The Presbyterian of the South : [combining the] Southwestern Presbyterian, Central Presbyterian, Southern Presbyterian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1909-1931, January 03, 1917, Page 14 (1106), Image 14

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the day with her and when there re mained only enough, time for me to walk to the depot. I arose to start. Mrs. Fellows said, "Oh, I want you to meet our pastor, Bro. Small." I said, "I will not have time for this." She said, "He lives right on the way and very near. I'll take my bonnet and accom pany you." I had just met Bro. Small and was seated when a strange lady called and seated near me, she asked a gentleman present: "How did you like the ad dress of Mr. Tovell?" If the name had been Smith or Jones I would have paid no attention to the inquiry, but the sin gular name, Tovell, caught my ear. I asked. "Who is this Tovell?" I was in formed "He is a preacher the Yankees sent South for preaching the funeral of a man they had killed, and he delivered a lecture about it." I told of the re quest of his wife and said I must de liver the message. The house was shown me where I would find him. I hurried away, saw a man on the porch, called to know if his name is Tovell, when he said, "Yes." I said come and let me deliver a message. It was a great comfort to hear about his wife and daughter. Who can explain this chain of cir cumstances leading to such a result, except It was directed by a gracious God in His over-ruling providence? Polytechnic, Texas. MISSING GOD'S GOOD THINGS. By the Rev. Garret Honderlink. There are Christians to-day that have a feeling of disappointment in their hearts. They looked for a transforma tion of life which did not come. They looked for ecstatic feelings, but never felt their thrill. Israel also often won dered why they were not richly blessed. They even made open complaints to the prophets of Israel concerning God. They thought that though they were untrue and unfaithful to Him, God somehow was under obligation to endow them with all the riches of heaven. To-day we recognize that everything is conditional. Every promise that God made to men was conditional. The condition of being blessed is obedience, and the individual or the nation that does not obey God will miss the good things which God has to give. The condition for Joy and rest is fellowship with Jesus Christ. The condition for freedom from eternal condemnation 1b being in Christ Jesus. The condition for victory in a world where men are meeting with defeat is faith. The con dition for everlasting life is belief in the Son of God. How wondrous are the riches of God! How these riches do bleps a soul! I wonder why we folks are such fools as to value them so little Why do we strive for everything under the sun ex cept the riches of God? Why are so many church members utter strangers to the highest and choicest of religious experiences? Why be a spiritual corpse, when we might vibrate with health and vitality? 8cme folks are missing God's good things through ignorance. For exam ple, those that do not know what prayer will do for them, will miss the won drous blessings that prayer will bring. There was a widow with three children who was about to be turned out of her home. She prayed to God for relief. She told of her plight to a preacher's wife, who, through poverty, was unable to help. But she prayed that someone might be sent with $25 in order that this poor widow might not be put out on the street. The godly wife of a buelnee* man was doing her sewing. A voice came to her telling her to go to the preacher's home. She first ques tioned the voice, Hhe asked God wheth er It came from Him. A voice told her to go and to take $21 with her. She went to the preacher's home, was met with a radiant face and a cordial hand, and, before she could say anything, the preacher's wife said, "I know why you have come. You have come with $-'5 to pay the rent of a poor widow who was this day to have been turned ? out." It was prayer that kept that poor widow from being turned out of doors, but had she and also the preach er's wife been ignorant of the value of prayer that day's close would have found that widow and her few belong ings out upon the street. But more often we are deprived of God's good tilings through our sinful ness and disobedience. Too many are pursuing after the world's pleasures, and through their pursuit are losing the good things of God. There are old er Christians to-day that are sorry they ever pursued after them. If they could live those early days over again how different they would be! God is Just waiting to open the windows of heaven that he may pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to re ceive it, and we shall cry out as Moody once did, and ask God to stop filling him with blessing. Some folks miss God's good things through their companionship. Com panionships formed in clubs, or in business, or in society, may be respon sible for some folks' spiritual leanness. Lord Chesterfield once said, "I have known all the pleasures of so-called so ciety. Others are amateurs and see the stage from the outside and are dazzled with the social glare. But I have been behind the scenes. I have seen all the coarse pulleys and the dirty ropes, which exhibit and move all the gaudy machines, and I do by no means desire to repeat the nauseous experi ence." . And yet. In spite of the testi mony of such a man as Led Chester field, and the testimony of hundreds of others that have reveled In society un til they were satiated thereby, and turned from It with disgust and abhor rence, folks do persist in pursuing after its charms, and thereby miss Qod's good things. The Christian life is not always easy. But neither is work from morning un til night. Neither Is it easy to over come all business difficulties. Neither is it easy to learn to play like an artist, or sing like an artist, or to paint like an artist. It may not be easy always to meet God's conditions for receiving His good things, but to fight against all that is evil, and to win a victory over all that is evil, and to enjoy God's good things ? such living is great living. ? Christian Intelligencer. EFFICIENCY. Dr. Lyman Abbott wrote some years ago in answer to a letter from Gil more, the Model License Liquor Man: "All physicians are agreed that the ex cessive use of intoxicating liquor is the most prolific cause of disease." "All sociologists are agreed it is the most prolific cause of poverty." "All penologists are agreed it is the most prolific cause of crime.'1 And if he were writing it to-day he would doubt less add: "The use of liquor as a bev erage is the most prolific cause of In efficiency." A copper mining company In Ger many persuaded 1,000 men to sign the pledge and the output of the men in creased (25,000 the second year. The Dresden Bottling Works In Dres den, Germany, discovered that they were only doing twenty-nine per cent, of a day's work on Monday after Sun day's holiday drinking. A Pennsylvania coal company said they could lift 260,000 more tons of coal in a year were it not for the s a loon*. Swedish marksmen were tested and on alcoholic day* could average only three hits out of thirty shots st ths tar get ? ou the other days made twenty three hits out of thirty shots. A mountain climber, after drinking two glasses of hoer, found it took him twenty-one per cent, longer time to reach the summit. Four type-setters were given three quarters of a tumbler of Greek wine a day and lost thereby nine and six-tenths per cent, in efficiency by the end ot one week. A number of accountants were given daily in divided doses, tho equivalent of three and one-half cups of claret. After two weeks of this steady, mod erate alcoholic allowance their average ability to add one-figure columns had decreased fifteen and three-tenths per cent. Secretary Daniels, of the United States Navy, stopped the use of liquors on our warships, but it is not commonly known that Secretary Daniels took this action after being shown that we were sending nearly ten times as many men to the hospitals for alcoholism in the American navy as they were in the British navy, and nearly fifty times as many as in the German navy, and he reasoned that if alcohol was sending so many men to the hospital, it was un doubtedly rendering inefficient a still larger number of men who did not get as far as the hospital, and, in the name of efficiency, alcohol was banished. M. Bark, the Russian minister of finance, says, "The output of Russian workmen has increased from thirty to fifty per cent, since the sale of vodka has been prohibited." ? Herald of Gos pel Liberty. A CHURCH MEMBER NOW. The distribution of 5,000 New Testaments by Mr. Yung Tao, who de scribed himself as "not a church mem ber" on the slip which accompanied each book, containing a personal mes sage for the recipient and calling at tention to the merits of the Bible, was mentioned in the September Re view. Now the welcome news has come of the baptism of Mr. Yung by Rev. Chauncey Goodrich, D. D.f of Peking. He writes that Mr. Yung sent his motor car to take him to the church service. In the afternoon of the same day the celebration of the Bible Society centennial took place In Peking, and Mr. Yung made an address, speaking earnestly of the power of the Bible to change men. "Half of the expenses of the celebra tion," Dr. Goodrich concludes, "in cluding the putting up of the tent, which seated 4,000 people, were paid by Mr. Yung. He has lately prom iBed the Young Men's Christian Asso ciation $4,000 (Mexican) a year for some of their educational work, and he has In mind other work for the church."- ? Missionary Review. WHY SHOULD THE WORKINGMAN BE LIQUOR'S "GOAT?" Hy Charles Stelzle. There is one outstanding fact with reference to the groat mass of working men ? all pay their fair share of the tax bill In town, county and State. They aro sure to pay these taxes, because they must include them in their pay ment for rent, groceries, clothing, and about everything else that they buy. Everybody knows that when taxes are raised the landlord gets the extra sum out of his tenants by raising the rent. The same way with the butcher when he pays 2c a pound more to the whole sale butcher ho compels the buyer to pay about 5c more per pound. The same way with the coal dealer and about everybody else with whom the workinginan does business. The work ingman is the utlimate payer of the tax bill of the nation. But not only docs the workingman pay his own fair share of the taxes, he is compelled to pay most of the taxes of all non-producers. He must pay these taxes ? no matter who else may evade their payment, either through shrewd manipulation or because of sheer in ability. The Socialists have a fashion of saying that every workingman car ries on his back a non-producer. Wheth er or not this statement is absolutely accurate it's dead certain that every workingman's burdens are heavier be cause there are so many non-producers. Without regard to others who are non producers because they have great wealth ? earned by others ? and, there fore, need not work for a living, there are vast numbers of men and women and children being cared for in Insane asylums, in penitentiaries, in alms houses, in hospitals, in orphan asylums, and in many other kinds of institutions because of the direct or indirect re sults of the use of beer and whiskey and wine. It has been stated on good authority that liquor is responsible for 25 per cent of the poverty, 19 pe^Sent of the divorces, 25 per cent of the Insanity, 37 per cent of the pauperism, 45 per cent. | (DimJjfumiliiit WOftrt OF TI1E tUGMEST QUALITY ? * AT BEASONABLE PRICES- ? ? Southern Seating ? -^Cabinet Company JACKSON. TENNESSEE. Ten Million Frost-proof Cabbage Plants at $1.00 per Thousand That we may make room for other crops we are offering these plants at the low prises named. They are grown from the best seeds and are strong Mid healthy. 10.000 or more at 90c per thousand. BEET, LETTUCCE, BERMUDA ONION PLANTS at $1-50 per thousand. Strawberry Plants at $3.00 per thousand. Sweet Potato Plants ready April 1st. Ask for prices. The Marble City Plant Company BOX F, SYLACAUGA, ALABAMA RICHMOND PRESS i^CORPORATBD PRINTING & PUBLISHING BOOK, JOB AND COMMERCIAL PRINTING Minutes, Catalogues, Stationery, 6tc. OOTRRNOR AND ROM STRUTS, RICHMOND, TA.