Cook who always stood so high in the scientific world until he discov ered the pole Is so suddenly set down as an Ignoramus and an unprincipled faker. The Peary crowd is overdo ing the thing. In every case the af' fldavlts which are made against Dr Cook are made by men who want money for them and this should and does illustrate the character of the men making them. That Cook knew absolutely nothing of how to fix up Journal and had to depend upon unprincipled and Ignorant landsmen and seamen is ridiculous. Secretary MacVeagh Is on record now as favoring the Aldrlch-Cannon tariff bill, although the secretary says it does not give the relief which It should. Let us recall the fact that MacVeagh Is one of those who was prominent In the mugwump move ment. He was a good Democrat when It suited Secretary MacVeagh to be one and at that time be was for radical reduction in the tariff. To day he can see where a tariff bill which raises the tariff higher than ever is good and be thankful for t small favors bestowed by the tariff barons on the common herd. Verily, times do change and SecretaryMac Veagh changes with them. His views on the tariff when he was a strong supporter of Grover Cleveland and his views in the year of grace 1)09 mado cheerful reading. It teacher teaches that he is never to old to learn and a man of middle age may change his mind when he reach es the sere and yellow leaf.' Inci dentally, It teaches the lesson that man's views may change with his change In position. As secretary of the treasury he knows niore now than he did as a plain, ordinary business man. Now Is the time to begin thinking about that new leaf you expect to turn over, and those new resolutions you expect' to adopt. The New year la almost here, and if you resolve to swear off, stick to it. Xmas Goods! See our stock of Xmas and other Reasonable merchandise be fore buyirjg.elsewhere. I know you will be convinced I have the best selection of dolls and chiuaw&re in the city. , WAII1TR0UB J Plattsmouth, Nebraska, ) 1 O BE YOUR OWN d IMlPlT OOO PEOPLE'S Sermon by CHARLES T. RUSSELL, Pastor Brooklyn Tabernacle. Q QOO Sunday. Dec. 5.-Pastor Bussell had a large attendance today at the Brook lyn Tabernacle. , He took for hla text the words of the Savior. "No man bar ing put his hand to the plow, and look ing back, la fit for the Kingdom of God" (Luke i. 02). The discourse fol lows: The Ureal Teacher did not use the methods of modern revivalists to se cure a following. lie did not ask t he- multitudes to raise their bund If they would prefer to go lo heaveu at death and then publish tbein as converts Christians. Indeed bis methods were the very reverse of tbls. avoiding all kiuds of sei'satioual appeals to pride. selilRli nens. vault)', etc. He set forth In plain terms the dlllicultles to be ex pected by all those who espouse bis Cause iiihI become bis disciples. He forwiirneil them that it. would mean the taking up of u cross and the bear ing of It in his footsteps iu (lie nar row wu.v f self sioTiike. He warned these, saying. '".Marvel uot. If the world hate you. Ye know that It hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love bis own; but because ye are uot of the world, but 1 have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world batetb you" (1 Johu III. 13; .lotiu xv, 18. l'Ji. Instead of trying to produce nu ex citement which would over balance the judgment of Ills bearers and lead theiu to profess wnat they subsequently would not be able or willing to prac tice, the Great 'leather, on the tou trary, said to those contemplating dis clpleshlp, "Sit dowu tlrst and couut tbe cost." Instead of attempting to sway tbe multitudes, our Lord look a dif ferent course and utteinpied lo make disciples of only a special class uot the poor, uot tUe rich, uot the learned, not tbe Ignorant, but. irrespective ot these class Hues anil distinctions, bis call was to all those who loved right eousness and bated iulqiilty. AH those who were weary uud Ueavy-ladeu, op pressed by slu ami its peuulty to luem selves unci their friends- these he called to .earn of him and find rest of soul Tueucefortu that class, having been brought lu touch with the Redeemed, cuu, make iurtuer progress oiuy through faith lu hiui and submission to his guidauce Into all Truth and luto fellowship with the Futber. The class thus iutluenced we believe to be small as compared to bumuulty as a whole only that portlou which lu houesty of heart deplores slu and longs for righteousness and fellowship with God. These, like tbe remaiuder of the race, are by nature fallen. Imperfect, sinful, condemned, but lu these still persists some truce of the Image of God, iu the perfectlou ot which father Adam was created. It Is tbls trace or strain of the Divine character represented by conscience and faith which leads them to recognize their fallen and sin ful coudltiou, us compared with tbe Divine standard of perfection, and this becomes the basis of their calling or drawing o! God, tbelr "ear." "He that hath an ear, let him bear" (ltevelation ii. "i. It will be observed that we are not specially blaming or condemning those who have uot the hearing ear. On the coutrary we remember tbe gracious words of .Scripture, that in God's due time, "All the blind eyes shall be opened; ull the deaf ears shall be uustopped" (Isaiah xxxv.'ui. We are glad of this promise ot God that ultimately all shall see aud all shall hear and ull shall know Hi in, from tbe least to the greatest. We rejoice, too. tlmt wheu they know IJItu truly, they will rejoice, eveu us do we now. lbat will be their time of responsibility, their time of trial or Judgment for life or death eternal ou the earthly plane. The Kingdom of God. Our text speaks ot the Kingdom of God. And it Is Important that we first ot all notice that these words have lu the Scriptures a two-fold signifi cance. For Instance, our Lord Jesus taught that vie should pray to the Fa ther, "Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as It Is done in heaven." The refereuce of this prayer Is to the Mlllenulal relgu or govern ment of Christ, which St. Paul de clares will begin ut tbe Second Com ing of our Lord, uud continue until be shall have put down all Insubordina tion, all sin, everything contrary to Divine character and Law. It will be the Kingdom of God which will sub due all things. It will be the Kingdom of God amongst men perfected when (ill things shall have been subdued. Aud when Christ's mediatorial King dom shall be. tit the end of the Mil lennium, delivered back to God, even the Father. God's Kingdom will have fully come In the earth. God's will then will be possible of accomplish ment by mon, because all will have reoched norfectlou: and Christ s media torlal Kingdom will end because It will bo no longer necessary. It will have accomplished the treat iuiriiose for which It was Intended. U was nut, however, respecting tlmt Millennial reign, tlmt mediatorial Kingdom, that our Lord noke lu our Hi OOO "PULPIT... Unfit For the Kingdom. "No Man Having Put HU Hand to the Plow and Looking Back, Is Fit For the Kingdom of Gocl" (Luke ix.62). ooO text, nor did be refer to tbe perfect Kingdom, as it will be turued over to tbe Father at the end of tbe Millen nium and will last forever. Our Lord used tbe words, "Not fit for the King dom of God." as be did iu many oth ers of bis discourses lu respect to the Church class now called of the Father to be tbe "Kingdom." iu the sense of being tbe kings and priests of that Klngdom-the royalty of that , King dom the reigning family tbe Ujueeu. tbe Lamb's Wife, associated with the Heavenly Hrldegrooni. King of kings and Lord of lords. In his rule of u thousand years. Not Fit For the Kingdom. We uow have before our inicds the two ways in which tbe expression. Kingdom of God. Is used and wo ,1111 readily see ili.it our could not refer lo the .Millennial Klngd.un and say Ilia! any would he too degraded t it be lit for the Influences of his Mlllen ulai Kingdom, because that Klugdoii is designed for the very purpose of dealing with the untlt and gradually, during the thousand years ot. Us reign of righteousness uplifting men out ol kIii and dm ill conditions. If they will, to the. full tin mil it perfection which Adam lost, which .lesus redeemed, and which Is to be restored to the willing aud obedieut. as St. Peter declares (Acts III. IlKMi. It follows, then, that our Lord must have referred to those called ot the Father and accepted by himself to he chiseled aud polished -to lie taught in I he School of Christ aud eventually to become bis lirlilo and Jolui-belr In I he Millennial King dom. No urn n will be esteemed ht for a share In ihat .Millennial Kingdom, unless he uttalus lo ihe glorious quali ties of churat-ler. saiuiship. which Ihe Scriptures set forth as the Divine standard -"Copies, of God's dear Son" (Itoinaus vill. ?.). . "Fit for the Kingdom!" Let us think for a moment what these words signi fy. First of till we recognize that, as slnuers, we were most thoroughly unfit for any favor ot God. much i-ss UiM greatest of ull favors. Joint-heir-ship with his Sou and "pai'taUers of tbe Divine nature" (11 Peter I. 4. Hut that ditliculty lias ull been overcome with those who have come unto Cod through Christ and been niade'parlnk ers of his holy Spirit of udoptloii. Of such we read. "It Is God that Justl lleth: Who Is he that coiidemtieth" (Romans viil, :i:i-34i. It Is Christ that died for our sins and who now is our Advocate. Who could lu any wise come between us and our Savior and our Heavenly Father? Hut this justification Is not enough. If we were fterfect actually instead of merely reokonedly we would uot be pt for the Kingdom of God we would not be Bt. to govern others to be "kings aud priests unto Gocl and to relgu ou tbe earth" (Revelation xx, 01 We should still ' be iiutJt to be the judges of the world, as the Scriptures declare that we shall be, saying. "Know ye uot that the saints shall Judge the world" (1 Corinthians vl, 2i. Our Heavenly Father in bringing many sous unto glory made the Cap tain of tbelr salva'tlou (Jesusi perfect through sufferings. Should we think It strange that we, his younger bretb reti. Justified through bis blood, should be required, not merely to make a pro fession ot Godliness, holiness, but also to approve or attest that sentiment to be a purt ot our very character! is not what we as the Church ot Christ experience very reasonable Indeed who would be prepared to teach the world meekness, patience, brotherly kindness, imig-HUfferlug. love, without tlrst of nil developing these various qualities of character in himself? Aud how could lie develop these and be tested except under Just such schooling and disciplining influences us now are upon the Church of Christ. wIth a view to making us Ht for the glorious positlou ot our high calling of God In Christ Jesus? When the Scriptures refer lo tbe Church as belug tit for tbe Kingdom nnd as being the "overcomcrs" for whom the Kingdom Is prepared, nnd wbo shall r hare Its glories and honors. because "they are worthy" (Revelation 111. 4t. we are to understand tbls wor thiness aud fitness, not t haf they were orlglnully so, but that by God's grace, through Christ, u transformation work will eventually bring some toblsglorl ous position where God himself will es teem them worthy lo be called his chil dren, aud to be Jolut-holrs with his Son, the Great King. Various Kinds of Fitnsis. There Is cue certain standard of fit nets for the Kingdom and none other will do; but there may be quite a va riety ot conditions which make one mm fit for the Kingdom. One of these Is murder. "No murderer hath eternal life ubldlng lu him" (I .lolin III. IT... He would be unlit for the Kingdom. This would not signify, however, that one who bad once been a murderer might not, by a sound conversion aud by faithfulness In ihe School of Christ, become n member of the Kingdom class. Hut Ihe word murder here used has a broader inclining than Is gener ally attached to It-the meaning which St. Joint gave to t lie word when be said that whosoever linteth hi brother is u unTuoier (I John II, Hi. We know, then, thnt r" brother tinier tit for the Klngciout. Km, some iw.iy bave been brother-ha lers aud have beeu washed. cleans-!. a notified, brought Into heart-relationship with the Lord and into love of Ihe brethren, if so. Ihe Implication is that I hey have lost Ihe spirit ot murder from their hearts aud are brother-haters no long er. Tbe Scriptures tell us also that it will be possible for a man who hat been figuratively washed from bis for mer condition of sin-defilement aud who has been clothed of the Lord symbolically in a robe of righteous ness and who had been begotten ot the holy Spirit of love to turn from this holy commandment of love to turn from the way of righteousness, to bis former condition of aba-defilement. Tbe Apostle glvee the Illustration of the aow that waa washed returning to ber wallowing ia the mire (11 Peter it. 22). Bu tbe case of such la bopelesa If the atep be taken with full Intention and deliberation If tbe returu to a murderous condition of heart brother hating be with tbe full consent of the heart. Tbe Apostle, however, does inti mate that up to a certain point there la hope of recovery and hence he urges all of Ihe faithful to assist these, saying. "He that converteth a sinner (once a brother) from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death." Again we read. "No drunkard shall enter into the Kingdom of God" (I Corinthians vl. IOi. He surely would be unfit. This does not, however, im ply that all total abstainers from in toxlcaut liquors are Bt for tbe King dom. Neither does it imply that a drunkard might not reform aud thus cease to be u drunkard, and by the Lord's grace, become fit for the King dom. Moreover the word drunkard lu the Bible Is frequently used lu a fig urative sense, it represents au addled condition of tbe mind; as for lustauce. we read, that Hubylou's cup made all tbe nations drunk (Revelation xviii. 2-3i. This signifies that fellowship with false doctrines has permeated, influenced, bewildered tbe world in general. God's people partaking of Christ's cup of Buffeting are said to receive ''the spirit ot a sound mind" clearness of understanding respecting tbe Divine character uud Plan and the principles ot righteousness. All who will be tit for the Kingdom may be expected to bare considerable clear ness ot understanding respecting Di vine things. Tbey are to know God. and by receiving bis Spirit, they are to have understanding of "tbe deep things of God." wblcb tbe natural mau cannot uuderstaud (1 Corinthians il. 10-14. Of this our Lord spoke, saying. Tbls is life eternal, that tbey might know thee the ouly true God. aud Je sus Christ, whom thou bast sent." The Importance of Fidelity. Pride Is anotber quality of the heart which would teuder its possessor un fit for the Klugdom of God. We read that the Lord "resistetb the proud aud glvelh grace to the1 bumble'' (1 Peter v. 5i. Pride is one of the thiugs which God hates. It Is a foe to righteous ness iu general aud leads captive many luto sin. Wheu we read that God shows bis favor to the humble. we may be sure that Ihe lavor of joint-beirship with the Redeemer is for the humble alone. Witu what carefulness this should lead us to search our hearts and put nwuy every thing lu the uuture ot pride, self-con ceit. Love Is tbe fulfilling of the Law. Love Is the Law of Hie New Creation: and pride is a foe to love. It is related to sellishness. which Is a deep seated foe of every grace of Ihe holy Spirit. The Lord wishes us to see that the Heavenly Father is not merely calling for those who have generally good in tentions and who would rather do right than do wrong. We may rejoice with such that they are better thau their neighbors, but tbey are not fit for the Klugdoui of God, uuless their love for righteousness, for Truth, for tbe will of God, be so firmly established that they are ready and willng to "eu dure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ" and to "tight a good tight" to tbe end of tbe course, laying bold upon eternal life uud glory and Immortali ty. Oue of God s objects lu permit ting tbe world and the flesh and the Adversary to have the power which they now possess to counteract aud to fight against our good i'ltentious aud good resolutions is explained iu tho Scriptures. We read "The Lord your God provetb you. to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with ah your soul" (Deuteronomy xlil. 3i. If love of sin or love of self or ove of any eurthly thing can overbalance our love to the Lord and to bis Truth uud bis people, we are not worthy ot a place In the Klngdoui-uot fit for the Kingdom. Not merely good professions, but faith fulness unto death, fixity of charac ter, are required of the Lord of such as he would honor with a share In the Kingdom. An Abundant Entranct. Having uot iced that lack of love, lack of zeal, lack of constancy, lack of devotion would tin lit for the Kingdom, let us notice some of the characteris tics necessary to a place In the King dom some of the qualities, therefore. which we must each cultivate lu our own hearts, which we must each de velop In his own character. The Apos tle explains these and urges the mat ter thus, "Add In voiir faith fortitude; nnd to fortitude knowledge; aud to knowledge temperance; and to temper ance patience; and to patience godli ness; and t godliness brotherly kind ness; and to brotherly kindness love. For If these things be In you and' abound, they make you that ye shall neither he barren nor unfruitful lu tbe knowledge of our Lord Jesus Cbriut. ., for If ye do these thiugs. ye shall nev er fall: for so au eu franco shall be ministered) unto you abuudautly Into the everliiHtlnjr Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter I, Dili.