Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Harrison press-journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1902)
THROUGH II I' .MA MTV TO OOU. r Or. 4- Ar Berle. It is sometime laid thst the existence of God is not a matter iiseeuiible of proof or that ucn proof would be unde irable even if we could obtain it. It is alao alleged that the Bible luumca the existence of God and doe not, tb ore fore, attempt to discus the matter le garding it as among the res adjudlouta of the spirit mil life. But both these state mesta are Inexact. The Bible does not nndertske aa an argument to prove the existence of God, but it la filled with ar guments which are addressed to the judg ment only on the basis that it would re quire reason for Hod's work and exer ciae Judgment on the use of Ilia author ity. Nor can it be alleged that uch proof if we can find it, ia useless. The t beat answer to thin ia that man has from the dawn of the human intellect been try ing to find such proof which would seem to be good evidence that he regard such proof as of value. The dimple assurance of the existence and aupn-uie auth.irity of God ia probably the one silicic force which alone supports nil religion. All doctrine and personalities and rit'j.ils become useless and hollow uiiIcxh uud.'.' Oeath and through them there abides this one fundamental truth. The fundamental inquiry of religious men in our day may be imagined, then, from the fact that this very doctrine, in volving everything else has with all the rest been laid under the searching scru tiny of criticiKiu and interrogation. Where Other ages have debated what kind of a faith they should have ours has question ed whether it should have any at all. At other time men have doubted whether a particular cult was divine or not: our age has boldly dared to ask the (juration whether there be any Supreme Head to the world mid the human race. Most of the argument in time past for natural reason has gathered around what ia called the argument from de ign. The theologian and philosopher Fsley furnished its characteristic illus tration In the aymhol of the watch found to the roadside which from its median Urn and orderly adjustment of part to part ahowing design proved a designer. The world is such a mechanism, argued be, and thus proves the existence of a great designer whom we call God. The late I)r. John Fiske, applying the doc trine of evolution to the universe which ahowed to be not a mechanism but nn organism, took this o called teleologtcal argument nnd substituted for Pslcy's watch the lily, arguing that the unfulding growth of a lily showed design as God exercised it in the natural world far bet ter than a thing of mechanical arrange ment like a watch, but wag not less but more the evidence of a purpose and '.here fore of a mind governing and dir-cti.ig thp affairs of nature and the world. But tiic mind of man does not easily rest its faith uhiii argument which can not be Illustrated best out of bis own na ture and experience. Hence by and by the watch argument with its mechanism began to lose interest. And now even the attractive evolutionary statement of the argument sounds tame and lifebss. Nature is great, but human life is great er. The organic world, with Its multi tude of wonderful forms and changing forces, is fascinating and often bewilder ing. And for a time the mind can be bewildered into resting in this kind of nn argument. But sooner or later the mind revolts and demands proof from within. Nature's laws, after all. apply only to man when man applies them. If he does Dot like them he neutralizes them. lie make night day and day night to suit bis ends. He makes summer coot and winter warm with device and appliauce, and in a thousand ways shows that lif ter all natural law, so often invoked as if It were a finality in this world, is a thing with which man take all kind of lib erty. The only laws with which he cannot take liberties are the Inner ones. And ttii is true because, as Jesus taught, the kingdom of God is within us, not without us. What is less than God we can con trol, because lie has given us charge of It. But God Himself and His kingdom, which He has written in the nature and heart of man himself, must be and will be obeyed. Singularly economic by the increased estimate under Christian Inspiration and guidance which it has put upon man has supplied the newest form of the jrgu ment for the existence of God. .Man is an economic animal, but one that reii sous, thinks, has memory, can sufl'-r through time and mingle in the present: many intangible and mighty forces union , cannot be reduced to statistics. Thus the spiritual valuations in man' life , bave acquired great economic importance. It la of greater Importance that a man hall feel that Justice is being donu than that be shall have full dinner pail. The full pall with conscious Injustice prevail ing will never, ss It baa never, still the auger and cupidity of man. Itut where men under great trial have torn reduced for Justice' sake to dire trait, they have ihared and shared gladly and uncomplainingly the utost fueager fare. This wu because the man was greater than hi work. It la the plritual capacity of roan, so wonderful III bia aspiration, so capable of sacrifice, so divine In bl demand for the renlUa tkm of lb most abstract spiritual ideaU, Wis tbua himself prove end Illustrates dial recsus be seeks these quallti" eeea Incomplete In blmaelf In n eternal nest for completeness there must be a 2nd resting place where tb faulty Jus tic of Dsn become tbs perfect Justice f Ood, where tbs fragmentary knowl edge of man becomes the omniscience of Ood and where the dirlded posrs of Man are united In the omnipotence of Ood aae where lbs Intermittent moods f benevolence among men are mde whole ad laal In the universal lovs of God Man to hlmaelf the snbllms and unal argument for Hod's existence, end the Uad reached, m-t through mechanics or alleaonbr. hat through maa kinueir. will be the God of Jesus Christ revealing Himself as Tower, Knowledge and Love. MAKING THK MOST Oh' LIFK. B Rev. H. R. Harrlt. They who live longest do not necessar ily make the most of life. Long life ia desirable provided the years are all tilled with that which is good. But an empty Ji' cannot be redeemed friii- vanity by length of days. A life Ulled with good fruit is better than a long life. Jesus, who made more of life than any other, did not live long. His life was cut short by violence while He was yet a young man. A life poured out in blood for the sake of righteousness is far better spent than one which luis been carefully guard ed uud preserved even down to old age at the expense of righteousness and truth. In order to make the most of life it may be necessary to lay it down as a sacrifioe. One who finds most pleasure does net necessarily make the most of life. Some think there is nothing better in the world than to have what they call a good time. They count that day lost which does not bring them some social delight or worldly gratification. But all wise men agree thut mere pleasure should be sacrificed to some higher good. They who live in pleasure are dead while they live. Jesun, whose life was a perfect model, never rau after pleasure. We do not know that He ever sought it for a moment- It w as His meat and drink to do His Father's wil and linish the work which was given Him to do. The joy of a good conscience and the approval of the heavenly Father are infinitely superior to all worldly pleas ure. The man who makes the most money docs not always make the most of life. Money is not to be despised nor thrown away. Money is a means of great good when properly used. But "a man's lifo consisteth not In the abundance of the things he possesgeth." A millionaire may live a narrow and unsatisfactory life. Ilia millions will be a millstone about his neck unless they are used for Nome good purpose in the world. It is better far to be rich in good works, rich in faith, rich toward God, rich in character, than to be rich ill gold and silver. It is thought by some that learning is the thing that makes life rich and grand. But one may be learned without making much of life. Learning is n good thing. The study of science affords won derful satisfaction. Few things contrib ute more to the enrichment of life than i well-stored and well-disciplined mind. But knowledge and learning nre not the principal tilings. Some men are wiser and stronger without learning than others ;ire with it. Jesus was not a learned man according to the standards of this world; yet when He opened His mouth ind spake such streams of truth and wis dom proceeded from His enlightened mind that Ilis learned enemies said. "Whence hath this mnn these things, nev er having learned?" l'eter and John were unlearned fishermen, yet they made rhe world richer by (Tielr wisdom. John Hun van was not n learned man according to the standards of this world, yet what sci entist or philosopher ever did so much as ha to enlighten the world? The wisdom that cometh from above is superior to the wisdom of this world. It is not the sci entist, but the saint, that lives that life which is life indeed. It is not the philoso pher, but the Christian, that Is the light of the world. It is not the scholar, but the good man, that make the most of life. THK m:sx'rrixo SIN. By Her, J. H MacDonald, D. D. According to the teaching of Jesus the commandments enjoin two eternal duties love to God and love to our fellow men. The first has been emphasized ill nil sges. The second has been largely overlooked or looked upon as an impossible thing. The tenth commandment ia in the main a dead letter, although it strikes at the greatest of sins selfishness. Selfishnes is the basis of all the wrongs of society. It refuses to acknowl edge the goodness of God and His right to command, since it denies the fact that his bounty was given for all men, and presumptuously thrusts itself between a kind Father and needy children. A place to stand upon 1 a necessary to man as the air he breathe. A private control of nature's reservoirs means slav ery. If I own a piece ot property on which meii sre compiled to live, nnd have the power to maintain my claim, I own the men. They must do as I say, or die. The divine right to control coal rfclds Iocs not differ essentially from the divine richt to coin nd negroes, ,'fliis selfishness.. while fearing socialism. Is driving the nation headlong towards it. Every evil condition of society has its roots In self ishness. CIILIUH MVht All I'M fc; I'OOM. By Rev. Edwrd Jul ton, D, D. The story of the good Samaritan 1 the keynote of the coming religion, and through it we can learn how to handle s person in distress. Chiirche must come down Trotu their lofty position and strive to better the conditions of the lower classes. I should be glad to see that wherever a church lifts It spire around it there ihould be a guide, a It were, of philanthropic Inst! tutions for the care of the poor, the old slid the friendless. The church ia not a place where people are to worship, but where they may leant to be good and kind to others. If the churcb shows this Interest In men It will come about thai the working-man going by the great struc ture will feel bis heart soften aa when he passes some great hospital where lie the halt and the lame of all claaaea. The parable answers three questions) First, who Is our neighbor: second, how to be neighborly, and, third, bow to In herit eternal life. Pleasure. There la widespread feel Ing that there la something degrading and unworthy In a life of pleasure, and tbat If we get Into the current we will be awept Into the abyss further than we Intended to go. Plesetire la ustlfled Juat to the extent tbat It rejuvenates. We are least successful In the management of our pleasures. We work at such a pressure that when the time for work (a over we seek relaiat'on without any thought as to whether It will be helpful to ua or not. Dr. rail AdJer, BthiaaJ Culture, Mew York. NEW OUTPUT OF FURS CONTRA8T OF COLOR AND VA RIETY INDULGED IN. Vail-Length Fur Garments Are Bo Heavy tbat They Furnish a Good Ex cuse for Not Having Theui and Slake Stole Keck Pieces Very Popular. Sew fork correspondence: UCH contrast of color is indulged for the street this win ter, and few stylish gowna are .seen that have not a bit of color somewhere us piping, cording or lining for the fancy trimming of galloon, braid or lace. It seem odd to find this idea carried into furs and heavy coats, but if you keep your eyes open you aurely will find it impressively ap parent among swag ger garments. Even the more sober furs that one would class is least adaptable to colored trimmings lave these touches. An example was a hree-quarter length coat of Persian lamb. i'his fur always seems very dignified end es adapted to frivolous turns of fashion thun many newer skins, yet in this in- FROM THE FUliUIEIt'S NEW OUTPUT. stance it was trimmed with black silk braid woven loosely so that a three-inch Mrip of green velvet showed under the braid. This trimming appeared in the collar as an insertion and again in the sleeves at the wrists. It was handsome and in a way a greater extravagance in fur than a plain coat of Persian lamb would be, for the color made it impo.ssi blt as an accompaniment of gowns of some, colors, so made more than one fur garment a necessity. At the left in to day's first pictured group is a scheme very often resorted to for bringing color to the fur coat. Here it consisted of stole finish in dark green broadcloth em broidered in black silk cord. The fur iMis seal. In the garment of the initial picture was a less positive but equally htylish response to the fashion, in a belt of milaiiese lace over bright green vel vet, this on a squirrel coat with ermine collar. On garments that combine two or more furs showily, and ermine always is showy, bright colors are not used so often or so freely ss on one-fur pieces. The excess of weight In full-length furs supplies nn oft repeated excuse for not appearing in a fur coat of latest types. it's so heavy, a stole neck pleoe la eo ' ouch better suited to our climate, and 111 mat, uui many a time ine maser or men excuse would be vastly pleased o possess the more ex penal v article, i'et the saving isn't so much ss It would sve been Inst season or any one of many inters before, because the really fine eck piece la very costly. Stole shape re followed, not a few of tbetn so long to drag on the ground If they allp ever o little ok way or the other, But tbat 1 gWAOQBH 8UITH FPU CALH.NU. does not seem to trouble tie wear.! Then if one costir for doesn't call foil sufficient outlay, a second one may be added lor lining, rhi type of garment appear in the left-band stole of the two pictured. It was Itussian sable lined with ermine. The other, of wolf, was high grade, too, this fur rating juat now a a very stylish oue. The general be comingness of these long neck pieces is a second argument In their favor. They add height to dumpy women, and set off excessive height to advantage. If only they didn't leave one' arms so out in the cold, much could be said of their protec tive value. In feather neck wear the stole is very pretty, especially in white feathers for evening. The value in dressiness of fine laces is very hjgb and ; it Js yry freely used,. Whole lace gow ns, lace jackets over silk, lace flounces, lace trimmings, lace col lars and every combination of lace known are in style. So no matter bow small your piece of lace is, if it is the real thing, just trot it out and gloat over your less fortunate neighbor. The stores show what ia styled new patterns in the eld laces, and many of them are exquisite and not easy to distinguish from tbo real old. Still there is great satisfaction In knowing that what one ia wearing has genuine age. The owner of an old lace shawl may, without very difficult schem ing, use it as part of the drapery of a gown, and without cutting or in any way spoiling it for use as a sbawl, if that style should return. Novelties in trimmings are making headway iu street dress. Witness, as un example bunches of grapes applied in showy quantity The design is made of : round wooden button mould covered with cloth or silk and arranged in grape clusters. The stem is of narrow strips of the cloth or silk to which the grapes seem to be fastened. This is sometimes in the same material as the dress, again Is in different material and color. The clusters are from three to four inches long nnd some two inches wide, so they stand out very distinctly. With such ornamentation creeping Into street dress, it is natural to expect ex treme dressiness in calling gowns. This expectation is fully realized, though not always through elaborate mediums. The three calling costumes the artist grouped were representative of the plain richness of this grade of woman's attire. First is a white broadcloth, with milaiiese lace trimming the wrap. The hat was a white furry felt trimmed with black feathers. Next this is a black velvet costume, with sleeve puffs and front of white gau.o, lace collar and black velvet hat. Last comes a blue dotted velveteen, the strap trimmings edged with light green velvet. front and turn-over light green cloth em broidered In heavy white silk. Muff and hat were squirrel fur. When elaborate ness is attempted In calling suits, it may be carried to the extreme of fsnclfnlneae, but gowna of the pictured grade are a majority, Delicate pink coral la brought eat In brooches, bar and itick plna and la bell buckles to match the neck chains from India' atrand. Neck cbalna do Dot now bang U the waist line, aa In the summer, but almuls loosely encircle tbe Beck. a . 4,4,. 4,4. j,t , Ut44il T ! t C O O D 4 j Short Qtorie$; I I I M M I I 'M I John Chalmers, the missionary friend of Itobert Louis Stevenson, and tvery inch a man, once telegraphed to England: "Getting In trim for next season. Ask Jones send one gross tomahawks, one gross butchers' knives. Going East, try make friends between tribes." London was con vulsed over the missionary's peculiar way of promoting friendship with the New Guinea cannibals. On one occasion Charles Burleigh, the great opponent of the slave trade, was In the middle of one of his elo quent denunciations of slavery when a well-aimed and very rotten egg struck him full In the face. "This," he said, calmly, as he produced his handkerchief and wiped his face, "Is a striking evidence of what I have always maintained, that pro-slavery arguments are unsound." A story Is told of the late Professor Knell, of Amherst College, which re lates how he once asked for a defini tion of the solar corona from a mem ber of bis class in astronomy. The young man, after a good deal of hesi tation, and a dread consciousness of Impending failure, plunged desperate ly into the statement that he did know what the corona was but had forgot ten. The Professor turned to his class with a tragic gesture, "What an In calculable loss to science!" be exclaim ed, with emotion; "that the only man who ever knew what the sun's corona is has forgotten!" According to the New York Tribune, Secretary Moody, during the Presi dent's recent visit In New England, on more thnn one oceusiou Impersonated his chief. Passing throut;u the nu merous New England villages that were close together. It became some what of a tusk for the President to show himself and greet the crowd at every station. The resemblance of the 'Secretary of the Navy to the Presi dent in height, build, and general (physical appearance, offered a plan by Iwliieh Mr. Ilooscvelt could be rested. .Mr. Moody, donning a high sliU hat, putting on a pair of eye-glasses, and buttoning a frock coat tightly across his chest, would repair to the rear platform, lift his hat, and smiling bow right and left to the throngs as the train passed slowly along. In an article of reminiscences, Mary Stuart Boyd says that the late Bret illarte never obtruded his personality, 'lie also had a dread of people regard ling him for his work only, not for him self. "Why didn't you tell me It was Bret Harte who sat next me at din ner last night?" wailed one of society's smartest young matrons, in a note to her hostess, the morning after a large Sdinner party; "I have always longed to meet him, and I would have been so different had I only known who my neighbor was." "Now why can't a woman realize that this sort of thing Is Insulting?" queried the author, to whom the hostess had forwarded ;iier friend's letter; "If Mrs. talked with ine, and found me uninteresting ins a man, how could she expect to And me Interesting because I was an author?" SOFT-COAL EVIL IN ENGLAND. Smoke- Lodcu Air Costs People Minimis Ycurly uml Jnjurei Health. Evil us is the smoke situation lu New York, London and t lie larger English cities sutler to an even greater ixtent, for there the atmospheric moisture is greater. It has been con clusively demonstrated by distin guished British scientific authorities That the smoke nuisance Is responsible 'or the density and ghastly foulness of :he nauseating fog known as the "Lou Jon particular," which enfolds the Uritsh metropolis In an Impenetrable ihroud. In the London museum fhere Is ex hibited what appears to be an elong ated sponge sodden with black dye, but what Is In reality a lung, beating l.ilcnt but forceful testimony to the polluting woik of the all-pervaditig soft conL For some years fitful attempts have been made to combat the evil or nt least to reduce the output of the deadly soot, but 1 lie consistently apathetic attitude of the average Englishman to all matters pertaining to the public welfnie has greatly retarded the en deavors of the little baud of scien tists nnd medicos who have been ear nestly striving to Impress the nation with the deadllncss of the ever-present peril The Smoke Abatement Society has done something to lighten the national darkness In that respect and to awaken the people to a realization of the dan ger which menaces them, and the ordl oancea of some city, town and district councils now regulnte the volume of smoke from factory stacks, and fn many places manufacturers, masterful ly Indifferent to the well-being of the people and Impatient of restraint, have been encouraged by (he gentle per suasion of heavy, and In some cases re pent) d llnps to terminate, between eer lain hours, the black, thick belching 1 nd to Instill) expensive smoke-consuming furnaces. The curtailment of the volume of unoke, the limiting of the hours In which stacks may vomit their black ttrenms and the mixing of hard and i-oft coal are only alleviation of that evil, the wile curt. for which Is tbe ut- er prohibit Ion of the nae of soft coal xoept In furnaces which "eat" their 1 wn smoke. The burning of soft coal la eatlma -1 ted to cost London millions af doOaw a year. It neeeBHftatee tbe wboleaala "week-end" outings of the peoptwj which are so surprising a feature ot London Life, driving millions Into th country between Saturday and Monday to get a breath of fresh air; it com pels every householder to employ two servants in place of oue to keep the rooms and curtains clean, and it makea necessary the repainting of houses and buildings at least every two or three years, besides ruining furniture, de stroying valuable pictures and causing an Immense expenditure for the wash ing of linen. Both above and beyond all these, says the- New York-Times, ia the la- -Jury to public health resulting from the constant inhalation of smoke-laden air. The typical Londoner strikes on American visitor as pale and under sized, and those who have studied the) subject attribute the degeneracy of the, race of metropolitan cave-dwellers to i nothing so much as the shutting off of sunlight and the burdening of the atmosphere by the fumes from soft coal. SPEAKING OF SOUP. How It Was Served in a Frimitiv Oerman Hostelry. "Speaking of soup," said a prominent musician who has traveled over a good part of the earth, to the New Orleans Times-Democrat, "reminds me of an ex perience I had some years ago while In one of the provinces of Germany. I bad stopped over In a small town for a day or two and was at the best hotel In tbe place. This is not saying a great deal, fur the patronage did not justify any thing like gorgeousness in the matter of service or in the kind and character of the food furnished the guests. Tlw proprietor, at any rate, was doing th best that he could, and, no doubt, I would have got along all right but" for the peculiar method they employed la serving soup. I have never seen the, method employed In any other place, and, to be candid about It, I have not been 011 the lookout for the unique way of serving the first number on the menu. The first intimation I had of the curious practice was when a big, heavy Hollander, with a husky voice, who had rushed up behind me, asked, 'Soup?' 'Yes,' I replied, and before I knew what had happened he bad squirted the soup out into my plate. I was surprised and shocked and not a ! little puzzled at first, because I did not, know how the waiter had managed to squirt, the soup Into my plate so quick ly. I had expected him to bring my soup In the usual way, in a plate. But he shot the soup over my shoulder before the echo of the 'ja' had left my lips. I watched him make the round of the table. He had the soup in a receptacle of some sort that looked like a cross between a bagpipe audi something else, and It worked with a suction-rod arrangement If a guest wanted soup he would press the rod and the liquid would squirt out into the plate. It was Interesting enough, but, to save my life, I couldn't eat the soup, and, iu fact, I couldn't eat anything else in the place. I suppose it was all right, but I simply couldn't stand for it, and when I left the place I was neap ly starved." SHE MIXED THE ORGANS. Why the Beguara' Instruments Bora the Wron- tUcns. Visitors to Blackpool recently were much puzzled by an old woman who was playing a barrel organ. At one end of this Instrument she had pasted this notice: "Help the blind." Beneath this appeared a second ap peal: "I am the father of seven motherless children." The old woman wore a pair of blue spectacles, behind which her eyes were completely hidden. A few streets farther on the mystery of the inscription was cleared up, for there sat an old man turning music out of another organ, as dilapidated as tha one whoso faint strains could almost be heard from up the street He, too, wore glasses, and his organ bore this legend: "Help the blind." And under It: "I am the mother of seven fatherless children." A man stepped up to him and said: "Look here, my friend, the next time you go out you had better get the right label on your organ." The grinder must have guessed what the error was, says Tit-Bits, for push ing the glasses back from his eyes, he peered quickly up and down the street as If looking for a policeman. Seeing none, be leaned over and read the sign: "That's the old woman all over," n. muttered, replacing tbe glasses and turning bia Instrument to leave; "she'a mixed them blooming organs vy agalu." No Fnch Lock. "I aea tbat a pugilist waa killed re cently In a alugglng match." "Well, that la not defense of tb aport." "Well I should say not Ton aee " "You aee we can hope for tbe same happy result all the time," Baltimore Herald. Jast m Trial "So yon are really going to marry," aid tbe first Chicago girl. "Yea," replied the other. "I thought I would for a while." Philadelphia Press. Mao mntt but tittle ben bekrw but woaaaa wants a Itttla of every thing. It la homaa aature to be nnaraiafsul to the maa who flghta roar tattle te ya aad awta Mokad. I' I. O'
