f1Kr,HilfS:gf"-e- -. ,
OCTOBER 27f'l05
' The Commoner; a
HOW LOUISE feUTLER SANQ "ABIDE WITH HE"
Alighting from a railroad train at Chloago
Miss Louise Butler fell under the wheels and wag
terribly mangled. The Chicago Record-Herald,
referring to this accident relates an interesting
story. The Record-Herald says that after the
accident Miss Butler was placed again on the
i rnin from which she had fallen to be conveyed
u a hospital five miles away. Reviving in spite
ot terrible injuries, she began singing softly:
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens, Lord with mo abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
The Record-Herald says: She saug the hymn
through, even as her hands clinched in her agony,
and the last line was reached as the train stopped
and she was lifted from it.
Again when she was placed on the operating
table the girl sang. the prayer, only ceasing, when
her mother and father reached her, to beg them
not to grieve.
Turning from them to her pastor, Miss Butler
asked him to comfort her parents, and requested
him to pray. As the prayer was finished' she took
up another hymn:
My faith looks up to thee,
Thou lamb of Calvary, -.1'
., Savior divine. . ...
Now Hear me while I pray,
'rake all my guilt away,
Oh, let ine from this day
Be wholly thine.
tion and often expressed the desire that he might
be permitted to do something which would have
Its Influence for good upon humanity aftor 'his
death. - This longing found expression in the
following:
Might verse of mine Inspire
'One virtuous aim, one high resolve impart
. v" Light in one drooping soul a hallowed fire,
';. Or bind one broken heart ...
. t Death would be sweeter then. - ..'-"
ing at the very threshold of eternity nn.l na ho
had never sung before: .
"0, that Home of the Soul, In my vision and
dreams
lis bright jnsper wall I can see, .
rill I funcy but dimly the veil intervenes
Between that fair city and me."
Mr. Sutherland tolls us:
cr
f
t.
Mr. Lyte was ordered by his physicians
to relinquish his work and go to Italy. He
delivered a farewell sermon to his flock, al
though scarcely able to stand in the chancel.
In the late afternoon, recovering somewhat
from the strain of the morning service, he
walked slowly and feebly down the terraced
walk t'olhe water he loved so well, and which
he was about to leave forever. The benedic
tion of Autumn rested upon land and sea and
God's smile was over all. The spell of the
hour was upon the minister. While the
bright sunset colors faded into the sober
grays of twilight, he slowly made his way
back to the house in prayerful sileiico and
went to his room. When he joined his family
a little later, he bore in his hand3 the words
that were destined to move thousands. His
prayer had been answered. His last evening
.in his old home had produced that which will
be a blessing so long as the heart turns to
its Maker for help in times of need.
Her voice faltering on the last line, she
whispered: "Dp not grieve..,. Tell them tarn not
afraid to die' and became unconscious.. She
died thirty minutes 'afterward. "
.
"Abide With Me" was "-written by Henry
Francis Lyte who, living in the town of Brixham,
on tlie eastern coast of 'Devonshire,. England, died
in 1847. Allah' 'Sutherland who wrote for "The
Delineator" a serJes of interesting articles on
"Famous Hymns, Their Origin and Their Ro
mance" says that Mr. Lyte was dying of consump-
P. P. Bliss, caught in the Ashtabula wreck
calmly awaited the death he knew, could not be
avoided, and while the fire was eating its way to
him he sang for his own inspiration the same
old songs in the same old way. Men and women
in all sections of the world Iiave been charmed
with these songs as Bliss had rendered them, and
the many who remember the power that great
evangelist put into his song in the revival meet
ing, and the impression he ever created will have
perhaps a faint idea of what it must have been
to have beard that strong men, hemmed in by
the wreckage and bound for speedy death, sing-
Many of the most beautiful of our sadTajl
songs were written upon the Inspiration of what
the average man would consider little things.
Charles Wesley's immortal hymn, "Jesus, Lover of
My Soul," was written immediately after a little
bird that was pursued by a hawk had flown Into
Ills open study window to seek refuge from Its
onemy. And the Christian world knows "Rufugo"
as one of its grandest songs. '
Knowles Shaw, the famous singing evan
gelist, who wrote "Bringing in the Sheaves," and
scores of other songs familiar to every Sunday
school pupil, arose from his bed at 2 o'clock one
morning after dreaming of the joys of the here
after, and wrote his immortal song entitled "Tlmt
Beautiful Dream," which says:
"I dreamed of the land of the pure and bright,
The city of Cod, the saint's delight,
And the saints and the children of ages were there
That, city of God and its home to snare."
He had dreamed the words and music, and
arose in his night robes to sot tTioni down upon
paper. Knowles Shaw met his death under pecu
liar circumstances. After a big revival meeting
at Houston, Texas, he was on his way to Now
Orleans to engage Jn another. He was accom
panied by two other ministers, and while engaged
in conversing about their worn Mr. Shaw Tex
claimed: "It is a grand thing to labor for the
cause of the Master. It is my life's work, and
I want to keep at it until I am called to go. 1
wantM.o, Ijo ati the work when my time comes,
and I want to be called from active labor in
stantly into the presence of tnc . Master ." Be
fore the words were fairly out of his mouth' the
car in which he was seated left, the rails, toppled
over an. embankment and Knowos Shaw's wfuh'
was realizedhe had been "called instantly" Into
his Master's presence.
SENATOR FORAKER AND THE RAILROAD
, f -RATE QUESTION
? Contiritied from. Page 8)t ' -'
modities or' they will, not move, but that they
are made as low as justice will allow is absurd.
What the senator says about the difficulty of
rate-making shows conclusively mat he knows
nothing about it. The only difficulty there is, is
in making them low enough to favored ones and
favored localities without letting too many got
the benefit of them. The railroads insist that,
If the interstate commerce commission be given
tlie rate-making power, the rates, be not effective .
until their reasonableness and justness is passed
ip i by a special court created for that purpose.
lu the courts employ rate-making experts to as-m-
them in reaching a conclusion? If a court
an determine whether or not a rate is just and
reasonable why cannot the interstate commerce
nnmission do so?
For about ten years the railroads did not
i ' stlon the decisions of the interstate commerce
amission, and during that time they did : not
b'iffur. Then they tested the commission's right
to 1'iiforce its decisions, and the supreme court
(, fidud that cqngress did not confer the rate
niuKing power upon it. After exercising the rate
iiKiking power for ten years without injustice, it
H "ttle short of silliness to now attempt to make
,J'' people believe that President Roosevelt's
v::ioy would bankrupt the railroads, throw men
' of employment and do many other disastrous
MnuRs. The senator did not say in so many
w Ub that the president's policy ' would throw"
" out of epip.loyment, reduce wages, etc., but
aid it by .Amplication when he said that such
; .iihcy wou,l4 of necessity determine what ex-i"-ions
and .improvements might be made etc.
" railroads, openly made the emlm mat if bo
'iwuuis railroad;, commissioners' reduced freight
r -M the wages of -railroad employes would have
J" ip rea,ucedjiotwithstanding .,tnor fact that
11 kIU rates ar,e higher in Biinois than -in most
'ho adjoining states. According.' to the "let
enough alone; and the "stand pat" policy,
the power to oppose shippers must not be dis
turbed in. any particular, or the workingman will
suffer.. But the immigration laws had to be en
acted to prevent these-lovers of the workingman
from bringing in the scum of earth to take their
places at lower wages. These corporations are
always "sweating blood" for fear the working
man will suffer.
The interstate commerce commission, since
the decision of the supreme court referred to, Is
nothing more than a publicity bureau an investi
gating committee. True, it is doing good work
in showing up tho criminal acts of the railroads,
just as the New York legislative committee is
showing up the rascality of the insurance com
panies. The insurance companies also claim
that premiums are as low as justice wi.ll permit,
but we now Know better. The interstate com
merce commission should be- the great court of
arbitration to settle disputes hetween shippers
and tlie carriers. Upon complaint of a rate be
ing unreasonable, a thorough investigation would
be made. The railroad's side would be presented
by Senator Foraker's experts in rate-making, sup
ported by the ablest attorneys in the land. The
other side would be presented by business men,
manufacturers, merchants, etc. If the railroads
only ask justice they should not fear an inves
tigation in which they would be represented by
experts and able attorneys.
JJJ
SIR HENRY IRVING
John Henry Brodribb, better known to the
world as Sir Henry Irving, is dead, and in his
death the theatrical world loses one of its -leading
lights, the stage one who contributed much
to its higher standing, and the English speaking
world one who has contributed largely to its edu
cation and entertainment. Sir Henry Irving
achieved great fame as an actor, but it was as a
stage director and manager that his future fame
k- will rest upon. In some characters hlsr art was
, truly .great, but as a. manager had few equals -and
no superiors; And iri jthe dramatic world; a
heavy responsibility is placed upon the man
whose duly it is to provide the proper setting
for the play in hand. Sir Henry was not content,
to follow he was determined to lead. He '.had'
the courage to present fine plays in the best pos
sible manner, confident that tnc public would ap
preciate his efforts. Nothing that might con
tribute to the success of his work was too small
for him to seize upon and use 1o the best ad
vantage. A SUCCESSFUL EXPOSITION ,to ,.
-
The managers of the Lewis and Clarkd ex
position at Portland, Oregon, have every reason,
to be proud of the success that has crowned their
efforts. There were many critics who were quite
sure the exposition would be a failure financially
and they based their predictions on the fact that
the people have had a surfeit or exposition and
the other fact that Portland was hundreds of
miles from the center of population. But all dire
prophecies were set at naught, ana the enterprise
was in every way a success. The greatest ser
vice rendered 'was in presenting to the world the
wonderful progress, development and resources
of the great northwest country. For many years
to come that "magnificent domain will feel the
impetus given by this remarkable exposition.
As a rule great expositions are financial fail
ures, but this can not be said or the Lewis and
Clarke exposition. Instead of a complete loss
being sustained by those who subscribed the
money, a dividend of more than 40 per cent will
be declared. In other words, the subscribers will
receivo back 40 cents on every dollar they sub
scribed. This record has been excelled by only
one exposition vdnture, the Trans-Mississippi ex
position at Omaha in 1898, which returned 00
cents on the dollar.
The country has been vastly benefited by the
Lewis and Clarke exposition because thousands
of eastern people were led by it to travel acrbsfr
the country,, and a trip across this great con
tinent is a liberal education for any American
citizen. , . '
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