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The Atlanta Sunday School Union.
During the week just closed there was held in
Atlanta perhaps the most successful meeting ever
recorded in the history of the Sunday School
Union. This movement for a general “Union” to
consider, discuss and further work in the Sunday
School, is of vital importance but for several years
interest in it was permitted to lapse or only to re
vive occasionally. Now, however, the well-timed
efforts of some of the leaders in church and Sunday
School work have given the subject of the Sunday
School careful attention and the result is that
these quarterly meetings are constantly growing
in usefulness and importance.
Dr. Junius W. Millard, the President of the
Union, has been a great factor in creating, as well
as in reviving the interest in this work and to
his personal effort is due much of the success of
the recent convention. His genius and energy put
new life into the organization.
The meetings were held in the beautiful new
Sunday School Temple of Central Presbyterian
Church and were largely attended. Mr. E. A.
Hartsock, the faithful secretary, was brimming with
gladness over the success of the meeting.
Notable Addresses.
The opening on Thursday afternoon was marked
by the Home Department Conference conducted by
Mr. M. M. Davies, a busy business man, who has
learned how to do Christian work because he loves
it. Mr. A. B. Caldwell spoke wisely and helpfully
on Baraca work for young men, followed by an
open parliament in which the beloved Gov. W. J.
Northen spoke with profound impressiveness.
At night Mr. C. D. Montgomery pleasantly filled
the place of the pastor, Dr. Theron H. Rice, in
making the Address of Welcome.
The “Personal Touch” in Sunday School organi
zation was the next subject on which Mr. W. D.
Upshaw, Editor of The Golden Age, spoke, and in
presenting the speaker to the large audience, Dr.
Millard said:
“An Inspirational Cyclone.”
“When the recent earthquake ruined San Fran
cisco and shocked the country, we in Atlanta con
gratulated ourselves that the Gate City of the
South is builded on such a rock that we are free
from all earthquakes, but Georgia is not free from
cyclones. She has a cyclone of her own! I wish
to present to you tonight the inspirational cyclone
of Georgia, William D. Upshaw, Editor of The
Golden Age, and the friend and inspiration of
Georgia youth!”
In an address of thirty minutes Mr. Upshaw de
veloped the thought that the personal touch in
Christian work is reciprocal in its enriching in
fluence because, first, it deepens the meaning of
Christian fellowship; second, it strengthens our
faith; and third, because it thus inspires us with
that hope and purpose necessary to the best of
our conquering service.
Major R. J. Guinn followed with a paper on
“Organization,” so original and powerful in sug
gestion that the convention immediately asked for
its publication in The Golden Age, and it will ap
pear in these columns next week.
A Wonderful Worker.
Mrs. J. Woodbridge Barnes of Newark, N. J.,
the International Secretary of the Primary and
Junior Sunday School Work, refreshed all hearts
by her remarkable knowledge of how to reach and
keep boys and girls before the period of adoles
cence. Her answers to questions in the open par
liament could have come only from wide experience
wrapped up in intelligent consecration.
The Cradle Roll Work.
On Friday afternoon Mrs. E. C. Cronk, wife of
the popular pastor of the English Lutheran Church,
taught the value of “beginning early,” by the
cradle roll department of Bible School work. This
was followed by a delightful message from the
Secretary of the Philathea work, Miss Mary E.
THIRD QUARTERLY CONVEVTION WAS GREAT SUCCESS.
The Golden Age for October 11, 1906.
Baker. And appropriately following this came a
beautiful talk from Miss Daisy Davies on “How to
Teach Young Ladies.”
“Promotion—When? How? Whom?”
This was the subject handled with ease and ear
nestness by the Superintendent of the Central Pres
byterian Sunday School, Mr. J. J. Eagan, another
commercial leader whose meat and whose drink is
to make his life count for God and humanity.
With due defference to everything and everybody who
had gone before, the message that stirred the con
vention as no other was “The Pastor and the Sun
day School,” by Mrs. E. C. Cronk. The conven
tion called for its publication, and the fact so much
space is given to this address this week proves the
high estimate placed on it by The Golden Age.
The closing address of the convention was made
by Rev. W. L. Walker, the associate pastor of
Dr. Broughton’s Tabernaicjle, on “J|esus Christ,
The Masterful Teacher.” Sparkling with magnet
ism and mellow with spirituality, Mr. Walker’s
message was a fitting close to the best session in the
history of the Atlanta Sunday School Union.
The music by the Wesley Memorial and Baptist
Tabernacle choirs was a practical illustration of
the kind of stirring music the Sunday School needs
to make it attract and hold the masses.
That Pro-Dispensary Movement.
By J. L. D. Hilly er.
I was sorry and surprised to see that any sugges
tion in favor of “dispensaries” could appear in a
temperance report in the Stone Mountain Associa
tion. I was glad it was stricken from the report.
I was not there, my wife was seriously ill, and I
was obliged to stay with her.
The dispensary movement has, in my judgment,
little or nothing to commend it. But it cannot be
combated by mere declamation. Two arguments are
offered in its favor:
Ist. It is urged that it is the less of evils; 2d. It
is urged that it is a step in the direction of prohi
bition, and this last in Seab Wright’s argument in
another form, that, by putting in a dispensary we
dislodge the “barroom gang.”
In reply to the first argument I point out these
facts: The lessening of the evil is merely apparent.
The restrictions put upon the sale of liquor in the
dispensaries are: First, they are open only during
the daylight hour. Second, no quantity less than
one-half pint (or a pint) may be sold. And, third,
no drinking can be allowed on the place.
These so-called restrictions are not really restric
tions, they are mere inconveniences. People who
want to drink arrange to get their liquor during the
daylight hours. People who might be satisfied with
a single drunk, once a day are compelled to huy the
minimum amount whether they want it or not. They
are thus tempted to give it to others, or to drink
more themselves. The restriction as to drinking
it “on the premises” is a mere sham. The drink
ers easily arrange a nearby back room, such as they
have in Rome, where the liquor can be passed around
ad libitum, and since it is not a barroom boys of
all ages have unrestricted access to it. Every train
going out of these dispensary towns carries a dis
pensation of grip-sack and hip-pocket botles. The
smoking cars form their field of operation. Every
wagon on which a drinking man goes out of town
has its flask or jug. The roads leading from Rome
outward in every direction are beaded all along
by empty bottles, or the broken fragments thereof.
The amount of drunkenness is apparently less, be
cause the drinking is done secretly in town, or out
of sight, in the country. The aggregate amount
of liquor sold can be the only test of the restrictive
features of the dispensarv. If the dispensary ad
vocates will show that the amount sold each year
is less than it was the year previous, they will have
an argument that will count for something in sup
port of their contention that the dispensary lessens
the evil. They do not do this, but on the contrary,
parade the increasing profits of the dispensary, to
appeal to the avaricious spirit of the selfish and re
probate citizens, whose votes control the governmen
tal policy of the country.
The second argument offered, that it is a step to
ward prohibition; that it dislodges the barroom
gang, and the like, may be considered right here.
The argument of anti-liquor men to establish a
dispensary, to lessen the evil, to approach prohibi
tion, or to dislodge a liquor-ring is to adopt a tac
tical measure in order to get the advantage of an
enemy. Sometimes a general commanding a fight
ing line will order a retreat or change of front in
order that he may compell his enemy to change the
alignment of his forces. This tactics is all right
if it does in point of fact put the enemy in a less
favorable place. But does it?
The dispensary at Baxley in a few years after
it displaced the barrooms, tyy offering what seemed
to be a more respectable place to buy liquor, had led
a number of sober young men, heads of young fam
ilies, and growing youths, into the habit of gathering
ground the dispensary bottles in private rooms.
The good people of that county saw that they had
cnanged their front only to give the enemy a chance
to enfilade their lines. They had the dispensary
abolished as soon as they made that discovery.
The immense revenue from the Terrell county dis
pensary proves that it has not decreased the amount
of liquor sold in the county, but it has greatly in
creased the avaricious spirit of the people.
I was in Floyd county for two and a half years.
The dispensary was dominant. The leading Chris
tian men in the county had put it there. True, the
barrooms were gone, but the dispensary men were
m the saddle. One of the first dispensary com
missioners was W. J. Neel. He was a deacon in the
First Baptist Church. He soon saw that he could
make no fight with liquor while he occupied that
position. He resigned the commission. The man
ager of the dispensary at Athens was excluded from
the church. There was constant conflict between
rhe advocates of the temperance cause. I attended
three associations and a large number of general
meetings in Floyd county. In all those meetings
except that in December in Lindale, it was under
stood that we must handle the temperance question
so as not to attack the dispensary. The dispensary
had so twisted our temperance lines that we could
not shoot straight at the enemy for fear of shooting
through a line of our own people. We could not
fight the liquor traffic because if we did, we would
wound the dispensary, and our friends were in the
dispensary. All of which shows that very often
the dispensary occupies a position that makes it
harder to dislodge than the barrooms.
I am glad that the association at Covington did
not adopt that report with the pro-dispensary clause
in it.
Had His Samples.
A clergyman was very fond of a particularly
hot brand of pickles, and, finding great difficulty
in procuring the same sort at hotels when traveling,
always carried a bottle with him. One day, when
dining at a restaurant with his pickles in front of
him, a stranger sat down at the same table, and,
with an American accent, presently asked the min
ister to pass the pickles. The minister, who en
joyed the joke, politely passed the bottle, and in
a few minutes had the satisfaction of seeing the
Yankee watering at the eyes and gasping for breath.
“I guess,” said the latter, “that you are a
parson ? ’ ’
“Yes, my friend, I am,” replied the minister.
“I suppose you preach?” asked the Yankee.
“Yes, sir, I preach twice a week, usually,” said
the minister.
“Do you ever preach about hell fire?” inquirt'd
the Yankee.
“Yes, I sometimes consider it my duty to remind
my congregation of eternal punishment,” returned
the minister.
“I thought so,” rejoined the Yankee, “but you
are the first of your class I ever met who carried
samples.”—Tattler (London),
7