Newspaper Page Text
October 2, 1912 ] T H E P
is no more "honor" or "distinction" in the matter
than one will get by receiving the circulars
of any of the already well known and reliable
tourist agencies of American and English cities.
By publishing oneself as "Ju.vring the distinguished
honor" of having been invited, etc..
one is simply justifying the British shrewdness
which would trade upon the gullibility of those
whom a "title" attracts.
HAZING.
Great sorrow has been felt and expressed on
account of the fatal result of haxing at one of our
state Universities. Several homes have been vie- (
tittis of a blight that can never be entirely removed.
One home mourns the loss of a loved
hoy whose young life was suddenly taken away.
Other homes suffer the shame and grief of real- (
izing that their loved ones were participants in j
the deed that resulted in the tradgedy.
There was no malicious intent that prompted
the deed; it is called an accidentj but there
was apparently a reckless disregard of the safety
cf the victim and those responsible must answer |
before the law. As to intent this case was no
worse than a thousand others and probably thousands
more will be equally bad. But the crime,
if it be adjudged a crime, consisted in the reckless,
forcible exposure of the life and limb of a
helpless victim. The life of a loved boy, the
treasure and hope of fond parents, of sisters,
brothers and campanions is sacred, and cannot ,
be trifled with without guilt. The lesson is too
plain to be missed by any school of either high ,
or IcAv degree in our broad land. (
Hazing is sometimes regarded as manly sport, j
But is it manly? When three or four or a half .
a dozen strong fellows, being fully prepared and j
equipped in advance, seize a student who is off |
his guard, possibly occupied with his studies, and <
lead him away to be tortured or otherwise humil- ^
inted, over-powered by numbers, possibly bound ,
1 t n . - - - -
nana ana root, can it De said that his tormentors y
are manly? Is there one rudimentary element \
of manliness, of courage, or chivalry in the en- t
tire performance? Is there anything to jusify i
self-respect, anything refining or ennobling, to <
stimulate magnanimity or answer the call of j
conscience? Absolutely nothing. If such a par- 1
ticipant is not conscience-stricken and self-con- (
demned, if he does not hink less of himself after ]
than before, it is because he is sadly devoid of 1
those instincts which accompany magnanimity <
and manly courage. j
Hazing is foreign to the spirit and ideal of 1
Southern chivalry. It is humiliating that it I
finds anchorage in any of our institutions of i
learning. "A fair field and no favor" is a motto .<
that we have cherished and defended whether i
in the contests of war or the fi-io-nHiv \
of physical prowess. True gallantry spurns in- i
trigue, recourse to deceptive and oppressive arts, s
The brave contestant whether in combat or in i
the rivalry of athletic sports meets his opponent I
in the open. Subterfuge is not the normal recourse
of a brave heart. I
Our boys should be taught discrimination be- }
tween manly sports and brutality, and if our <
universities cannot safeguard their students f
against the perils of hazing, they might at least (
as a part of their course of instruction, impress }
the student body with the very apparent fact ,
that it is essentially and universally degrading. ,
When my soul is in sympathy with nature i
my feeling is that of a joyful recognition of God.
It is as though out of some infinite distance the <
f^tfe of God were becoming visible, amiJttfeapon
ifjp in encouragement itod lftyO/'?Willianr llRmnt#?rd.
- jV; - ? . {'"j
RESBYTERIAN OF THE SO
THE BEST ORGANIZATION.
Just where is the golden mean between too 1
little and too much organization? The attempt '
to do without organization would bring disaster.
The Church of Christ is. not intended to conduct
a guerrilla warfare. There is strength in combination.
Combination also develops enthusiasm. ]
The Zeal of some fires others, and the whole bodv i
- 1
becomes warmer from the contact. Many things j
which are effectively accomplished by united ef- i
fort would be impossible single-handed. It is (
organization that makes these useful combina- ^
tions. But, on the other hand, organization itself t
takes time, and expense. It is always in need of r
jetting together and stimulating and stirring and
educating. When successful, it is in danger of t
taking undue credit to itself. All the time it has (
to be watched to prevent its becoming mere ma- t
ohinery and developing a merely mechanical f
Form of Christian activity. It comes to rely upon I
itself rather than upon the power by which it is I
to be propelled and which it is to transmit. So f
the question becomes a very practical one, Just ?
where is the golden mean between overmuch or- *
ganization and under organization T
The answer is to be found practically in the y
organization which God has given his church. He
lias distinctly provided "for the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the '
tdifying of the body of Christ." He has given {
prophets, apostles, teachers, evangelists, helps, .
governments. He has provided the courts of bhe g
Church, the bodies of rulers, and the diaconate. j
He has arranged also for the deaconess and other ^
woman's work. He has shown the pattern of an
organized church and defined bhe duties of all
in that church. Unless God has made a mistake j
ind man is more wise than he, the faithful use of c
the system which he has devised will produce t
the results which he desires. The addition of t
jther plans and means to those which he has pro- e
rided, or the substitution of others for them, is s
in unwarranted dependence upon our own de- J
rices and an unbelieving attitude, a distrust t
;owards his plan. Over-confidence in ourselves i
ma under-contidence in Uod'lie at the root of the <
ivhole matter. Those who accept the de jure (
iiiwo doctrine of church order ought to accept 1
it for the activities of the church. It should '
Je more than a name or a theory of church gov- '
irnment. It should be the form of the church's '
ife. It should be put into practice. It should
?e not the mere bones, the skeleton, of the
;hurch, but its flesh and blood and movement. If 1
ill the energy and thought that are expended
apon the multiplied societies that are amongst us
today, not to speak of the actual cost of the contentions
and institutes and educational and inspirational
gatherings and movements and teams
md experts, were given to the application and
the more effective working of God's organization, 1
it would very soon be found that the latter is ]
sufficient unto all these things. There would be j
10 need for the supposed aid of man's inven- 1
ions.
The trouble with us is that we are not willing
irst to trust and then to obey. To this is to be
idded the further fact that while we think we
?an trust and do obey, we are impatient for re- <
suits. The growth is not rapid enough. The out- ]
jome is too slow. We crave immediate results
~?nd products that are tangible. The material <
lppeals more strongly to us, in enumerating remits,
than the spiritual. We want to see what 1
we are doing and what we are getting. The i
man-made organizations emphasize those things
which we thus crave. The true growth of the !
r-hnrch and of Christian character is not that
which is seen outside, but that which Is down in
thlrdepths of the new life in the heart. The
fhne of sending the roots deeper, to drink up the
U T E I (1113) 11
fatness and strength of the soil, is as well spent
is that which is given to blossoming and fruitbearing.
NON-CONFORMISTS.
This oncht to ho tho fifiA nf ~
0 v..v ?? ? ui cci j v/?nsiiaii.
instead of denoting dissent from a State reigion,
it should mark the steadfast refusal of
ill believers to bow down to any golden image
vhich the world may set up. Paul's "Be i ot
conformed to this world" has a meaning broad,
ind deep, and radical. It touches the font'.daions
of oharacter, the spirit of life in all its
letails.
Its meaning is not exhausted, it is hardly
ouched, by any difference from the world in
ixternal form. No distinction in dress, as of
he Dunkards or the Salvation Army, or in
'oods, as with .certain sects who practically
>erpetuate the Mosaic law of meats, or
:>orary self-denial, as with those who keep Lent
>r abstain from meat on Friday, or in ritual,
is with High Churchmen or Dissenters, answers
lie real call of this law of God. One may be
i Pharisee of the Pharisees and rigorously adlere
to every rule, like Saul himself, and y?t
ie steeped in worldliness.
The man who loves God with all his h^arl
ind his neighbor as himself is the only unworldly
man. A heart loyal in every impulse
o Jesus, a life holy, and just, and kind, a eharicter
that reproduces the real spirit of the one
linless life, a soul intent on the spread of the
vingdom of God and the salvation and spiritual
velfare of mankind?these are the essentials of
unsecration.
It is useless to treat minor symptoms and
eave the disease untouched, to repress or
hange external habits and effect no radical
hange in the inner spirit. There must be a
borough constitutional treatment, the re;,?:nration
of the basal affections, the glad su'nnijlion
of the whole man to the rightful control.
Nothing can stem the rising tide of wor!dlmes?
hat threatens to engulf the church, in spite of
ts activity and zeal in outer work, except the
leepest change in the current conceptions of
Christian living. Parents and children must
nake God supreme, not in name or pretense,
nit in actual thought, and desire and decision.
Vnd the only agencies that can effect this revoution
are the truth and the Spirit of God ?Ex.
The only hierarchy in civilized lands than that
>f Rome, in its absolute control of all its adr
ii-iciilm, ana m giving them no voice whatever in
their own opinions, duties or other spiritual
iffairs, is that of the so-called Christian Scientists.
Mrs. Eddy was wisdom, authority, interpretation,
rule, and everything else to them while
die lived. And, by the way, she made it pay
well, too. Now the power appears to be in a
Board of Directors, and it is absolute and permanent,
according to rules provided by Mrs. Eddy
herself.
Experts, or imperts! It matters little by
which name one calls them. They are about the
<ame thing, in most cases. The woods are full
>f them. You may get them for every conceivable
purpose or project, if you will pay for them, and
ll '11 ? " * *
urey win xeii you just how to do it, including
\spe?ially the matter of how to pay them. You
will not find them doing mueh. You will have
to do all the doing. They are only advisorsoreneral.
They make plans for you. Their devices
are usually made in an office building in
*ome large city. This puts them above the prejudices
growing out of the realities of the situation
or the hardships of the actual work. With
the season of activity in the church just now
opening look out for them.