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, THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN. katciidat jvnb ». iw.
THE SURPRISES OF THE JUDGMENT
By REV. DR. JOHN E. WHITE.
Pastor Second Baptist Church
u
H-
1 1 In
[ E hath appointed a day In the
vhlch He .will judge the world
righteousness."
• And many will say to Me In that
day, Lord! Lord!"
In an old picture, Monica and Au-
guailne—rare mother and ton—are
,hnwn In the twilight atandlng hand
In hand looking earnestly into the open
.kr. The artlat does not tell ua what
the picture mean*, but the poet doe*.
They are—
• Sending their soula into the invisible,
gome letter ot thfc after-life to spell."
The richest hours of life are those in
which we obey the call of the beyond
and boldly put to sea In the boat of
our deepeat intuition*, In quest of the
things that lie beyond the grave. The
Seoul never return* empty from its
solemn adventure* Into the hereafter.
The Bible is the greatest Book in
the world, because it Is the Guide
Book Into these thing*. The most con
vincing of .the many convincing evi
dences of the Divine Inspiration of the
Scripture* is the fact that what I dis
cover of deepest reality in myself, ques
tions. longings, misgivings, fears and
hope*. I And reflected and aet out on
the page* of the Bible. This evi
dence may not pass In the court of
criticism, but In the court of the In
dividual conscience It has the con
vincing power of a personal revela
tion He cam* near to saying the pro-
foundest thing that can be said about
the Bible who-declared, "I believe the
Bible la Inspired, because It inspires
me.”
Now, among the moat explicit and
positive revelation* made In the Bible
it that there Is a great day coming—a
day of Judgment.
"It Is appointed unto men once to
die., and after that the Judgment."
He hath appointed a day In the
which He "will judge the world In
righteousness.” , But the Bible la not
author of the Idea of a final judgment.
ot \ day of Judgment existed
long before there was a written Bible.
It exists now In lands where the Bible
£ „ kn P. Wn - “Jiff* had keen no
Bible, or if every Bible were destroy
ed a,| d , t , h * ®?° k f° r »°tten. men would
still believe In a day of final Judg-
Ski- . *; h "f . ,ha •merrily of tho
®*klIs I* Involved In such a belief, the
belief Itself rests back upon the In
destructible and unchallengeable moral
consciousness of man. If there Is no
‘hi"* ** the day of judgment,
then the moral faculty will ba for the
first lime caught In a lie.
The truth Is one that draws sanction
from the very nature of things. Na
ture, history, government, reflect and
Illustrate It. The human conscience de
clares over and over to every man
that he must meet the Issues of Ills
life In a final arbitrament. This sense
of accountability |» ever-present with
him. The feeling is Inborn and springs
out of the unfathomed depths of moral
being. There la no faltering for the
preacher here. There Is a great day
coming—a great day coming—a great
day coming by-and-by—a day of
final crisis, when the truth will come
out on us all, whether It be good or
bad.
But a day la coming fast.
Earth, thy mightiest and thy last!
It shall come In fear and wonder.
Heralded by trump and thunder;
It shall corns In strife and toll.
It shall come In blood and spoil,
It shall come In empires' groans,
Burning temples, trampled thrones.
“Then shall come the Judgment sign;
In the East the King shall shine:
Flashing from heaven'* golden gate,
Thousands, thousands round his stale;
Spirits with the crown and plume;
Tremble then, thou silent tomb!
Heaven be opened on our sight.
Earth be turned to living light."
The Restful Thought.
The Idea of the judgment to come
Is by no means always a disturbing
thought. As the hymn sings. It Is _
great day," It is "a sad day." but It
Is also "a bright day coming."
When we can think of It dlaasao-
elated from Its personal aapecta, our
minds find response In the truth that
there Is to be such a time of great
vindications. It harmonises with our
sense of truth'. Sometimes It Is such
a relief to reflect that a day Is com
ing that will set things right for once.
Tired and fretted, our hearts seek the
restful contemplation of the day of
judgment, when all noble rausea will
command the reslstleaa championship
of an Infinite and incorruptible right
eousness.
When we think of tha confusions
of thli world, the controversies that
rage, the disputes and contentions of
men over questions that separate hu
man minds Into warring schools of
thought; and remember that there la
a day coming when a halt will be call
ed upon nuf disputatious race, the
case closed, the Imperious and unap-
pealabls verdict rendered, and the
noisy strife put at peace, the day of
judgment becomes a consolation to
the mind. Some of these controver
sies are oa old as mankind; some of
these debates have been running thou
sands of years. A moss of the world'*
unsettled quarrels, unanswered ques
tions, unresolved .problems have been
laid In the lap of each new generation
to perpetuate age-long strife, to per
plex. harass and divide humanity, and
to mar the harmony of human life, till
the world la rife with factions and full
of discord.
When we think alao of the wrongs
which have gone unrlghted, the un-
checked cruelties, the unrebuked tyran
nies, the world's crimes and criminals
which have flourished and still flour
ish, there Is satisfaction th knowing
that there le a day of Judgment.
Nearly all peeilnilam and much of
unbelief would be cured, If men realised
the fact of the day of Judgment. It
re-harmOnlse* life to be aaeured that
evil will not always escape. We can
REV. DR. JOHN E. WHITE.
sometimes forget the shock and jar and
terrifying horror of the thought of
doom and judgment In the reposeful
reflection that Odd la going to read
just the universe to a beautiful order.
Truth and Right will alt on central
thrones, arrayed In the vestments of
perfect law, which wM then l>e seen
to be perfect love.
Christ will be there, and HI* mur
derers. Socrates will be there. Judged
In a fairer Juatlce than when he drank
the hemlock at the hands of the Athen
ians.
Paul will be there, radiant and
crowned, bealde th# shivering Nero;
and the martyr* also broken upon the
Judgments of men.
tv- ——It ■
And we will not be aorry to see her
there.
In the sermon on the mount Jeaua
Christ drew aside ths curtain to throw
a awlft and startling lignt upon tha
day of Judgment. The thought which
arrests us In what He said la that the
day of Judgment will be the scene of
great surprises, ot profound disap
pointments, of unanticipated chagrin to
those who have missed the secret of
life.
Judgment Not Appeal.
"Many will say to me In that day—’’
\Vha,t will they say? It Is made very
clear that It doesn't matter what they
eay. Here Is one of the great surprises
of ths judgment. It Is to be a day of
Judgment, not of appeals. Short shrift
with eloquent speeches, plsuslble pleas,
Ingenious arguments. Half th* cause
In uur earthly courts la a good lawyer.
But thla tribunal places ths stammerer
on a level with the orator. Both are
useless there. Have you ever thought
of what you could say to God In your
owu behalf at the Judgment? We will
all try to say something. Give me a
hearing with my Ilfs at slake, stand
hack and glvo ms a chance to tell my
story, to plead my cause at the Judg
ment.
"I wa* weak—In sin did my mother
conceive me. My ancestors left me a
heritage of appetite and lust and wll-
fulnesa and selfishness. I had a bur
den, I was bssel, I was trlsd and tempt -
ed. I stumbled, staggered, fell. I strove,
I resolved. I was overwhelmed. But I
did some good. I pray Thee I was not
cruel to men. I obeyed law, I stood for
morality. Ask my fallow men. They
will give me character. I did thla and
this and this." oh, could 1 not make
my case at the Judgment ? Who could
not?
But though I spake with the tongues
of men ana of angels. It would profit
ma nothing. The day of judgment la
a closure upon all pleading of men.
The solemn fact Is that the case la all
In. The Judge knows the facta To
go to God for Juatlce Is to go to doom,
If death brings life In sudden review
the chances are that w* ourselves will
see enough In the black minute to
freese every seir-righteou* thought In
our soula.
Th* Sorrows of God.
Agoln, It lo fact startling to ua all
that In the day of Judgment good works
will not pass ua to aalvatlon. Tho sur
prised company cried out, "Lord, Lord,
did wo not cast out devils and do
many wonderful works?" But what
availed It? Nothing. •
Now, I believe that no good deed la
lost or pasted In God's universe.
"No stream from If* source flow* sea
ward,-how lonely soever Its course.
Hut som* land Is watered, no sun e'er
rose or sot without Influence some-
whore."
If we have learned the mind of Christ
we will never apeak In discredit of
kindness and merry and goodness. I
do not bellave God will deeplss a kind
word or n noble service, no matter who
renders It. I conducted the funeral of
a woman lo this city who was the pro
prietor of dene of vlro and her long life
Identified with the grossest Immorality
of our city, r.wos told, however, that
•he was a friend In the poor, a helper
of the needy, charitable and moat gen
erous to those who were In want. I
though! heller of her for that. It re
lieved, to some extent, the awful
shadow that re*ted upon her ot
os It lay In the coflln. And I think tied
thought better of her for It. It I- Just
that which make* the day of Judgment
a time of *uch *orrowful tragedy.
Christ looked upon Iho rich young ruler
and loved him, loved him an lie • am.-
with armful of good word-, loved him
as he went away sorrowful, loved him
with pity deeper because he had no
much, but would not have the one
thing needful.
In one of our Southern state* the
governor found that some one was In
the habit of leaving a beautiful ho<iu*t.
of flower* at hi* door, also frequently a
basket of carefully selected fruit For
a long time he did not know the hand
of hla unknown friend, but he appre
ciated the ttowere and the fruit never-
theteas. At l»»t one day a young wo.
man waited In hi* office to *•••■ him Shf
had flowora and fruit In her hand
She than told her atory. Her hr 'h
waa In tha penitentiary, n danger*
criminal, a guilty murderer. She
ed for hla pardon.
And thla waa what the flowi t - meant.
Can you not Imagine the sorro* r the
J overnor whan he was comp*
eny her request? She aaked too
She aaked more than flower* an
could buy. Bhe aaked for the
and Integrity of th* law, the safety of
the commonwealth. I can net
that good works are filthy ragi
they cannot avail at th# day of Judg.
ment. The man who goo* up to meet
God pleading hla good works will m-t
a bitter disappointment. God la not
bought with things, nor even deed*,
tv# are not redeemed with corruptible
thing*, auch an silver and gold, hut hv
precious love. Even Chriat's b"iv lira
la not our redemption—He mm" give
Himself to death. Our preparation for
the judgment Is a cross In the ht
"Were th# whole realm of nature
That were an offering far too emnii.
Love so amazing, ao divine.
Demands my heart, my life, m\ nil
THE CREED OF A CHRISTIAN
By REV. E. D.
ELLEN WOOD,
Pemtor Univeraaliat Cliurcli
L ET ua go back, In our thought,
to a day in the very beginnings
of Christianity. The clashing
of conflicting creeds had not yet paved
the e-ay for infidelity. Warring sects
had not yet risen to plume themselves
for battle, and to tip their lances with
bigotry and superstition. The Chris
tian concept of religious truth Issued
pure and untrammeled from it* source
and he who would might refresh his
spiritual being at Its life-giving fount.
There came one day to the leader
of thla new dispensation one desiring
to know authoritatively the fundamen
tals of if way of salvation, and ask
ing of Him, "Master, what command
ment Is the first of all?”
Twenty centuries have slipped away
since the simple, direct answer, spring
ing from the Inspired heart of the
great Teacher, fastened Itself by the
very authority of Its own Inherent
truth upon the mind and aoul of His
questioner. Today we have even more
need than had th* seeking scribe to
go to the very fountain head In our
search for the very eSaence of Chris
tianity. The call ot many leaders Is
upon the air, and tha stemuous notes
of command or entreaty do not al
ways blend Into “one harmonious
whole." Lo. here! Lo. there! they
cry, but the united Invitation to a life
of righteousness, unfortunately, does
not always produce a "concourse of
sweet Sound."
Far too often, we suspect, the Im
pression left upon the mind of the
listener Is that of the eager clamor of
rival dispensers of "the only original
and Infallable and personally tested”
panacea for spiritual debility and moral
defection. It Is well for us, therefore,
to go to Christ for tha foundation of
our Christianity, rather than to the
makers of creeds and the builders of
theologies. His answer to His ques
tioner contains no metaphysical
trlcaeles, no opportunity for mental
confusion, or spiritual misunderstand
ing. "The first commandment Is, 'Hear
O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord
Is one; and thou shall lov* the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength. The second
commandment Is this. 'Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself.’” Then, as
though to leave In the mind ot His
hearer no room for doubt as to the
essential character of these precepts
as containing all that should be noc-
essary In the faith and practice of the
new concept of religion, the Master
added: "Upon these two command
ments hang all the law and the proph
ets." All of the law of love and ser
vice which a belief In the one true
God must bring Into being: all of the
law of moral precept and of funda
mental ethics which the prophets ot
old had deduced from the experiences
of the nation for whom they had been
called to be the spiritual teachers and
leader*.
One of the most helpful of our mod
ern thinkers was naked one day by a
despondent friend, why It was that
Christianity, If true, had not long ago
redeemed the prophecy and promise of
Its early teachers, and come to a place
of unquestioned supremacy among the
religions of the civilized world. "Be-
cause," said hS, "It ha* never been
really and genuinely practiced." And
when we measure the practices of the
Christian world by the uncompromis
ing standard of these two "great com
mandment#," moreover, when we even
try to harmonise these peerless state
ment* ot faith and trust and duty with
the strenuously advocated teachings of
the vast majority of the leaders of
Christian thought, we are brought face
to face with the. reason why Chris
tianity haa not, long ago, come to en
tirely dominate the policies ot nations,
and to alt forever regnant In the hearts
of men. The Christian world haa beei\
led away after strange gods of aenae
REV. E. D. ELLENWOOD.
and superstition. The Christian church
falls short of her highest sucres* be
cause her members, yea. and oven the
prleat* of her altars, have too often
departed far from the "fulth once do
llvered to the nalnts."
Christ ha* been betrayed In the
house of hla friends!
He taught that pure and unquestion
ed love of Ood which could com* only
through a belief In a being altogether
worthy to be loved and trusted, even
to the uttermost: unil, lo! Ill* priests
In their heavenward pointing temples
declare unto the hungry anula who look
to them for bread, a god Impotent In
righteousness, decrepit and defective
In morals, and fiendish In malignity,
a god conceived In the feverish nnd
sensual Imaginations of man upon
whose souls the light apd love which
are In Christ Jeaua had never shone;
a god utterly unworthy a place In the
minds of nion touched by the ethic*
of modern civilisation; n god abso
lutely Impoaaibie lo he worshiped nnd
trusted by a sane ami honest mind
with that "perfect love which rasteth
out all fear.” Thla la the god, sulistl-
tuted theae many dreary centuries by
■the church of Christ, for the all-pow
erful, all-wlae, all-loving "Father Who
art in heaven," lo whom the Master
addressed His prnyera, and to whom
He directed the worship of ills follow
ers, It any wonder that Christian
ity has not fully realised the holies
and eager expectations of lla mpst
sanguine aupportera?
And Uien consider haw Christianity
haa obeyed the second great com
mandment. Christ evidently designed
to tench ua that love to God can only
be expressed Intelligently by love to
men. "How ran a inatvlovc God, whom
he hath not seen, and love not Ills
brother whom he hath seen?"
Behold, how the Christian world
"love* hi* neighbor as himself!" From
reeking sweat shop nnd suflorstlng
mine: from aiming mill and death
breeding foundry; from aqunlld hovel
nnd den of Infamy, from honest, sweaf-
Ing millions whose barks are bent with
Ill-requited toll, there goes up th* In
creasing murmur of righteous Indigna
tion against the Chrlatlan toak-maater
and hi* moat peculiar methods of set
ting forth In the practices of hla own
life the teachings of the Lord Jesua.
Ho long os our Inatltutlona of religion,
of learning anil of culture shall be
hulldeil upon the martyred bodies of
lltlle children, denied liielr birthright
of untrammeled youth, upon Clio blast
ed hopea and blighted ambitions of
strong and purposeful men, denied the
opportunity for the full development of
Intent capacity; upon the crushed and
bleeding hearts of loving mothers, In-
ronsolalile for the Ions of little ones
sacrificed lo the Insatiable greed of •
notion'* commercial supremacy; so
long as our peculiar administration of
;i|
eternal Juatlce aenda to the penlton- I
tlary the wretch whose exigency u p- |
propria tea * loaf of bread, und to ihe
hall* of congress the cultured v iman 1
who steals a railroad; so long a* re
ligion and morality are persistency
divorced by the prophet* and priests
of Christ; so long as uprightne** of j
character. Integrity of living nnd no
vation are considered to he not
synonymous, but only Isolated It •■me I
of human thought anil human
Just so long shall the Chrlatlan
prove unfaithful to the great charge
committed to her, nnd just so long I
shall Christ continue to be betrayed 1
In the house of Hla friends!
Friends and brethren, "th* night Is
far spent, the day Is at hand." Then,
logical squabbling will never bring the
world any nearer to the worship of
■he on* true God or to an adcuoats
knowledge of tha Christ. Let us hav,
done with dcunclstlon, with charge an
countercharge, with our pitiful childish
prattling of Infallablllty In Interpre
tation nnd In credal conception. I.et
ua sllll the profitless clamor c
made creeds by the unceasing melody
of Chrlst-llke deeds. Become a savior
to some needy fellow-man; thus shall
you conclusively *how to Him, the
Father.
“For modes of faith let graceless zea
lot* fight;
He can't be wrong whoaa Ufa le in th*
right."
PEACEABLE SETTLEMENT
OF THE RACE QUESTION
GREA TEST OF THE ISSUES
To the dltor of The Georgian:
Having been a constant reader of the
Atlanta paper you formerly edited, and
being one of that numeroua claas of
which am proud (the tUlera of the
•oil), vslah to expreaa, first, my hearty
appreciation of the eucceoa you have
made In giving to the public In The At
lanta Georgian. What you tn your first
Issue claimed for It, a strictly Inde
pendent Democratic paper, not to be
dictated to by partisan leader*. Espe
cially do I commend the conservative,
g-nerous and manly tone of your able
editorials on the many great Issue*
which an vitally concern the best In-
'•ocsta of the people of our beloved
Southland and the country at large.
I say, away with the dominant, selfish
Spirit that controls so many of our
public men, that they can not ace and
commend the good In other* who differ
with them politically or religiously.
The reverse has been a leading char
acteristic of your pen, and that of all
Jour able contributor*. I make spe
cial mention of your contributor. Mrs.
Klla Wheeler Wilcox. Her poem.
The Oonward March of Repub
lics," is certainly fine. While some
'•< the our leading men differ
with you on the race problem, I be
lieve you are right when you eay that
'he greatest Issue confronting us of the
s "u'h, and. In fact, all sections of our
",mmon country. Is a peaceable and
satisfactory settlement of thla much
vexed question. May an all-wlae God
direct to this great end. I believe that
had our much lamented martyred pres-
rnent, Mr. Lincoln, lived through hi*
second administration that colonisation
would have been hla policy. If*mem-
ory serves me right, hla successor. Mr.
Johnson, In hi* first annual- message,
remmended their colonisation In the
Indian Territory. Having read with
much Interest th* views of ail, aa pub
lished In The Atlanta New* and else-
* here, coming from men of much bet-
,w Information than myself, and all
FREE
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Columbia or Montgomery.
HwJUHMAIL BTjerwsAfallr. nf
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rsqimL *Z.7 e * rfl wjoceea.' Indors'd by
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ancnrMor Miff MFUitt).,
■ W MUST inort^r to get HonvPtudy FREE,
write now. thnt
A*Jt»urfjrfvWl H"m4Btudr Offer ta*l« i
'' ' mihliAhred at 1
of which I have endeavored to prayer
fully and duly consider, I hav. • decided
to give to the public, through your pa
per, some thoughts that I have In pri
vate repeatedly set forth bearing upon
this question.
I wish to' preface the** thoughts by
saying that an all-wlae Ood baa and
always will overrule the destiny of
races, aa well aa nations, and that the
teachings of Hla Holy Word la the
only safe guide to the right solution
of all questions bearing upon the peace
and welfare of our. great nation. From
Bible history we learn that. In all ages
of the world, the representative* of
some races have been servants to those
of another, and at time* ware In bond
age. Even the posterity of faithful old
Abraham had to serve the Egyptians
aa bondsmen. All well Informed Amer
ican* know how the negro race became
bondsmen to the South. I wish to say,
with all fairness. In consideration ot
this feature ot the question, that the
men who were responsible for the In
troduction of chattel slavery Into the
United States, that their posterity haa
reaped "the lion’s share" of th# profits
accruing from the labor of Ihe negro
while In bondage, when the wealth of
those of our ancestor* consisted In
owning them as alavsa. Why then
should there hav* been a conflict of
arms over thla question. 'Well, I thirl
thla 1* enough to say on this point. W»
therefore can not hold the negro re
sponsible for being with ua aa bonds
men. An all-wls# Ood permitted It to
be thus, and the same God ruled In that,
awful bloody struggle which arrayed
brother against brother In a contest
at arms which resulted In his emanci
pation. Now, It la not my purpose to
unduly censure the men op either aide
who led our people In the great conteat
at the ballot box which ended In one
of th* bloodiest struggles that ta re
corded upon th# pages of history, and
which haa for all time to come settled
the question of chattel slavery In the
United States. A* a cltlsen of our be
loved Georgia, while I thought reces
sion was not the best course to take,
wanted to cast my lot with
her. After the contest had been go
ing on for a year, I volunteered my
service, oh the aide of the loot cause,
and spent three years of the hard
ships end privations of camp life, un
der th* wire leadership of our much
beloved General Joseph E. Johnston,
whose services, I regret to say, have
been comparatively unnotlcedand un
appreciated by people and historians,
save by th# men who served In his
!ove*honor an?!tppreciate him. I have I race problem had been viewed from
dS?.i2Jd from th. m.ln,, h U standpoint by the re^erentaUv.
nutation but for a purpose, and wUh {men of both race** »**> we haa oeen
to make mention of one epeclal act faithful tn our dutlee In this new rela-
connected with the war. durfn* the ad- tion to the nerro and hi. posterity, the
ministration of Mr Lincoln (a man problem would hare naturally wired
whoso "'memory I tare learned to tan- [Self. In our former relation to them,
aSd revere); During th* memorable which. In th* main, tad been mutually
•lews d of*Vlctaburg. -hen toj^ tt frUlT-ft tStS^SSTdSi
and for all of hie fellow-men, and In'
tereated In how the conteat should end,
Issued the following proclamation:
"Lay down your arms: return
your allegiance to . the United State*
government, and you shall have grad
ual emancipation of your slaves, and
an indemnity guaranteed from th*
government of what would be a Just
valuation for your slaves aa property."
The terms of the emancipation were,
to-wlt: "All slaves forty years old
and upward were to be free; all under,
when they reached that age were to be
free, and all born after the acceptance
of the aforesaid terms by birthright
would be free."
Now, these terms I, a. a Confeder
ate soldier, and, l think, the entire
Vicksburg garrison, with the exception
of som* of our field ofilcera, would
hav* unanimously voted to accept. Aa
to whether theae terms would he ac
cepted by the Confederate government.
It was agreed that a delegation from
each government meet- at Hampton
roads, and. If possible, close the treaty.
Our delegation waa headed by that
wise, conservative statesman, Hon.
Alexander H. Stephens, who labored
faithfully to tnaks ihe conference a
success, and end hostilities.
I refer to the final result, and what
followed, tor all to decide who was
right and who wrong. I must aay that
on the part of Mr. Lincoln It waa
magnanimous lo offer such terms.
Forty years have passed and gone Into
htstdfy, and yet we stand confronted
with the race problem not peaceably
and satisfactorily settled. I any that
the thirteenth and fourteenth amend
ments to the constitution of the United
States, passed when strife, prejudice
tnc hatred prevailed, were wrong, and
this votld not have been Mr. I-ln-
don'a policy had he served out hi*
second administration. These enact
ments, clothed the negro, who had just
emerged from slavery, Ignorant and
went to the field, where we were her
vesting the wheat, to notify them of
the proclamation. These were hie
words:
“Tou have served me faithfully aa
alavea, and now, by law,- are declared
untutored aa ta waa, with all the rights
of cittsenshlp. Now thla brings ma to
the consideration of what I think I*
the main feature of th* race problem,
and I wish to appeal direct to tha
calm and deliberate Judgment and rea
son of my fsllow-cltlsens of the whit#
race South, and ask ourselves, who
claim superiority over the black race.
Have w* done oqr duty to him In
tbe premises? I emphatically answer
no, and, God being my helper, I hope
to show wherein we hav* failed. He
served us faithfully as a Slava and,
with some eaceptlons, was humanely
treated and was well provided for. In
health and sickness, by those who
were hi* master*. We should never
forget, nor fall to appreciate and com
ment hla loyalty and devotion to our
aged parents, women and children,
while the contest waa raging. Me-
thlnk* I can now #** the rulings of a
merciful providence that prevented an
uprising that would have slaughtered
thousands of our loved ones. Emanci
pation changed the relation of the ne
gro race from slave to servant. If th*
siege of Vicksburg,
seemed the conteat
crisis, when the ■ arbitrament of the
sword should cease anddh*
winged messenger of PS»f* , J lou Jd
again brood over our once happy and
influences to be the leading factor
In a right solution of the question.
After Mr/ Lincoln had Issued his eraan
counsel of a dear de-
proclam.
the wise
free men. I stlli hold the farm, and If
you wlah to remain with me and cul
tivate It under my direction, I will see
that you and your families still have a
home with me, and a Just compensation
out of the proceed* of the lands for
your services. Now, 1 suppose you will
think and say among yourselves that
you have labored all tha while for me
without compensation, but time will
convince you that I have been labor
ing and providing for your welfare,
as well as my own."
Such a proposition, made by. their
former opner, waa naturally contrary
to their Idea of what freedom should
be. If we remain and labor under his
direction for a living, wa are not free.
Hence, most of them sought homss In
the cities and elsewhere, and, never
having had ihe responsibility of pro
viding homes, food and clothing for
themselves, they would naturally seek
a change, nnd conclude that freedom
(In the main) meant freedom from ta
bor. Prompted by auch motives and
with his natural Inclination (unre
strained) tn Indolence, with the excep
tion of those who were raised to be
Industrious, he haa become Indolent
and shiftless, thereby rendering him
self unprepared for the full rights of
cltlsenshlp. Now, as my life, from
childhood up to the present, except
when In the school room, ha* been
spent upon the farm, by association
and dealing with the negro, before end
since, emancipation, has given nie an
opportunity of studying his leading
characteristics, nnd natural l>*nt of
mind, I wish to eay In connection with
my association with him through life,
that I have always thought It best for
the peace and harmony of the two
races, that socially the line of distinc
tion should he closely drawn, but In all
other relation* of life, aa expressed by
Rev. Atttcus Hnygood, "To remember
that he le our brother In black," and
has a human soul, lo be saved or lost,
and a mind susceptible of Industrial,
moral and religious training. On thin
line, I wish to mention two Instance*
connected with my personal experience
since emancipation. From early child
hood, by consent of their mothers, I
took Into my home two little boys
(Wesley Smith and Bird Oliver), and
In assuming this responslbllly, 1 felt
that It was as much my duty to train
them on th* above-mentioned lines aa
that of my own children. In the ear
nest and prayerful study that I am now
giving thla all-absorbing questldn, I
realize how far short I have com* to
my duty In a general way to all acces
sible to me. I ought lo have enlarged
on the work of teaching them to be
come Industrious, frugal, Ood-fearing
and law-abiding In their sphere of life.
In the family, »■« taught these two
boy* to be truthful, honest. Industrious
and respectful In all their dealings and
associations In Ufa. and In a limited
way, gave them primary teaching In a
literary education. Wesley, the first
named, remained with u* until he tad
about reached manhood, and went to
north Alabama; bought som* of th*
cheap land, married, and when h# loot
wrote me, was making a good living;
waa a church member, and teaching
vocal music.
The other (Bird) still remains with
me on the farm; has a family (wife
and four children), la honest, respect
ful, trustful and duly appreciated by
both white and black; is a member of
colored Baptist church; can write
ads the Bible s,n:y. I think
tilldrcn should be provid'd with
public school Instruction In separata
schools. These two Instances of my
persons) experience constrain me
say that thla was the course that
should hav* been taken by the white
rare of th# South at Ihe beginning of
emancipation, which I believe would
have resulted In n satisfactory solution
of the problem, and, as separate and
distinct races, we could have remained
together In one common country und
been a blessing to each other. Here
In I* where I emphatically affirm that
we have failed In our duty to them
As s nation claiming lo have a civil
government, baaed upon democratic
principles and republican In form, snd
professing the religion of the meek and
lowly Jesua, whose gospel with Its mis
sionary spirit Is world-wide In Its ap
plication, we should not neglect to aid
In giving them an opportunity for mor
al, religious snd politics) training.
Let me say that, on a political line, Ills
education has been right the reverse
or what It should have been, and those
who have used him as a voter are rs-
aiKinalble for hie not being qualified
at this time to exercise the sacred right
of tha elective franchise. I have had
some experience as a candidate, but
I can truthfully aay I never sought his
support by any corrupt means. We are
sending consecrated men and women lo
Africa and other foreign fields, while
w* have and are greatly neglecting
the representatives of the race whose
lot has been cast with oura. Here 1
think Is a good field for home mission
work. At this time, I suppose that
God only knows what Is to be their
final destiny, but let us strive to do all
we can to make them a better and
more law-abiding people. Let ua wlae-
ly and judiciously guard against every
tendency, either publicly or criminally,
that tends toward amalgamation of
the race a. and to see that by law they
have full protection of Ilf* and prop
erty. Lei us co-operate with and en
courage every laudable effort on the
part of their wisest end best men look-
ng to their betterment Industrially,
morally or religiously, and, whether as
employer or master, take the teaching
of God's holy word as our guide, and
b* a laborer on the farm or elsewhere,
or aa servant# In our homes, pay them
a Just rompensatlon for their serv
ices, snd. In this way, gain their con
fidence and eateem, hoping thereby
to restore Ihe friendship that once ex
isted between the two races. Could
such be the result, 1 emphatically aay
that I do not believe that we can
ever get a better clasa of laborers, so
well adapted to th* farm and all other
enterprises that require manual labor.
It Is sllll pleasant from memory, In
my declining years, to revert back to.
scenes and relations connected with 1
ante-bellum days, when. In boyhood, I
romped up and down th* banka of tha
Chattahoochee river, fishing and chas
ing the 'possum and 'coon, or on the
farm, working side by olds with Ihe
boys of this race of people. There I*
etIII living, near me, In comfortable
circumstances, with her son, a very
aged negro woman whom I still delight
to address aa Aunt Rachel, and she In
return to address me as Morse Berrien.
She It wa* that nursed me In baby
hood, and cooked for the family. She
always speak* of our family a* tar
whit* folks. From th* beet record* ob
tainable, she I* supposed to- be In the
nineties, and still retain* a clear mem
ory, and has of late years repeatedly
said to me what she most needed now
was the grace of God to support her In
old age. and that when death cornea
she may get to a better world than
this. Away with th* false doctrine
that "the negro Is a brute, and has no
thony Brown), who wa* my father'*
ox-teamster. He left her * farm of (0
acre*, which wa* purehaaed after
emancipation, with funda (1(00 In gold)
saved up while In servitude, from tha
•ale of fish, 'possums, and other game.
Thla purchase was adjoining our old
family homestead. Here ahe resided
until four ye are ago. Hhe sold It, and
went lo make her homa with her son.
During har stay there she waa made
to feel free to come to my homa when
ever she wished. Thla she would often
do, and sometimes remain for months,
and, being of Industrious habits, would
not be aatlafied unless employed at
something pertaining to household af
faire. For such services, wa would
always pay her. There are others who
•re gelling old that I might mention,
but don't deem It necessary. Will aay
that should 1 ba living whan they pass
away I aspect to see that they have a
decent burial.
In conclusion, I wish to aay, "Let th*
dead past bury Its dead,” and wisely
dealing with the present, and hopefully
looking to the future, let our wisest
and best men of both race* act Ju
diciously, and co-operate with each
other, and I believe they can and will
rightly solve th* problem. If what I
liava written, bearing upon tha ques
tion. which, I assure all, are Ihe ex
pressions of an honest and sincere
heart, merit* the consideration of any
who may rend, take them for what
they are worth; otherwise, pass them
by unnoticed. Will say, being a na
tive son of our beloved Georgia, that I
am proud of the noble past record she
has made In founding and perpetuating
tha great and good government bo
und
queathed to us by our forefatlu
of har Illustrious eone, whoso mimes
adorn the pages of her history that
Justly entitles tar to the claim ■■( be
ing the Empire Htale of the So
mention th# names of some of her
worthy sons; Urewford, Lumpkin. Hie
Cobbs, Tim,mbs, Hlevens, llrown. Hilt
and Gordon, Let us ho),' iimt iwr fair,
banner may still wave triumphantly,
over Ihe "home of the free,
land of th* brave," and that Ood may,
from th* ranks of her living noble
give us wise statesman, who will lie j
successfully soil
Ihe peace and prosperity of ,
land nation, and whose names
new luster to tar fair eaeftUi
on* of old, I ran aay, "HM
to laava thee, or to return
r stHtal
111 add I
L'taJ
ii*» not [
m fol- !
I lowing after thee, for whither thou
goeat I will gu, and where thou Imlg- I
eat I will lodga; thy people shall lie,
iny people, and thy Und my On
Where thou dleat, will I die. and thei
will I be burled." Your feUow-dtlsrr
B| B. H. BROWN.
[Flowery Branch, Gs., It. F, D. No.
THE LOVERS OF ART.
Who live In Atlanta will i » gratinud ta
leem that Mr*. Edna Freeman, wife of,
George Freeman, the well-known snd
nnce-famous English portrait painter]
and miniature artlat. daoaaiiefi, ha* lo-(l
Srated In thti city. Bho wits for threai
year* the pupil of Mr. hi reman, andi
under his direction had the finest of'
advantage* abroad. Mrs. Freeman may ,1
he seen every day at Motes' Htuilloll
from II to 1. where samples of herjl
work will always bo on exhlbtlon. •*••■
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