1 The PulpTT
A SERMON
ft V tAe ren
Subject: Foes of the Flag.
Brooklyn, N. Y. Preaching at
the Irving Square Presbyterian
Church, Hamburg avenue and Weir
, Bold street, the Rev. Ira Wemmell
Henderson, pastor, took as his text
Peal ins 10:6 'In the name of our
Ood we will set up our banners."
He said:
The flag of America Is the symbol
Of her conception and of her pro
gress. Its stars and stripes and
field of blue bear eloquent though
silent testimony to the method of
her making, the character of hi-r
sons and the Influences t!-at have
militated for all that Is best In her
national life. Whether we be de
scended from the long line of the
forefathers who laid the foundations
Of America deep and broad and
strong In the everlasting rock of the
truth of the living God or are but
lately naturalized citizens of the
land we love, the flutter of the na
tion's ensign finds responsive pulse
within our hearts. For the flag
typofles the soul of the people, the
hope of the nation, the sacrifice of
the host who, living ami dead, have
poured out upon 'he altar of a true
devotion to this land of promise a
meed of service, for the welfare of
the country and the glory of Al
mighty God.
No true patriot Is he who ran
gaze upon the beauty of "Old Glory"
without pride and a warming heart.
For every star has a history and tells
a mighty story; every ruddy stripe
Is dyed In the running fountain of
a loyalty and willing sacrifice the
like of which history cannot sur
pass: everv bar of white reveals the
purity of the limpid, true ideals that
run, though often hidden, at the core
and centre of our nation's life. Blue
as the arching heavens her star
strewn field I-! redolent with a hope
aa vast as the profundity of zenithal
skies. Bathed in a nation's suffer
ings and dedicated to a nation's lib
erty, the flag of our country has
gained its power and will wield a
future strength because It was sot
up in the name of God and will he
upheld by the efficiency of His
mightiness. Ever remembering the
consecration for which It stands, the
services of which it speaks, the suf
fering to which it bearR mute tribute,
the hope eternal which its proud folds
counsel, we shall never stray afar or
trail its beauty In the dirt of Indi
vidual impurity or of national dis
honor. But glorious as Is the history of
the flag and magnificent as is the
progress and achievement over
which If waves, It must be sedulously
guarded from subtle dangers If we
are to preserve faultless for the wel
fare of posterity the heritage which
we have received. No nation has
a greater, a more auspicious, a more
logically magnificent future than
America. The d"eds of yesterday
bespeak larger eapacitie3 and onpor
tunltins as yet unused. The sun of
our national greatness Is just aris
ing, the glory of our flag has but
begun. What the limits of the fu
ture may be no man may mark. Wo
are entering th" sihlime age of hu
man history, And America stands In
the rangusrd of progression. Of our
coming eminence we may but dream.
No nronhecy Is to be Ignored, for
no prnnhec' ean tell the half of the
glorv God will reveal In and throngh
America In the coming days if we
guard our hearts from evil, our
mindi from wilful error, and our
fin.- rrom shame.
The dangers to our national gr?nt
ness and 'o the spotless Integrity of
our flag r the embodiment of our
national life and astiiratlon are sub
tie danger?. They are not so much
overt as abs'raet. not ro much ma
terial as Intellectual tnd snjrltugl,
not so muc'.i objective as subjective,
not so much outward as Internal.
No sane man would underes'imate
the he'nousness of the material sin
whic'i threatens oir flag to-day, no
one has ! dslaslnni as to the size
and the f'oferminatlon of the organ
ised and d -Ian'. foree3 fo- evil which
aTlict thlS i8nd. Bit. after all, th
forces for evil that ar" Mlled and
Aggressive and overt, that are de
termined to rule or ruin, to gsln
their ends by foul meani or fair,
are not half s dangerous to Its puh
11c welfare and to the dest1nv of
America, as the more subtle snd ab
stract dangers that i -e resident In
the honrts and mlnd of nopl who
want to maintain the glory of the
flag, the Intoyrlty of the netlon and
the glorv of Jehovah in our midst.
When all Is said and don there are
more people whose faces are set for
heaven ' in oward hrl TV." great
host of the people want the right:
they do love Cod, they long to see
the beauty of His glory in the land
of the living. And the danger Is
that these good people, seeing the
alze of the enemy and taking the
measure of his power, may too
often and too long accept evil con
ditions as necessary simply because
they are ancient or fixed; that they
shall be too careless and Indifferent
concerning the value of a stern fight
for the right In the face of in
trenched iniquity; that they shall be
slovenlv ami inexact and dishonest In
their thinking; and heedl-Hs of the
claims of the xplrit of th" living God
In the Individual and national life.
The flag of America. a3 the ban
ners of the psalmist, 1m set up In the
name and to the glory of Almighty
Go. We may leave It off our coins
or place It thereupon, it matters
little, but In our heart of hearts "In
Cod we put our trust." Over against
that flag and opposed to the laws of
Deity we have In our midst to-day
organized and aggressive dangers
that threaten the vitality of the na
tion. They are strong, they are
armed, they are entrenched, they do
not care to die. But they are not final,
their length of days may be great but
they are not eternal. They make for
death and not for life. And they
Will go, as they must. The danger
lies not so mnch In the fact that they
are desperate and determined as In
the disposition of good men and
true, who love the land as they love
their God. to despair and to doubt and
fo disperse. A greater oanger to the
tlii than all the sins thxt as.Mll It
Is the weak-heartednesi of the peo
ple of God. A bad thing Is of no
effect for long against the efforts of
the organized militant armies of God
Almighty, If they will take heart and
keep It, and keep the fight everlast
ingly up. What of Valley Forge ana'
the first liiill Bun? Remember
Yorktown and Appomattox and keep
en! Such spirit and such hope are
invincible as they are unquenchable.
Without them the very fabric of our
rational civilization Is endangered aa
no o'her foe can harm.
No alt) has a longer mortgage up
on the future than we care, tinner
the grace and empowerment of the
living God. to allow. We may not
see the breath leave sin as we have
planned, but If we will struggle sin
will die. It Is for us to labor. It
Is for God to direct. It li for us to
follow. He shall lead. However
Insurmountable the obstacle or
time-honored the grievous sin, Ood
will ennble us to overcome through
the might of Ills power If we will
but servo with steadfastness and
fidelity. But God Himself cannot
bring the victory to an army that
will not follow, or success to a pious
host that Is afraid of a long fight
and a hard one. No, my friends,
weak-kneed and weak-hearted piety
Is a more subtle and dangerous foe
to the nation than all the forces of
wickedness combined.
Another danger Is the danger of
Indifference. Men do not care about
the public good, they are too busy
or too lazv or too self-consumed and
centered to think about the public
weal. When sin stalks the street
they stay at home with an easy chair
and a cosy nook for comfort, saving
to themselves, "1 have enough. What
can I do? Let others battle;'! am
content." It Is as though the hand
said to the foot, as Paul derlared,
"I have no need of thee." Such
men are enemies, twofold enemies,
to the republic.
A still morp subtle danger Is that
nf loose, careless, slovenly, dishon
est thinking. The glory of our
schools Is thnt they fit men to think,
lint how few of our citizenship take
the time or the trouble to think
deeply, thoroughly, conclusively,
with a real and painstaking effort
not to Justify a theory or a precon
ception, hut to ascertain the fact"
and to comprehend the truth. In
the press and In the pulpit, at the
bar and In the business world, dis
honest and lazy Intellectual effort Is
as rife as It is appalling. Jesus said
"Ye shall know the truth and the
tr tth shall make yon free." Jesus
never dlgnlfed thought as a meant
to force facts, to justify preconcep
tions or as a means to stultify the
truth. Jesus was a clear thinker, a
close thinker, an hpneat thinker. He
wanted the truth. He was not In
teres ted in supporting theories. He
gave His life to the revelation and
the comprehension of the eternnl
truth of God. But to-day how other
wise t Is, even after centuries of ex
ample of the unwisdom of dishonest
thought, among even the very fol
lowers of the Christ who was the em
bodiment of the truth. The press
twists fact and truth to justify the
He, too often, for the public good
The pulpit descants with sennt wis
dom, too often, upon the errors and
inconsistencies of movements and
principles that hid fair to challenge
or to overthrow, not religion, but
the ecclesiastical status quo. The
lawyer defeats Justice bv the roazf
of unhealthy and obnoxious techni
calities and nerverslons of the spirit
of the law. The business man glosses
sin for a consideration. And sc
If goes. Close thinking Is too hard,
-lear thinking is uncomfortable, hon
est thinking is unprofitable. There
fore, let us think loosely; let SI
think good Is bad for profit: let
us clothe the ancient 11 and call II
truth, that the status quo may bf
preserved. The danger Is evident
May the God of truth protect ui
from It.
Another danger Is the prevalent
Inclination to forget and to dismlsr
religion. No theory of government
no system of economies, no discip
line of philosophy, method of life
can endure wholesomely and vigor
ously ex"ept there be foundations
Inld In the religions consclousnesi
nf man. Without the saving, con
serving, transforming and Inspiring
presence nnd power of the spirit ol
the living 1od as a resident fact and
force In the Individual and national
life we cannot maintain the integ
rUy of our flag or the health of thr
people. No nation ran realize Itt
greatness, as can no Individual, with
out God. In Him we live and movi
and have our being. He is tin
source of all light and progress. Ec
rlrsiastlclsm may misrepresent Hire
as It hes aforetime done. But le
us never forget Him. For He li
inescapable. He 13 greater and
grander and more beautiful that
all our theories about Him. He If
our shield, our defense, our guide
OUT love and our friend. We car
do nothing without. Him. With Hltr
we may do anvthing. This Is ele
mental. It is simple. It Is Inflniti
and everlasting truth. Let ua nevei
routine disaffection with churchei
and ministers and creeds with
str.elsrp. However unsatisfactorily
and falteringly God's children may
reveal Him to their fellows, let ui
never forget Him. let us never cease
U) servo Him. The danger Is that
rtriftlne from the church men maj
drift from religion. The danger
Is thRt leaving the Christ of the
rhiirchee, with rather much leal
reason than more, they shall lose
their vision of. and shall deny the
Christ of God. Nothing could be
more dangerous to America than
that. In the day that America for
gets Jesus let America place her
flag at half mast. For In His truth
lies her greatness and in the appro
priation of Him by the nation Uef
the hope of the ages that are yet to
come.
ml 1
dxtr&aij-Scftoof
l.Tli: vno T, l.FSSON COM
MEXTS FOR AUGUST 10.
AUGUST SIXTEENTH.
17) OUGHT
i V-nlh
rSuix
TM THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
III! VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
What is Life?
Our business is, not to bufld quick'
ly, but to build upon a right founda
tion and in a right spirit. Life la
more than a mere competition aa be
tween man and man; it Is not who
i can be done first, but who can work
best; not who can rise highest, but
who Is working most patiently and
lovingly In accordance with the de
signs of God- Joseph Parker.
You are not likely to bob a aalal
by searching your mirror.
FAIRY PIPKS.
The fairy pipe, which grows rarer
and rarer as time pevsee, still Rude a
niche In rrinny museums. It Is a lit
tle clay pipe, the bowl h: enough
to hold a pinch of tobacco the llta ol
a pea, and the stem an Inch Ion ; und
of the tnlckuess of a violet stalk. It
is a qunlnt superstition, that of Die
fairy pipe, and It still lingers iu total
parts of Ireland. There he who comes
upon a fairy ring must lest the "lit
tle people" do hin. harm, leave In
the ring's centre a fairy pipe filled
and ready for smoking. In the past
fairy pipes could be bought ail ovbr
Ireland, but they are hard to find
cow, and most of those In the mu
seums are over a hundred years old.
New York Press
A remarkable bird found In Mex
ico la the bra martin, which haa a
trick of ruffling up the feathers ot
the top of Its head Into the exact
semblance of a beautiful flower, ant?
when a bee comes along to sip honey
from the S'-.pposed flower it la
mapped ux by tbo bird.
Subject: Saul Trie to Kill David, 1
Samuel 18:0-1(1 Golden Text,
P. 84:11 Read Cliapters IS,
1! ( 'nnunriit nry.
TIME. 1063 B. T. PLACE.
Glbeah.
EXPOSITION. -I. Si.nl' Knvy of
Demd, fl-If. David's great achieve
ment raised him at once to a high po
sition in the estimation of Saul, nnd
In the armv. nut It did not turn
David's head. He SCtRd with remark
able modesty. He was perfectly obe
dient to nil Sauls orders, though ho
knew that he had been himself dl
vlnelv appointed to the chief leader
ship in Israel fcf. v. is, 23). He con
ducted himself with great, wisdom.
He patiently awaited God's time.
Saul himself wns at flrBt disposed to
put David forward (v. 5). He was
commander In chief over the rude and
undisciplined army which Saul had
gathered together (cf. ch. 14:52). In
our day In tlnies of war, men rise rap
Idly from obscurity to a place of great
prominence by some act of great cour
age and prowess. Much more would
this be true in n limeof such primitive
warfare. His deed was so splendid In
th' eyes of nil that none dreamed of
disputing his superiority. It was the
enstorn of the women of Israel to
greet their conquering armies with
dimes nnd songs of victory and
praise as they returned from the bat
tle (Ex. 15:20; Ju.U:34; Ps.6S:25).
Nothing Is dearer to the average sol
dier's heart than the admiration and
praise cf the fair women of the land.
David was naturally the idol of th
hour. He wns the nation's saviour.
Moreover, he had performed a deed
of unparalleled bravery. It is no
wonder that the women went wild
with enthusiasm. Their comparison
was just enough, hut not wise. Srul
was king and It was natural h? should
be stung to the quirk by having one
who had just come to the frint thus
highly exalted above himself. Fur
thermore, It. was only a short time
since S:.ul himself had been the idol
of the people (ch. 11:11, 12). It is
hard to give up a place like that to
another without a pang of jealousy.
The song of praise to David was taken
up far and wide and became known
even among other peoples (cf. ch.
21:11; 2S:5). It wns the popular air
of the day. Probably Saul heard
It wherever he went. David was not
to blame. Doubtless he would rather
that the women had not thus sung.
But greatness, no matter how humblo
it is, is very maddening to mediocrity.
The small man can not forgive the
great man for being great. Saul
whimpered like a spoiled child. In
the story of Saul we see the tragedy
of a bouI. The same story In all its
essential features has been repeated
again and again. From that day on
there was no more peace nor joy for
Saul. David was the ghost of his ex
istence. "The evil spirit" was a
demon (cf. Acts 16:16-18; Mark
1:22-26). It was said this evil spirit
was "from God." He was a messen
ger of Satan, but permitted by Goi
rcr Saul's discipline (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7).
As far as God's permission was con
cerned he was intended to torment
Saul and thus to bring him to re
pentance. In this aspect of mercy he
was "an evil spirit from God." Even
the evil spirits and the devil himself
do God's work (cf. Matt. 4:1), though
unwittingly to themselves. The fur
ther truth Is hinted at here that If
men will not have the truth and the
good Spirit, then God gives them over
to error nnd evil spirits (2 Thess.
2:10-12). This is a solemn thought,
but It is taught by both Scripture and
experience. Under the influence cf
tl.is evil spirit Saul "prophesied," I.
e., ho went inio an ecstatic state when
b3 was under tho control of the
evil spirit (cf. Acts 16:16-18; 1 K
18:2; 22:12; 20:23). We see tho
same thing In some forms of modern
clairvoyance and "inspirational speak
lng." There is but a step from envy
to murder (cf. Matt. 27:18). Saul
took that step. In murderous h.ite he
burled his javelin at him. Nowadays
the envious man casts his javelin not
a; the body but at the reputation cf
the man hi envies. Saul missed his
mark, but he was no less a murderer
at heart. God was taking care of
David, and no Saul can hurt the one
that God protects (Ps. P,7:32, 33; lsa.
54: 17; Lu. 4:30; 10:39).
II. Suul's Fear or David, 12-1(1.
Saul's tormenting hate now becomes
coupled with tormenting fear. David's
conduct commended him to God and
"the LOKD was with David" (cf. ch.
18:181. He had been with Saul ii
the past (ch. 10:7), but He was now
"departed from" him. There is no
more miserable man than the one
who once knew tho presence and
power of God and has now lost it.
The man who hasn't the presence of
God fears the man who has. But
David was still recognized as loader
(Nu. 27:16, 17; 2 3am. 5:2). David
continued to conduct himself with
great discretion, going on from suc
cess to succesi. Saul read his own
doom in each new triumph of Dnvld.
Whllo Saul envied and hated and
feared, the hearts of tho people be
came mora and more completely
David's (cf. Lu. 19:18; 20:19).
Topic Lessons from the Sea Ps.
107: 23 32.
Ood controls the sea. Ex. 14: 15
21.
Christ calmed tho sea. Matt. 8:
23-27.
The sea praises God. Isa 24; 13-
15.
Seafarers In His hand. Acts 27:
21-2G.
The sea God'a Instrument. Jonah
J: 1215.
The sea God'a school. 2 Cor. 11:
23-27.
The sea la three times the size of
all the land; yet Grid holds It In His
hand as a dewdrop.
Man Is helpless In a storm at sea;
but the most terrible storm la help
less before Ood'g least whisper.
In the midst of any storm there are
always two calms; God's heart, and
the heart of God's child.
Not all men come to their desired
haven, but all that wish God'a will,
I hough their haven may be the bot
tom of the sea.
Suggestions.
A ship's company Is a little wnrld.
How little do tho first-class passen
gers and the Bteerage know of one
another! Yet they all are In the
same boat.
You will be less seaside It you do
not give up to It, If you stay on deck
and keep moving around. So with
your health on the sea of life.
When you leave the sea. carry Its
leisure and restfulness with you to the
land.
How eager we grow for home when
on the sea, and how we count the
days and the hours! Are we as
eager for our home above?
Illustrations.
No line la drawn on the sea, yet the
M-lmsman steers the course an truly
as If he moved between stone walls.
Thus Is it with God's providence tin
the sea of human life.
Head-winds help as much aa they
hinder, because they brighten the fur
nace fires.
It Is only recently that the wireless
telegraph could follow a ship across
the ocean; but life's ocean haa alwaye
had prayer.
The sea haa shores; but ah, the
wldeness of God's mercy! There are
no shores to that!
CHILDHOOD.
EPWDRTH LEAGUE LESSONS
8UNDAY, AUGUST 16.
Religious Instruction a Social Neces
sity (Neh. 8. 7, 8; 2 Chron.
17. 79; Psa. 78. 5-8.)
Nehemlah was u reformer and a
builder. His life furnished Inspira
tion for the return from Babylon,
COUraga to rebuild the walls of Jeru
salem In spite of the hostility of ene
mies desperately opposed to the plan.
Now ho undertakes to make his work
permanent by laying moral founda
tions through the study of tho Word
Of God. A safe Journey and well
built walls would not mean much If
they were all. The people must un
isritanii why the Journey was taken
and the walls built.
So they are taught the fundamentals
of religion. This meant religion for
the heart and for the life. It la a
((on for every community and for
every church. Tho best protection
for a community is not the police
force, but the vital principles of true
life pondered upon and hidden In the
hearts of the citizens.
The second passage is the story of
a whole nation being trained In Bible
study by experts. The princes and
Levltes may properly be called the
field agenta of this great Bible Btudy
movement during the early years of
the reign of Jehosaphnt. The tenth
verse gives one of the results of the
study not expected by the leaders
other nations round about Israel were
afraid of Israel's knowledge of God,
nnd left them alone, so that they
were at peace with all men. Ignor
ance Is usually nbashed In the prea
once of knowledge.
Wo here have the psalmist's pro
gram and plea for Bible study. It li
a idea also for the continuity of the
kingdom of Israel nnd the kingdom of
Ood. It Is a plea for the continuity
of Christian teaching as well. Ia It
not wonderful that God never lacks
for workers? On the tomb of the
Wc!ey's Is written. "God buries
the workers but carries on his work."
FEMININE NEWS NOTES.
Our Duty.
Our business in the Kingdom Is to
s thai the ground In God's vineyard
la most, carefully tilled and thai vu
do all In our power to win men to
Cod. The Rev. Eowl?y Green, Olney
wile. K, 1.
Who Did?
Oue of our su'o3rrii.ers writes us
that William Balfour Ker'a picture
"The First Spank" reminds him of
the following story: A little fellow
who had Just felt tha hard side of
the slipper, when the tearB had dried
somewhat, turned to his mother.
".Mother," ho asked, "did grandpa
si-auk father when he was a little
boy?"
"Yer," answered hla mother. Im
pressively. "And did nil father whip him
when he was little?"
"Yea."
"And did hla father spank him?"
"Yes."
A pa ise.
"Well, who started this thing, any.
way 1" Every body 'a.
HE KNEW.
Sentlmental Young Lady "Ah,
professor! what would this old oak
aay If It could talk?"
Professor "It would aay, 'I am
an elm." " Fliegende Blaetter.
High diving Is the lutcst fnd of so
ciety women in London.
Margaret Hogun, a student at Bar
nard, New York City, Is blind, but
attends lectures regularly.
Mrs. Ronalds, confidante of Queen
Alexandra, arrived on her first visit
to America In twenty years.
At Chicago Miss Pauline Kohlsaat,
daughter of H. II. Kohlsaat, was
wedded to Potter Palmer, son of Mrs.
Potter Palmer.
More than throe hundred women
physicians attended the annual meet.
I Ing of tbt American Medical Aasocla
i tlon, which was held recently in Chl
! cago.
Miss Maghnrlta Drexel, the pretty
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J.
: Drexel, of Philadelphia, Is the euh
Ject of more matrimonial gossip than
any other girl In London.
I Mrs. K. R. Otis, driving a sixty
j horsepower automobile, made a new
j record between Cleveland and Buffalo.
I Her time for the distance of 200 miles
i was 6 hours and 10 minutes.
Justice Erlauger, of New York City,
I set aside a decree ot divorce granted
in South Dakota and permitted Mrs.
Henry Grlfllths to sue her remarried
husband for a final aeparatlen.'
Mrs. Estella M. II. Merrill, former-
! ly widely known as a newspaper
writer under the name of "Jean Kln
cald," and prominent also as a club
woman, died at hor borne In North
Cumbrldge, Mass.
Mrs. Russell Sage took a nick
tramp into her nuto at Poughkeepsle,
N. Y., gave him $6 and sent him to
Albany. Sbs arrauged to give all
the poor children of Poughkaepale
a fine picnic at Upton Lake.
Dr. Martha Hughea Cannon, for
merly a Stato Senator In Utah, haa
moved to California, and the women
of that State are counting op her be
ing of great assistance to them ia
their fight for woman suffrage.
The Pursuit of Letters.
All the world may not exactly lov
a lover, but It always takes quite an
Interest In his lcttera when they are
read to the Jury. From Puck
To lie Himself a star most bright
To bring the Wine Men to Hin sight.
To lie ItjiiiKelf a Voice most sweet
To call the nhepherd to His feet,
To be child it was His will,
Thnt folk like 01 might find Him still.
John Erskine, in the Atlantic.
The Judgment of Ood.
Ood will give you the thing for
which you faithfully work health,
prosperity, learning, or any other
of His gifts. What you sow that you
shall reap. But It does not follow
that you will be a happy man or a,
good man or a man worthy of all
respect and love. For these gifts of
the spirit you must have your special
preparation. Ood grants us our re
quest, even when we pray for the
wrong things, for hard work la
strenuous prayer. But It does not
follow that a man shall be satisfied
with the result of hla own prayer.
With the splendid physique of nn
athlete he may be an Ignorant fel
low, out of place among cultivated
people, embarrassed, good for noth
ing outside of athletic contests. He
may be many times a millionaire, and
yet n mnn of so few resources that
life means little more to him than
a good dinner and the ticker of the
stock market. He may be a famous
scientist and have classified a su
perb collection, and yet the man of
him so withered and sapless that, as
EmerBon said, he Is only fit to be put
In some bottle and added to his own
collection of snakes and beetles.
The judgment of Ood Is strikingly
In evidence. Men have prayed, or
worked, Just as you wish to state it,
merely for animal health or a mil
lion of money or the details of some
science, merely for them nnd nothing
more. And God has given them their
request and sent leanness Into their
on!,
The severest judgment of Ood Is
letting people become Just what they
want to be Ignorant or grasping or
frivolous or even vicious. They close
their hearts to all noble, all generous,
nil broadening influences; they have
no Interest In tho religious or social
life of the day; they have neither the
scholar's love of truth nor the re
former's enthusiasm for humanity;
they are living merely for money or
pleasure or personal culture. They
are narrow, self-centred, Ignorant,
prejudiced, unarnlable men and wo
men. And what they sow tbey reap
social pleasures, good Investments,
a cultivated taste in art and music.
Ood grants their requests and sends
leanness Into their soul. George D.
"attmer.
How One Man Lost His Chance.
A young mar, in tne very flower
of his days, once told tho writer the
following story, in answer to a ques
tion as to why he was not spending
his life for God and others.
"I was once," he said, "as you
are, a Christian worker, and service
for God was a great delight. For
many years I gave of my best, and
was happy in giving, until one day
God called me to 'launch out In the
deep' to forsake all and follow Him
fully. But," he continued slowly, "I
thought, of my wife and two children,
of my comfortable home, of my pay
ing business, of all I valued In the
homeland, and I looked up to God,
and said 'No.' That's three years
ago." he said, "and now "
"Now," I echoed quickly, "what?"
"Oh, he replied with a mirthless
laugh, "what's the good of Bpeaklng
about these things? I don't know
why you should have asked me that
question; I must go." And he arose
and reached out for his hat.
"But," I answered breathlessly,
laying my hand upon his arm, "you
care still, don't you?"
For a moment he lifted his dark
eye to mine, and never shall I forget
his look of remorse. "Care!" he re
pented hoarsely; "what's the good
of caring now? I'm so involved In
business and with worldly men that
I hardly dare call my soul my own.
Both my wife and I have backslidden,
and never even go to church; and
ns for helping others look, I've lost
ray chance."
Beware, render, lest you lose yours.
Christian and Missionary Alliance.
The Holy Spirit Waiting.
The spirit's sensitiveness to the
worldllness and Inconsistencies of
church members Is the reason for
tne spiritual Impotency of so many
churches to-day. If an inhabitant of
MarB were to come to earth, and
could understand our sermons and
prayer-meeting utterances, ha would
inevitably gather the Impression that
the Holy Spirit, about whom he
heard expreaaed longings and de
Blres, lived on some planet farther
nway than Mara, and could only be
persuaded to come to earth at rare
intervals, and after almost endless
petitioning. Why, wo talk about the
Holy Spirit and His coming into our
churches very much as the children
who have begun to lose faith In Him
talk about Santa Claus. Some of us
haven't as much faith that our pray
ers for a spiritual revival will be
answered as the ragged boy has that
he will get the skates or velocipede
for which he wrote a letter to Santa
Claus.
But what are the facts on which
our hope Bhould bo based? That the
Spirit Is not on some remote planet,
but has been sent into the world for
the precise object of operating
through the church. The Spirit la
kept out of his own so long as there
is not a spiritual revival In the
church. We have only to lirt a fin
ger, breathe a wish, and He la at our
command. Dr. Cowan.
BeglD Shining nt Home.
A candle that won't shtno in one
room Is very unlikely to shine In an
other. If you do not shine at home,
If your father and mother, your sis
ter and brother, If tho very cat and
dog In the house are not the better
and happier for your being a Chris
tian, It Is a question whether you
really are one. J. Hudaor Taylor.
Beer or Boys At Leant BO.OOO
Yoong Men Every Year Take
the Drfndfnt Path Leading to
All the Horrors of Drink.
The president of the Wheaton Col
lege asks: "Who are these children
who dwell In squalid and Infected
homes, who live In rags, who have
no place to play and no fitting food
to eat?"
They are the children of the sa
loon traffic. They are to be beg
gared by it as long as It continues.
. . Wo are establlahing homei
for boys In all our great cities. They
are very coatly. the maintenance of
them requires large sums of money
nnnually. Every one knows that
these homes are needed because par
ents drink up their earnings In liq
uor shops. Every one who haa stud
ied the situation knows thnt the sup
ply of homes can never overtake the
demand. The taps are flowing free,
the distilleries, breweries, wholesale
houses all are sending their deadly
grist day by day to the mill.
At least 50,000 boys pvery year.
tBke the dreadful path leading to
all the horrors of the drink curae.
They may be seventeen yeara old or
twenfy-flve yeara old.
Many of them are boys of fathers
who are disgraced and ashamed, they
are sons of mothers whose hearts
break. Each Industrious young man,
capable and ambitious, earning $600
per year, fs working capital worth
$10,000. So the liquor traffic that
destroys 50,000 boys, youths, young
men who might earn now or by and
bye $600 per year, really destroya
$500,000,000 of the best capital of
this land! This half billion loat by
drink must be added to the billion
and a half of money wasted yearly
for liquor. Each Industrious, sober,
ambitious young man Is worth more
to the higher Industrial Interests of
the land than all the distilleries and
breweries and liquor shops! A man
is more precious to God and to the
world, actunlly or prospectively, than
fine gold. Destroy factories, ahops,
banks, business houses and sober, In
dustrious, Intelligent, forreful men
would build finer, stronger, more
beautiful and useful structures than
those the fire burned.
Said a general to Fighting Phil
Sheridan as they wero watching
Sheridan's four children: "Phil, if
you could choose for your little son
from all the temptations which will
beset him, the one most to be feared
which would it be?"
General Sheridan replied soberly:
"It would be the curse of strong
drink. Boys are not saints. We
aro all Belf-wtlled, may be full of
courage and thrift and push and
kindness and charity, but woe be to
the man or boy who becomes a slave
of liquor. Oh, I had rather see my
little son die to-da? than to see him
carried In to hla mother drunk."
O. H. V.. in The People.
Too Late Land.
Crazed with liquor, a son well
reared, well educated shot his aged
father and slew himself in maudlin
sentimentality over his parent's de
termination to marry again. How
ever well taken tho young man's ob
jections may have been, the letter
he left was Insane. But his brothers
did not suspect that he was insane on
the subject, otherwise they would
have kept him from his father.
Charity suggests that the terrible
affair should be put out of sight be
hind the Iron shutters of the morgue
for the forgetting of Insane acta.
But a grewsome lesson will obtrude
for a few days. It is that the man
with a grievance only Intensifies hla
grievance tenfold a hundredfold
by the burning emphaats of alcohol.
Alcohol Is the terrible emphaslzer.
It emphasizes bitterness as much
aa it exalts gayety. The small offense
becomes a deadly Insult. A real in
jury develops into an unreasoning
ferocity of revenge. And Too Late
Land is a bad place In which to sober
up. New York American.
A Thought For the Week.
If I were to vote for the manufac
ture and sale of intoxicating llquora,
I would never see another drunken
man or widow or orphan of a drunk
ard, or read of a crime of which whis
ky Is the cause without knowing I
was responsible for It, or at the very
least partner in the responsibility.
. . . Think what you are doing,
men! Think what you are letting
them do, women, when you quietly
permit them to vote "For the Manu
facture and Sale of Intoxicating Liq
uors." I consider It an awful thing
to do. And I bellevo that If you re
flect upon the consequences of your
vote you will think so too. It may
make your son a drunkard. It-may
make your daughter the wife of a
drunkard. T. T. Hicks, Henderson,
N. C.
Feeding on Charity.
They would resent It, these ro
tund, full-fed fellowa, who plund for
the granting of license to hotels ao
that those houses may set a better
table, If one were to point out that
J they are expecting to get more food
tnan tney pay for, but such Is the
fact. Nothing can be clearer than
that If the price paid for the meal le
sufficient to cover the cost to .the ho
tel, there would be no deficiency to
be made up from the receipts of a
har. When the representative of the
traveling public, therefore, presents
hl3 argument on the necessity of li
cense for hotels, It ia only saying In
other words that he gets more than
he la palng for, and to that extent
la depending on charity. The People.
Jesus at His Best.
Jeans was at His best In heart-to-heart
ministration; multitudes alwaya
thronged Him.
WHERE HE I.V'ES.
"That society rasa lives in very
humble quarters, doesn't he?''
"I don't know where he nMs till
mall, but he lives where people Invite
him to dinner." Catholic Standard
and Times.
Picture Postcard Terms.
Nan "Young Mr. Ke'.chley Is
. on his vacation, isn't be? Are
you and he on corresponding terms?"
Fan "Not quite but we're oa
picture poatrard erms. "
Temperance Notes.
The Alabama Svpreme Court has
held both the State prohibition law
and the 9 o'clock law constitutional
and effective.
Twelve huudred of Ohio's 1371
townships and 500 ot Its 8po tovns
are "dry;" 100.000 of Cleveland'f
population live in "dry" territory.
Tho tomperance Chautauqua aeries
which was given In nearly a hundred
Important Texas towns last year, will
be repeated this year on a larger
scale and with even a better Hat ol
attractions.
THE USUAL WAY.
'How do you expect to spend your
vacation this year?"
' Judging from the number of peo
ple my wife haa Invited to visit ua u;
our cottage, by Bleeping on the floor
as usual." Detroit Free Preaa.
ONE MONTH.
MlBtress "How long wero you In
your last place, Brldgut?"
Maid "Shure, an' if I'd atayed
there eleven months longer I'd have
been Uviii' there a yar." Lite..
A Billion Tons of Fertility.
The soil la our chief natural re
source. Yet many good citizens nev
er thought of It in this light till tha
fact developed from the recent con
ference at the White House. Had
this Convention of the Governors
and foremost men from every State
accomplished nothing else, this turn
ing of public attention to the Impor
tance of the aoll would have had
far-reaching reaulta. The final reso
lution adopted by the conference ln
cludea the following: "These natu
ral resources Include the land on
which we live and which yields our
food we agree that the land should
be so used that erosion and aoll wash
Bhould cease."
The most casual observer knows
that In nearly all parts of the coun
try there haa been a steady decline
in the yielda of crops from the soil.
It must be equally apparent that un
less this steady decreaae Is, In torn
way, stopped crop production muafl
cease.
A startling presentation of facta!
bearing on this vital matter was
made to the conference by Mr. J. J.
Hill, President of the Great North
ern Railroad. He showed that the,
yield of wheat In Kansas had fallen
to an average of fourteen bushela
per acre for the paat ten yeara. He
asserted that this decrease In pro-,
duct Ion was not due solely to the re-:
moval of fertility from the soli In
the crops harvested, but wns aug
mented by the wash of fertility Into,
running streams.
The amount of this lost fortuity
was asserted to be one billion of
tona annually. Thla Is the material
coloring our rivers and filling up our
harbors.
A very large part of this enormous
waste la due to the denuding of our
forests and to our improvident sys
tem of farming. It Is, therefore,
largely preventable, and as auch de
serves thoughtful consideration.
The Mississippi River yearly car-,
rles to the sea 1,4 41,133 tons of ths
most fertile soil of Its grent valley.
The short Thames River, of England,
yearly carries a burden of 557,595
tons of soil.
When It is seen that these two
streams take over two millions of
tons of fertility from the soils they
drain, It Is apparent that the whole
network of streams traveraln? our
country may easily carry one billion
tons of fertility from American sollaJ
Fertility is crop producing power
plant food. A large part of it'
must necessarily consist of available
food most essential in cropa because
mcst easily exhausted from the soil.
It is therefore important to learn
the real nature of the material!
forming the vaBt quantity of fertility
being yearly washed from the soils
we cultivate.
On the basis of the "average com
position of American soils," given
by Stockbrldge in "Rocks and Soils,"
this billion tons of wasted fertility
must contain the following quantities
of the three essentials:
Tons.
Phosphoric Acid 1,200,000
Nitrogen 1,600,000
Potash 6,700.000
Here ia an aggregate of 9,500,000
tons of actual plant food, worth at
present prices of fertilizing materials
more than three and one-half billions
of dollars. We speak of our Billion
Dollar Congress as an evidence ot
national extravagance. Yet more
than three times this enormous ex
penditure is yearly washed from our
soils and wasted In the seas.
These figures show one further
Important fact. The amount of pot
nsh In this enormous waste of fer
tility is more than double the aggre
gate of the other two plant foods
combined. The actual proportion of
the three different materials Is chief
ly important in connection with any
effort at restoring this needlessly
wasted fertility.
It is self evident that this enor
mous drain on the stored up fertility
of our soils must eventually exhaust
the supply. This Is shown In their
gradually diminishing productive
ness. No only must the waste be
prevented If possible, but the actual
loss must be restored. This is the
reason for our constantly increasing
dependence on fertilizers.
With the intelligent and system
atic use of legumes we shall become
largely Independent of artificial sup
piles of nitrogen, or, at any rate,
there Is little need for alarm, since
the extraction of commerlcal nitro
gen from the air has already as
sumed a practical form.
VaBt deposits of mineral phos
phates exist in many parte of the
world. In our own country there
are great stores of this essential
plant food yet untouched.
Exhaustion ot the supply of these
two materials, however extravagant
their use or improvident their waste,
is hardly alarming; not ao, however,
with potash.
Bear in mind that the exhaustion
of potash Is twice ns fast as with
the other two essentials combined;
then the further fact that there is
but one known source of commercial
potash supply in the world the' pot
ash salts of Germany.
The point of this whole matter is
here: There ia no need for the con
tinuation of the condition which now
etlsts. Erosion of soils must always
continue ao long as water falls on
the earth, but the preaent enormous
and alarming waste of fertility is
needless.
The grass covered virgin prairies
and forest covered hills gave up com
paratively little of their atored up
fertility to . the watera percolating
through them. Man's Improvidence
ia responsible for present conditions.
Reforesting our denuded timber
lands, nnd the practice of rational
cultural methods will conserve the
national heritage of fertile lands.
H. E. Stockbrldae.
HB COULD TKU
Church "I don't believe you can
tell the difference between a atable
and a garage."
Gotham "Why, do you think I
have no senao of smell?" Yonker
Statesman.
There are 125 miles of electric
street railways lu Rio .lant-iro. Ths
current Is obtained fro$j water power.