8 'Cbe Conservative *
The Conservative
READ ABROAD , has just received a
letter from Mr. F.
Giertsen , of Ohristiaua , Norway , rela
tive to au article which appeared in its
issue of July 25 , 1901 , respecting Pro
fessor Giertsen and a monument which
ho had just erected to the memory of his
grandfather , because that ancestor had
planted , one hundred years before , a
splendid forest of spruce and Norway
pine as a legacy and inheritance of great
value to his descendants. The tree
planter who labors for other genera
tions than his own is a benefactor to all
mankind.
Arbor Day was
JANUARY 4th 1872. brought into being
thirty years ago on
the 4th day of next January. The fol
lowing is from the official proceedings
of the Nebraska State Board of Agri
culture :
"At the annual meeting of the Ne
braska State Board of Agriculture , held
in the city of Lincoln , January 4th.
1872 , J. Sterling Morton introduced the
following resolution , which was unani
mously adopted , after some little de
bate as to the name , some present con
tending for the term "Sylvan" instead
of Arbor.
Resolved , That Wednesday , the 10th
day of April , 1872 , be and the same is
hereby especially set apart and consecrated
crated for tree-planting in the state of
Nebraska , and the State Board of Ag
riculture hereby name it Arbor Day ;
and to urge upon the people of the state
the vital importance of tree-planting ,
hereby offer a special premium of one
hundred dollars to the Agricultural So
ciety of that county in Nebraska which
shall , upon that day , plant properly
the largest number of trees , and a farm
library of twenty-five dollars worth of
books to that person who , on that day
shall properly plant in Nebraska the
greatest number of trees. "
BOASTING.
"This know also , that in the last
days perilous times shall come. For
men shall be lovers of their own
solves , covetous , boasters. ' ' 2. Tim.
3:1-2. :
"Because thoii sayest , I am rich ,
and increased with goods , and have
need of nothing ; and knowest not
that tliou art wretched , and miserable ,
and poor , and blind , and naked. "
Rev. 3:1(5. : (
"As braggarts the American people
have no siiperiors. For gem-rations
national vanity and eonoeitedness
have found'ovorflow in Fourth of July
orations. Each year we have
vaunted our education , our Christian
ity , our charity and our morals.'as the
perfection of concrete character
with a massive unanimity of ego
tism. ' ' The Conservative.
However , The Conservative and the
Bible may be at war upon the subject
of the value of praying for rain , they
are perfectly agreed upon the value of
r" ; "rt > , 'L- , >
. X
self-vaunting , boasting as the above
texts show. I have been in the active
work of the gospel ministry for more
than a quarter of a century , and would
be now , did my health permit ; in com
mon with thousands of others I have
been praying for a great revival to
move this nation as aforetime. And
I believe that God will do it , but
there are hindrances , some of them it
may be in myself.
Hindrances to God.
First , this spirit of pride and
self-vaunting , boasting. Go into any
of the big church conventions , and
how often do you hear about "the
great Methodist church"or the "great
Presbyterian church" or whatever
clmreh the speaker happens to repre
sent.
And then an egotistical speech on
what the church has done ; and thus it
goes through press and pulpit. How
can God lift up a people who are al
ready by far too high ? ( Is God not
omnipotent ? Editor. ) Said Jesus :
"Whosoever shalt exalt himself , shall
be abased : and he that shall humble
himself , shall be exalted. "
Second , the anxiety of the minis
try , at least such u number of them , to
be known as "doctors , " to have pom
pous titles to their names as D. D . ,
LL. D. , etc. ; their failure to "preach
the word , " the very thing God sent
us to do , the anxiety of ministers to
be known as star performers 011
lecture platforms , while their flocks
are perishing for lack of a tender
shepherd's care , the restless ambi
tion of the clergy to get "calls" to
greater fields of labor and churches ,
the willingness to leave the ministry ,
if fields be poor , to go into other call
ings where salary is better these
things must be changed or God can
not revive his work. Exekiel says :
1' The word of the Lord came unto mo
saying , 'Son of man , prophesy against
the prophets of Israel. ' ' '
The 23d of Matthew is filled with
the bitterest denunciations of the false
teachers of that day in which Christ ,
Ho of the great heart , likens them to
"serpents and vipers" and asks :
1' How can ye escape the damnation of
hell ? " We doubtless have many true
ministers today ; and also with many
there is urgent need of repentance
and reformation.
They Only Profess Religion.
The disposition shown almost every
where to count men as' ' converted" who
have given no evidence of such change ,
is a very grievous sin.
Third , the lack of Bible study on
the part of the laity , the absence of
home religion , the feeble prayer meet
ings , the lack of disposition to do per
sonal work , the worldliness of the
laity , their , willingness to have their
ministers lecture upon popular
themes , instead of preach the gospel.
Here arc some of the sins of the laity ,
and they must be. repented of and
forsaken , or , Mr. Editor , how can the
good Lord use us in converting
sinners ?
Old Style Revivals.
Now I expect I have grumbled
enough for once , but when you and I
were boys things were often as bad , I
presume , as now ; but , brother , you
will remember that now and then we
had an old-fashioned pentecostal re
vival that seemed to shake heaven and
earth ; sinners instead of signing a
card or holding up their hands to
signify a desire to "go to heaven , ' '
came weeping to an altar , and often
for hours together they prayed and
were prayed for , imtil after a while
they " got through , " and then , Mr.
Editor , you remember the shouts of
victory. I want to see these old times ,
at least in substance , repeated. And
we will see it if we keep praying and
at work. I am not stickling , sir , for
the form in which this thing comes ,
so that we get the substance of it.
More Prayers.
I wish all editors and preachers
were Christian men , who would begin
the day with prayer and end it with
thanksgiving ; what a beginning this
would be to a great revival that
would shake all Nebraska.
Now I propose that you do all that
you can down at Nebraska City , your
end of the line , speak to Dr. Shepherd
the Methodist minister ; he is like
Barnabas , ' ' A good man full of faith
and the Holy Ghost ; " get him to stir
things up , and if you can get him go
ing on the right line he is a power.
You thunder the truth at them
through a column of The Conserv
ative , while up here at Lincoln I will
pray for the work , and then see
Brother Bryan and Doc Bixby and
Rev. Hindman and others , and some
thing will happen. You know the
promise , I am going to keep quoting
it , "If my people , which are called by _
my name , shall humble themselves and
pray , and seek my face , and turn from
their wicked ways ; then will I hear
from heaven , and will forgive their
sins , and will heal their land. ' '
BYRON BEALL.
Few residences in America have been
built from the proceeds of crops of
wind and words fertilized with cheek.
"Any attempt to broaden the scope
of reciprocity treaties must bo along
lines laid down by the Dingloy bill ,
or the result will be an abandonment
of protection , " argues the Milwaukee
Sentinel ( Rep. ) . "If protection is
to be abandoned , it should bo done
witli a distinct understanding that ,
the time has como for the adoption of
practical free trade. ' '