Newspaper Page Text
The Presbyte
Vol. 97. No. 51.
South
RICHMOND, VA. DECEMBER 20, 1922
CHRISTMAS ought to be the glad time of
all the year. It should always be re
membered that it is the Christ festival. It
commemorates the coming of the Christ into
the world. This is the reason that all people
should be glad on that day. The thought of
His coming should occupy the first place in our
hearts, for He brought to us the greatest gift
ever bestowed upon mankind, the salvation
from sin. It seems strange that the thoughts
of most people and the terms used should be
derived from a heathen character, no matter
how good he may have been supposed to be,
instead of being connected with Him whose
birth is celebrated. Of all the heathen deities
Santa Claus is the most attractive, as he is the
embodiment of good will to others. No harm
is done by the Santa Claus story, except that
it deprives woung and old of the higher joy
of the thoughts that should be centered on the
Babe of Bethlehem. This feature of Christmas
can easily be emphasized even with very
young children, and it should be the oustand
ing idea in all church and Sunday School en
tertainments. In fact, we doubt very seriously
whether the Santa Claus idea should ever be
allowed to slip into a religious service. Such
a service should be set around the thought of
the Christ Child and His coming to earth to
bring to man the peace and good will of God.
JOHN WANAMAKER, the merchant prince
and the prince of God, has finished his work
on earth. Last week he ended an earthly ca
reer that had extended over eighty-four years.
Few men ever put as much even into a long
life as he did. He had little to start on save a
good character, energy, perseverance, faith
and a determination to serve God and do good
to his fellowmen. He started in business in a
very small way. His business grew steadily
and rapidly, until he became one of the largest
business men in this country. In the develop
ment of his mercantile enterprises he intro
duced many new ideas, which were practically
unknown before, but which are now commonly
used by all first-class merchants. He gave very
close attention to his business, but he always
had time to attend to the Lord's business as
well, and he did it faithfully. When he first
opened his little store, which was the seed from
which great trees have grown, he at once be
gan to work for God by establishing a mission
Sunday School. As his own business grew the
Sunday School grew, until it became one of
the largest in the country, and out of that
grew a church, which has been noted not only
for its size, but also for its efficiency in build
ing up the kingdom of God. Mr. Wannamaker
gave the church and Sunday School the same
pains-taking care and laborious service, which
he gave to his secular enterprises. "When he
undertook to serve his country as postmaster
general for four years, and had to spend most
of his time in Washington, he never neglected
his work for God. Every Saturday he re
turned to Philadelphia in order to superintend
his big Sunday School and teach his big Bible
class. His interests were never confined to his
own affairs. He gave liberally of his time, his
labor, his means, his love, wherever they were
needed. This country, the world, is better be
cause he lived in it and served God faithfully.
LYNCHING is absolutely inexcusable in a
civilized country and lynchers are mur
derers. There may have been a time on the
sparsely settled frontiers of our country a gen
eration or two ago, when it was necessary for
the people to a very limited extent to take the
law into their own hands, when there were no
properly organized courts. But even then it
would not have been right for a mob to take
the life of a fellowman. In this day there is
absolutely no excuse for it. When some fiend
has committed a heinous crime, naturally the
people of the community are very much
wrought up and excited. That, however, does
not justify murder, and it is time that the peo
ple of this country should realize that the tak
A CHRISTMAS PUDDING.
Take some human nature, as you find it.
The commonest variety will do.
Put a little graciousness behind it.
Add a lump of charity, or two ?
Squeeze in just a drop of moderation.
Half as much frugality, or less,
Add some very fine consideration.
Strain off all of povorty's distress.
Pour some milk of human kindness in it.
Put in all the happiness you can,
Stir it up with laughter every minute,
Season with good will toward every man.
Set it on the fire of heart's afTection,
Leave It (ill the jolly bubbles rise,
Sprinkle it with kisses, for confection.
Sweeten with a look from loving eyes.
Flavor it with children's merry chatter,
?Frost it with the snow of wintry dells,
Place it on a holly-garnished platter.
And serve it with the song of Xmas
bolls.
? Author Unknown.
ing of life in such a case is murder. No man
or set of men have a right to set themselves
up as judge and jury to try a criminal and 011
their own verdict condemn him to death and
execute him, no matter what his crime is.
When a crime has been committed it is the
erly established court alone has a right to pass
law in apprehending the criminal and in se
curing the evidence of his guilt, but the prop
erly estabilshed court alone has a right to pass
upon the evidence, and the criminal must be
given a fair opportunity to prove his innocence
or to show mitigating circumstances. If the
mob has evidence enough to prove his guilt it
will not be hard to convince the court, and if
it has not sufficient evidence to convince the
court of his guilt, they certainly have notsuffi
cient evidence to justify them in pronouncing
the death penalty upon him. Public sentiment
should demand that courts should give quick
and fair trials to criminals and it should also
demand that those who violate the law by en
gaging in a lynching shall be held accountable
and punished as murderers. The stopping of
lynching devolves upon the courts and the
officers of the law. If a few of the lynchers
should be executed and it was understood that
lynchers would always be treated as murder
ers, lynching would soon be stopped. Accord
ing to recent reports two negroes committed
murder in one of the Southern States. They
were arrested by the officers and were being
taken to jail, when a mob was formed which
took one of the prisoners from the officers and
burned him at the stake. A day or two later
the same mob or another, took the other pris
oner from the officers and burned him. In the
sight of God every man in those mobs was
guilty of murder and should be pnnished for
murder. It is not a question as to who the
criminal was nor what was his crime.
Oklahoma Presbyterians are tak
ing an advance step. The Synod has un
dertaken to publish a newspaper, the first is
sue of which has just reached us. It is called
The Oklahoma Presbyterian Messenger, ana is
a well edited sheet of four small pages and
gives the news in regard to the work in. the
Synod. One reason for publishing this monthly
is said to be the fact that so few of the mem
bers of the churches take the large weekly
Church papers. The best thing that can be
done in advancing the work of the Church
would be to see that every family has one of
the Church papers, which give the news each
week and much inspirational matter.
ATTENTION has been called to the action
of Philadelphia Presbytery in adopting
an o\erture to its General Assembly in regard
to the employment by the Session of the PirRt
Church, New York, of Dr. Harry Emerson Fos
dick as stated supply for that church. This ac
tion was taken because of the heretical teach
ings of Dr. Fosdick in the sermons he has
preached, some of which have been broadcasted
over the land. This overture has awakened a
lively interest in the North, and we find that it
is supported very strongly by nearly all of the
Presbyterian Church papers of that section of
the country. We know of only one of these
papers that in any way supports Dr. Fosdick.
It is said that many other Presbyteries will
take similar action. It is to be hoped that
this will be done, and that when the next As
sembly meets, there shall have been awakened
in the Church a sentiment so strong that it will
be obliged to take some definite action in the
matter. New York Presbytery ought to aci
and call the Session to account, but it seems
that that Presbytery is largely composed of
men who are as liberal in their views as is Dr.
Fosdick. If the fundamenetal doctrines of the
Church are to be discredited and denied, there
is little hope for the Church.
FRUITS OF PROHIBITION are seen in
the West, where, it may be, they would
not have been looked for. Every summer there
arc large numbers of laborers who go into the
great harvest fields of that section of the
country. As the harvest season Advances up
country, these laborers go from farm to farm.
They are generally a rather rough class of men,
living in verv uncomfortable conditions. One
who has been studying the situation says that
there has been a wonderful improvement among
them aa- has been shown on the trains on which
they have gone west and returned. He says
that during the past summer this was a per
fectly orderly movement, while formerly these
trains were like moving lunatic asylums. The
difference, he says, is due to prohibition.