-r ; By REV. CHARLES M. SHELDON ,
Author of "In HIa Steps : What Would Jesus DoP" "Malcom * < >
Kirk , " "Bobert Hardy's Seven Days , " Etc.
* Copyright , 1800 , by Tlie Advance PuWfaWna Cu. * <
dfenoy wnispered to unn : "Better wait ,
You have only just come here. The
people like you now. It will only
cause unpleasant feelings and do no
good for you to launch out Into a cru
sade against this thing right now.
There are BO many of your members
Involved that It will certainly alienate
their support and possibly lead to your
being compelled to lose your place as
pastor If it do not drive away the most
Influential members. "
To all this plea of expediency Philip
replied , "Get thee behind me , satan ! "
He said with himself , he might ns
well let the people know what he was
at the very first It was not necesi
sary that he should be their pastor if
they would none of him. It was nee-
essary that he preach the truth boldly.
The one question he asked himself
was , "Would Jesus Christ , If he were
I pastor of Calvary church in Milton today -
' day , speak of the matter next Sunday
and speak regardless of all consequences
quences ? " Philip asked the question
honestly , and after long prayer and
much communion with the Divine he
said , "Yes , I believe he would. " It Is
possible that he might have gained by
waiting or by working with his mem
bers in private. Another man might
have pursued that method and still
have been a courageous , true minister.
But this is Hie story of Philip Strong ,
not oS another man , and this is what
he did :
When Sunday inoruiug came , he
went into his pulpit with the om
thought in mind that he would simply
and frankly , In his presentation of the
subject , use the language and the spir
it of his Master. He had seen other
property owners during the week , aud
his interviews were nearly all similar
to the one with Mr. Beutley. He had
not been able to see Mr. William Win
ter , the chairman of the trustees , as he
had not returned home until very late
Saturday night. Philip saw him \.ome
Into the church that inoruiug , just as
the choir rose to sing the anthem. He
was a large , fine looking man. Philip
admired his physical appearance as he
marched down the aisle to his pew ,
which was the third from the front , di
rectly before the pulpit
When the hymn had been sung , the
offering taken , the prayer made , Philip
stepped out at one side of the pulpit
and reminded the congregation that ,
according to his announcement of a
week before , he would give the first of
his series of monthly talks on "Christ
and Modern Society. " His subject this
morning , he said , was "The Right and
Wrong Uses of Property. "
He started out with the statement ,
which he claimed was verified every
where in the word of God , that all
property that men acquire is really
only in the nature of trust funds ,
which the property holder is In duty
bound to use as a steward. The gold
Is God's. The silver is God's. The cat
tle on a thousand hills , all land and
water privileges and wealth of the
earth and of the seas belong primarily
to the Lord of all the earth. When any
of this property comes within the con
trol of a man , he is not at liberty to
use it as if it were his own and his
alone , but as God would have him use
It to better the condition of life and
make men and communities happier
and more useful.
From this statement Philip went on
to speak of the common idea which
men had that wealth and houses and
lands were their own to do with as
they pleased , and he showed what
mis'ery and trouble had always flowed
out of the great falsehood and how
k nations and individuals were today in
the greatest distress because of the
wrong uses to which God's property
was put by men who had control of it.
It was easy then to narrow the argu
ment to the condition of affairs in
Milton. As he stepped from the gener
al to the particular and began to speak
of the rental of saloons and houses of
gambling from property owners in
Milton and then characterized such a
' use of God's property as wrong and '
un-Christian it was curious to note the |
effect on the congregation. Men who
had been listening complacently to
Philip's eloquent but quiet statements ,
as long as he confined himself to dis
tant historical facts , suddenly became
aware that the tall , pale faced , resolute
and ' ving young preacher up there
was talking right at them , and more
than one mill owner , merchant , real
estate dealer and even profession
al man writhed inwardly and nerv
ously shifted in his cushioned pew
as Philip spoke in the plainest
terms of the terrible example set
the world by the use of property
for purposes which were destructive to
all true society and a shame to civiliza
tion and Christianity. Philip con
trolled his voice and his manner admi
rably , but he drove the truth home and
spared not His voice at no time rose
above a quiet conversational tone , but
It was clear and distinct The audience
sat hushed in the spell of a geuine sen
sation , which deepened when , at the
close of a tremendous sentence which
Bwept through the church like a red-
hot flame , Mr. Winter suddenly arose
passed out into the aisle
in his pew ,
and marched deliberately down and
out of the door. Philip saw him and
knew the reason , but marched straighten
on with his message , and no one. not
even his anxious wife , who endured
martyrdom , c = hi t ! rv-n'ng. '
could "defect any "disturbance In Philip
from 1 the mill owner's contemptuous
withdrawal.
When Philip closed with a prayer of
tender appeal that the spirit of truth
would make all hearts to behold the
truth as one soul , the audience remain
ed seated longer than usual , still under
the influence of the subject and the
morning's sensational service. All
through the day Philip felt a certain
strain on him , which did not subside
even when the evening service was
over. Some of the members , notably
several of the mothers , thanked him
with tears In their eyes for the mornIng -
Ing i message. Very few of the men
talked 1 with him. Mr. Winter did not
come out to the evening service , al
though ( he was one of the very few
men i members who were Invariably
present ] Philip noted his absence , but
preached ] with his usual enthusiasm.
He ] thought a larger number of stran
gers was present than he had seen the
Sunday be/ore. He was very tired
when the day was over.
The next morning as he was getting
ready to go out for a visit to one of the
mills , the bell rang. He was near the
door and opened it. There stood Mr.
Winter. "I would like to see you for a
few moments , Mr. Strong , if you can
spare the time , " said the mill owner ,
without offering to talie the hand Phil
ip extended.
"Certainly. Will you come up to my
study ? " asked Philip quietly.
The two men went up stairs , and
Philip shut the door , as lie motioned
Mr. Winter to a seat and then sat
down opposite.
CHAPTER III.
" 1 have come to see you about your
sermon of yesterday morning. " began
Mr. Winter abruptly. "I consider
what you said was a direct insult to
me personally. "
"Suppose I should say it was not so
Intended ? " replied l-h.p. with a good
uatured smile.
"Then 1 should say you lied ! " replied
M r. Winter sharply.
Philip sat very still. And the two
men eyed each other in silence for a
moment. The minister reached out his
hand and laid it on the other's arm ,
saying as he did so : "My brother , you
certainly did not come into my house
to accuse me unjustly of wronging
you ? 1 am willing to talk the matter
over in a friendly spirit , but I will not
listen to personal abuse. "
There was something in the tone and
manner of this declaration that sub
dued the mill owner a little. He was
an older man than Philip by 20 years ,
but a man of quick and ungoverned
temper. He had come to see the min
ister while in a heat of passion , and
the way Philip received him , the calm
ness and dignity of his attitude ,
thwarted his purpose. He wanted to
find a man ready to quarrel. Instead
he found a man ready to talk reason.
Mr. Winter replied , after a pause , dur
ing which he controlled himself by a
great effort :
"I consider that you purposely select
ed me as guilty of conduct unworthy
a church member and a Christian ami
made me the target of your remarks
yesterday. And I wish to say that such
preaching will never do in Calvary
church while I am one of its mem
bers. "
"Of course you refer to the matter
of renting your property to saloon men
and to hails for gambling and other
evil uses , " said Philip bluntly. "Are
you the only member of Calvary
church who lets his property for such
purposes ? "
"It is not a preacher's business to
pry into the affairs of his church mem
bers ! " replied Mr. Winter , growing
more excited again. "That is what I
object to. "
"In the first place , Mr. Winter , " said
Philip steadily , "let us settle the right
and wrongs of the whole business. Is
it right for a Christian man , a church
member , to rent his property for sa
loons and vicious resorts where human
life is ruined V"
"That is not the question. "
"What is ? " Philip asked , with his
eyes wide open to the other's face.
Mr. Winter answered sullenly : "The
question is whether our business af
fairs , those of other men with me , are
to be dragged into the Sunday church
services and made the occasion of per
sonal attacks upon us. I for one will
not sit and listen to any such preach
ing. "
"But aside from the matter of pri
vate business. Mr Winter , let us settle
whether what you and others are doing
is right. Will you let the other matter
rest a moment and tell me what is the
duty of a Christian in the use of his
property ? "
"It is my property , and if I or my
agent choose to rent it to another man
in a legal , business way. that is my af
fair. I do not recognize that you have
anything to do with it. "
"Not if 1 am convinced that you are
doing what is harmful to the com
munity and the church ? "
"You have no business to meddle in
our private affairs ! " replied Mr. Win
ter angrily. "And if you intend to pur
sue that method of preaching I shall
withdraw my support , and most of the
Influential , paying members will follow
my t'xample. "
threat on. the nart
, . need a fatty food to enrich \ .
8 their blood , give color to o
ft their cheeks and restore their *
i\
ig g health and strength. It is
I safe to say that they nearly |
I all reject fat with their food , j
I
COOTl-IVER OIL |
WITHHYPOPHOSPMTESOFLIMESSQDA ,
/K tt
iy is exactly what they require ; a
i > it not only gives them the inv
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S in a palatable and easily di-1
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$ ble in nervous disorders that a
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\ SCOH'S EMULSION isa |
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$ of fat. A certain amount of 8
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& We have known per" |
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SCOTT & BOWNE , Chemists , New York. < J'
"Save the Boys. "
Under the above caption , William A
White of the Emporia ( Kansas ) Gazette
pens an article in his weekly edition ,
which we reproduce below in full not
because it fits the case in McCook most
accurately , but because it does hit the
mark in many particulars right between
the eyes :
"There are twenty or thirty boys in
this town who are going straight to hell ,
if there is a hell in this world or the
next. They are between the ages of 9
and 15. They lie , they steal , they swear ,
they smoke on the streets , they gamble
for the pennies that they get from the
sale of stolen iron and brass ; but , worst
of all , they loaf day in and day out.
Heaven and the men whose duty it is to
enforce the lavs know why these boys
are not in school. The devil knows why
they loaf : It is because he needs some
one to occupy the jails of this town ten
years from now ; someone to murder ; to
steal ; to ruin girls ; to beat wives ; to
bring degenerate children into the world ;
to drink whisky ; to brawl ; to fill the
poor house ; to keep taxes up so that the
thrifty , honest , hard-working taxpayers
will not have surplus money to give to
churches , and schools , and colleges.
For the devil is careful and lays his
plans ahead.
And the devil himself must be pleased
at the foul-mouthed , black-hearted street
spawn that he is raising in Emporia
right under the noses of officers who
stand up and swear before Almighty God
to enforce the laws. It were better to
have a dozen open saloons in the town
than to allow these boys to grow up in
idleness and ignorance and crime , break
ing in grocery stores by night , stealing
metal by day.
There is a school law which is as dead
to the world in this town as the shadow
of a dream. No one thinks of enforcing
it. Yet prayer-meetings are held by the
score here and revivals without number ,
and men and women are "saved , " while
these dirty boys , who have possibilities
of being good , useful citizens , are neg
lected.
Where is the W. C. T. U. ?
Where is the Y. P. S. C. E. ?
Here is a Christian Endeavor for you ,
that doesn't require any gadding aboul
to conventions and getting up to sunrise
pi ayer-meetings , to accomplish.
Where is the Home Missionary soci
ety ? Your hearts bleed for the bare
backed heathen of Ainca. Why don't
they bleed for these boys born in Amer
ica , with civilized blood in their veins ?
It doesn't take ships and funds to reach
these boys. It takes heart , though.
Where are the priest and the Levite ?
Here are journeymen on the Jericho
road. Why pass by on the other side ?
Why not bind up their wounds , and take
them to an inn ? They will soil the linen
for awhile. They will cost time and
patience. There are dozens of good ex
cuses for letting these boys go on sliding
into hell. There was never a failure
that was not amply justified by good ex
cuses. It is the successes of this life
that are surprising , unaccountable , mi
raculous.
These Emporia boys , who are going
wrong , need serious thought. Their sal-
vatiou is a serious business. Yet it is a
business proposition pure and simple.
It is a small gift now of energy and in
telligence , against a big assessment ol
taxes by and by. Murder trials cost.
Jail board is expensive Broken-hearted
wives come high. But we must have
'em.
'em.It
It is more important to Emporia and
the civilization of this community that
this score of boys only a small number
it is true be put in school and civilized ,
than that the whole Phillipine islands
be annexed to the United States. For
what profiteth a town to gain the whole
world and lose its own bojs ? Save the
boys , is a more patriotic slogan than
" . "
"conquer Aguinaldo.
But of course the boys wont be saved
They will go right on to hell. No one
carrs for a boy. He isn't roniHtic and
lie doe.M/t look prettj when you wrap
i lie flrtg about htm. The bait boys in
Emporia and elsewhere Mill keep on
romping in the road that lends to de
struction and the patriots and statesmen
will keep on waving the flag and listen
ing for applause. Common sense has no
place in puolic acts. If the boys ever
win , it wilt be because they are Anglo-
Saxon and blood tells "
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For folders giving full particulars and
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J. FRANCIS. G. P. A. , Omaha , Neb.
"The First Night ol a Play , " "Through
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"What it Means to be a Librarian , " by
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