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THE CLAYTON TRIBUNE. CLAYTON, GEORGIA.
The Great
Christmas Gift
Br REV. JAMES M. CRAY, D D.
Data at y KkU kabtul.
&
TEXT—For Qod ao loved the world,
that ho gave Ills only begotten eon, that
■whosoever belleveth on him, should not
rlsh, but have eternal life.—John 1:1*
V.
Martin Luther
used to call this
verse "The Little
Qospel,” because
It gathered up
within Itself so
concisely and yet
comprehensive 1 y,
the good news of
Christ’s salvation.
.What verse Is
better known, or
more often quot
ed than this, and
what text has
been used to
preach more ser
mons! Mission
aries tell us that
It Is the first
part of the Bible they translate Into
heathen tongues or teach to heathen
jpeople, and we may believe that It
has won more souls to Jesus Christ
than any other collocation of Inspired
rwords that can be named. Its theme
Is human salvation, and It tells us of
Ood's great Christmas gift to the
(world.
1. As a revelation of salvation, It
Speaks first of the source of It—“Qod
so loved the world.” There would
have been no salvation without that
love. What God saw In us to love,
while we were yet stnnerB and rebels
In his sight, passes human under
standing; but doubtless, It was what
■we might become In Christ through
hts grace, and not what we actually
■were that moved that love. At all
events, we must not give currency to
the thought of some that It was the
sacrifice of Christ that made God love
us. This is to caricature his grace,
because the very opposite Is true, as
we see In the next place.
2. The text shows the ground of our
salvation, which Is the work of Christ
—"For God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten son.” Gave
'him. that Is, as a sacrifice and a sub
stitute for us. in vain did God love
us except as his wisdom and grace
should provide some way for the put
ting away of our guilt consistent with
his own character of holiness. Justice
and truth. This way he found In the
offering of his son, who "was wound
ed for our transgression s,” and
'"bruised for our Iniquities,” and with
whose "stripes we are healed” (Isaiah
63:5). God thus can be just at the
same time that he Is !'the Justlfler of
him who belleveth on Jesus” (Romans
3:26).
> 3. We have, further, the means of
our salvation—“that whosoever be
lleveth on him should not perish.” To
believe Is to exercise faith, but faith
1s more than mere knowledge or as
sent, It Is absolute trust or reliance.
You are on an ocean steamer, let us
say, and as you go to bed you read
a notice that a life-preserver Is un
der your berth, or over your head.
That Is knowledge, but not faith. You
are Informed that If belted around
your body It will keep you afioat In
. water, which you admit. But that Is
assent and not faith. In the middle
of the night when the collision oc
curs. and the vessel Is sinking, and
you belt the life-preserver around you,
and plunge Into the sea, that Is faith.
You then trust yourself to the life-
preserver, putting your reliance upon
It absolutely and only. Have you yet
done this with reference to Jesus
Christ and your salvation T
“He Remembereth Our Frame.”
No words In the Bible are sweeter
to a faithful Christian, certain nights
when he comes to his evening prayer,
than these In one of the Psalms: "He
knoweth our frame: He remembereth
that we ere dust." If we are living
faithfully and are striving to do our
_best, and to do better each day, we
.never dread to tell our Master all
>ave done, even the worst. He
wants Us to be very frank and very
honest vtyth him. Of course he knows
all that we have done, but he wants
us to tell him all, keeping nothing
hack W« may come with the whole
story, even if it be a confession of
weakness, foolishness or sin. He Is
never severe with us, as some human
friends are, for be wants us never to
be afraid to come.—Rev. J. R. Miller,
I>. D.
4. We see the need of salvation—■'
“that whosoever belleveth on him
should not perish.” To “perish” does
not mean to become “annihilated”
simply, or go out of existence, if'that
were all, then we hod as much pun
ishment for sin before wq were born,
or before we ever sinned at all, be
cause we were not then in existence
Indeed, but in separation from God
and all that that Implies of conscious
loss, and disappointment, and misery,
and suffering. Christ gives us a pic
ture of the perishing In the story of
the rich man and Lazaraus, Luke
16:13-31, which you are urged to read
again la order that you may be moved
to lay bold of him ere It Is too late.
5. We see the blessing of salvation
In the words, "but have eternal life.”
This agrees with the teaching In an
other place. ‘The wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord”
(Romans 6:23). Here “life” means
not merely a continuation of exist
ence, but that existence carried on
In the favor of God. In the Joy of his
presence. In the freedom of his serv
ice, and as a sharer In an Inherit
ance which Includes all things. The
good things of this life are only a
shadow of the reality beyond.
PERIL OF THE EMPTY HEART
Greater Than That of the Empty
Hand and a Worse Menace
to Civilization.
The danger from empty hands is
unquestioned. The teacher that wants
to ward off mischief Is wise enough
to find something that will keep busy
the flngerB of his charges. Society
has good ground for looking with
suspicion on the adult hand that does
not hold a tool of some kind, and It
gets ready for trouble when many
hands are empty at one time. The
law may look with more disfavor on
the Idle poor, who may be Idle from
necessity, but exjperlence shows that
there Is no less menace In the rich
idle from choice. Idle hands soon be
come busy at evil.
The empty head Is a threat of com
ing trouble. The state recognizes
this. In self-defense it demands that
its -future citizens have training in
schools, and It seeks to bar from Its
borders the ignorant hordes that
would enter only to become the. tools
of plotters. "
What Is the stand that we take
toward the empty heart? When great
truths are under discussion. Is It not
often assumed that the most trust
worthy, unbiased judge is to be found
In some agnostic Galllo Just because
he has no personal' interest In tho
matters at Issue? Teachers of phil
osophy have not hesitated to assert
that those In their position should
not be openly Identified with a
church, In order that they might, main
tain an undisturbed balahce of mind.
Some so-called Christians - have been
weak enough to yield to-Such men an
authority because of .belr.Judlclal at
titude.
The worst bigot may often be en
titled to a more respectful hearing
than Is due to the men that pose as
taking calm and “sane” views. An
enthusiastic seeker for truth Is a bet
ter guide than the Indifferent dilet
tante. An Interest strong enough to
stir the emotions will discover what
the cold light of reason will never
find. Wo do not look for our music
and art to the mathematicians that
can measure with a micrometer the
e^act wave-lengths of sound and light,
but whose ears and eyes are unre
sponsive to beauty. If great Issues
cannot be committed to" men of empty
hands and empty heads, can we safe
ly accept as our leaders In the weight
iest affairs Tnen of empty hearts?
Which class offers the greater men
ace?—Christtan Endeavor World.
Presbyterian Growth Shown^T
Comparative figures of the growth
of the PresJj^ertan church from 1813
isued by Dr. W. H.
of General as-
ln both
if the
What la It to be a gentleman? It Is
to be honest, to be gentle, to be gen
erous, to be brave, to be wise, and
possessing all these qualities, to ex
ercise them In the most graceful out
ward manner.—Thackeray.
church 454 ministers, 50,0000 commu
nicants and 957 congregations, which
contributed $2,095 to missionary and
benevolent causes. Oue hundred years
later there were in both churches 11,-
191' Ministers, with 1,415,87^ commu
nicants In the northern church and
300,711 in the southern church. The
total contributions tor both branches
of the chruch In 1813 were $9,078,549.
The per capita contribution In 1813
to benevolent objects was four cents.
A hundred years later the per capita
contribution was about $5.25.
To make some nook of God's crea
tion a little frultfuller, hotter, more
worthy of God, to make some human
hearts a little wiser, manfullor, hap
pier, more blessed, less accursed,—it
Is a work for a god.—Carlyle.
Scandal Is merely the compassion
ate allowance which the gay make to
the humdrum. Think how many
blameless Uvea are brightened by the
blazing Indiscretions of other people.
They who love best need friendship
most.—J. G. Holland.
ABLETQSELLBONDS
GOVERNOR RETURNS AND RE
PORTS NEWS OF STATE’S
PROSPERITY BEFORE HIM.
CONFERRED WITH BANKERS
One Financier Told Executive That
Bonds Could Be Sold
in England.
—Atlanta.
Splendid reports of the prosperity
of Georgia and of the high esteem
In which the state's financial position
Is held by New York bankers were
brought back by Governor Slaton on
his return from a twelve days’ stay
In the metropolis. The governor has
no doubt that the state will be able
to float Its refunding bonds next year
at a low rate of Interest. He found
that the New York moneyed Inter
ests had thoroughly familiarized
themsleves with the tax equalization
law enacted last summer, and that
the law had gone far toward estab
lishing the credit of the state.
Also the ownership by the state of
a railroad which was pledged by the
Constitution to the payment of the
state debt, and which was worth more
than three times the amount of that
debt, made it almost certain that Geor
gia would have no difficulty in dis
posing of her bonds when the time
came. In this connection, the gover
nor said:
”1 found the news of Georgia pros
perity had arrived in New York ahead
of me. The vice president of the
bank which has been Georgia's flnan-.
dpi agent for over twenty-five years
showed me from Ills ’records where
rural banks In this state had on de
posit $23,000 this year as against $2,-
100 last year.
“I saw members of virtually every
financial Institution and firm engaged
In buying bonds In reference to the
sale of Georgia bonds in 1915. It was
astounding to some of them that Geor
gia owed less than six and one-half
million dollars, and owns a railroad,
pledged by the Constitution as secur
ity for all the bonded debt, worth
from fifteen to twenty millions of dol
lars. II surprised the financiers to
know that Georgia could, out of the
proceeds of the sale of this property
alone, if necessary, pay its entire debt
and have over ten million dollars left
In the treasury.
"What probably was a greater rec
ommendation of Georgia bonds than
the security Is the constitutional pro
vision prohibiting the increase of the
bonded debt or the creaton of a debt
of any Kind. I found no stronger ar
gument as to the state's financial re
sponsibility than the patriotic action
of Georgia’s bankers in lending to
Georgia one-half million dollars In
the summer of 1913 at a rate of 3
per cent. It was almost Incredible to
tlie New York bankers, and testified
to them the absolute responsibility of
the state of Georgia. They had heard
of the tax equalization law, which in
sures justice in the distribution of
taxes and provides for the payment
each year of every dollar’s appropria
tion made during that year. Taken In
connection with the constitutional
provision limiting th£ state’s debt. It
makes. In their judgment, the strong
est financal situation to be found In
the United States.”
Doping' Young Girls.
Has the poisoned needle already
reached Atlanta? A girl named Ethel
WatklnB went to the detectives with
a strange story of how she was Jab
bed In the arm and how she subse
quently nearly fainted In a night res
taurant, but the officers have been un
able to’ find out whether she Is tell
ing the truth or whether she Is a seek
er after notoriety.
The attention of the federal author
ities here have been called tq the nee
dle operations, and here, as in all
parts of the country, the government
authorities are on the hunt for the
Ynen and women who are alleged to
have begun th^U|olesale use of tills
mysterious uieflH of drugging and
kidnaping gt ‘
Buzzards
Before
on. It may be
tected by thel
the legitimate!
shotgun,
rtous kinds
combining in
out whether tb
zurd Is not
zard does
ham by sp
other dlseas
a scavenger.
If allegatla
sard by thi
of agricult
lrnonta In
ter of the
and In tl»’J
Protected.
itlng season is
[mzzards, now pro-
gst laws, will be
for rifle and
interests of va-
’tho state are
jtiou to find
I of the bua-
if the bux-
deal more
(cholera and
buz-
Plenty of Liquor in Atlanta.
This Is going to be a “wet” Christ
mas on Decatur street in Atlanta aa
well as at the exclusive clubs. Thou
sands of gallons of whiskey aro pour
ing into Atlanta by express, and the
police, though doing their best, find
the blind tiger situation too big for
them to cope with.
By tne number of drunken negroes
picked up every night now on Deca
tur street, they know the booze is
flowing free from somewhere, but
though they occasionally arrest a lone
blind tiger, the liquor continues to
flow, and under the conditions which
exist it Is doubtful if any police reg-
ulatons could stop it
Atlanta today 1s about as little of a
prohibition city as It ever waB In the
old saloon days. Thc(re are more
clubs that sell whiskey to members
than ever before In the city’s history.
In every part of the city are thriving
saloons which sell real beer, all the
best known brands, and have thrown
off all pretense of selling “near beer.”
The blind tiger, white and black.
Is at the same time carrying on bis
activities, and won’t he downed.
However, there is one big differ
ence. between Atlanta and many oth
er towns where prohibition doesn’t
prohibit—and that is that there are no
public places in Atlanta where a man
can buy whiskey across a bar. The
open whiskey saloons have at least
been wiped out. _As a mere matter
of expedlencey, the beer saloons are
not touching any blind tiger whis
key. , They are making good money
on beer, and It Is to their interest
to uphold the law.’
Drought Didn’t Affect Tallulah Falla.
Despite the dryest autumn in many
years past, Georgia’s magnificent new
power resources developed from Tal
lulah Falls have exceeded rather than
fallen short of the original estimates,
according to an interesting statement
Just issued by H. M. Atkinson, head
of the Tallulah Falls water power de
velopment of the Georgia Railway and
Power company.
Though the public had not yet come
to realize the full import of the ract,
Georgia now has water power that
can be compared only to Niagara
Falls, and which will mean more than
any other material development of re
cent years In the future growth of
industries in this section.
The new power has been used In
Atlanta since September 24th, and Is
daily going into new communities
throughout the state. The results all
Indicate that much more can be ex
pected of the Tallulah River than any
one at first imagined.
The Tallulah plant, as It stands to
day, is the biggest in the United
States, with only two exceptions, Ni
agara and the great upper Mississip
pi works at Keokuk, Iowa. These
three Immense water powers are In a
class all by themselves.
Politicians Laying Their Plans-
Certaln movements of Hon. J. J.
Brown in filling numerous speaking
engagements over the state in the in
terest of agriculture, and the oft-re
peated statement by Thomas E. Wat
son that Brown “was cheated out of
his office at the Macon convention,’’
are taken by politicians here to mean
that Mr. Brown will be a candidate
for commissioner of agriculture at the
next election and that his candidacy
will be sponsored by the red-headed
one.
If this Is true. It will bring up an
extremely interesting state-wide ques
tion as to Just what part old man
county unit will play In future elec
tions.
Mr. Brown in the last campaign
ran on an avow'ed county unit plat
form, but at the Macon convention his
two opponents combined their
strength and he was defeated. Since
that time Mr. Watson has missed few
chances to refer to the way Mr. Brown
was “cheated,” as he terms It, out of
his office, “after having been elected
by a majority of the voters.” Through
all this the advocates of the state
wide system are merely smiling and
saying nothing.
Direct Cotton Ginning Information.
Farmers all over the South are
writing to United States Director of
the Census W. J. Harris to commend
him for the arrangement he Is com
pleting for the wider distribution of
statistics collected by his office con
cerning the quantity of cotton ginned,
the quantity of cotton consumed ev
ery month, and the stocks of cotton
on hand at the end of each month.
Director Hargis has already arrang
ed with the postmaster general to al
low the postmasters In every postof
fice in counties where cotton Is grown
to post in conspicuous places copies
of the reports. Heretofore the re
ports have been given only to news
paper representatives and to tho tel
egraph companies, and mailed to in
dividuals. By this new plan they will
go directly to every community, large
or small, without delay, and will be
available for all.
Accidents In Atlanta Increasing.
Figures now ip process of compila
tion, but not yet finished, will show
that more people were killed and In
jured by auto accidents In Atlanta
than In past years.
UTILE ITEMS OF GEORGIA CITIES
Athens.—Judge Richard B. Russell,
presldlug Judge of the Georgia stato
court of appeals, will be a candidate
to succeed himself on the bench of
that court. This statement comes di
rectly from the judge, who was a vis
itor here to advise with his close
friends here concerning his future po
litical course.
Waycross.—After the police had
searched the canal for several hours
and had made a thorough search of
the city the two-year-old daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Contry, reported
missing, was found behind a stove In
the kitchen of her parents’ home,
fast asleep. When last seen the little
girl was playing with friends near
the canal and It was feared she had
fallen in and lost her life.
Dalton.—Indications are that the
position of representative of this
county to the Georgia legislature,
made vacant by the recent death of
Hon. Samuel E. Berry, will be sought
by a number of Whitfield’s ambitious
sons. Already quite a number have
signified their desire to help enact
laws for the people to observe, and
have formally “shied their castors In
to the arena.”
Columbus.—Dock McChrlstle shot J.
W. Barnes and the latter’s four-year-
old child. The child, shot In the
head, Is believed to be fatally wound
ed. Barnes’ Injuries are not serious.
Barnes, who had separated from his
wife, went to her home where ha
started a difficulty with boarders and
whipped one of his own children. Mc
Chrlstle resented the attack, and shot
Barnes and accidentally wounded the
child, Barnes is In Jail. McChristia
1b still at large.
, Calhoun.—The farmers of this sec
tion are In better shape with their
farm work this fall than In many
years. An unususal amount of plow
ing has been done and the outlook for
next spring Is unusually good Tho
oats and wheat crops are fine and
many farmers declare they have nev
er known a better season than the
one Just closed. The cotton Is nearly
all picked and marketed and Gordon
county this year has made a very
good average crop, and with the good
price It has brought It has been very
profitable.
Greenville.—Mrs. Y. F. Freeman,
Sr., and Miss Rose Swope, prominent
In this city, narrowly escaped death
when a farmer named Davis shot at
tlie two women after the automoble
In which they were riding had fright
ened a mule which the farmer was
driving. The bullet struck the back
of the car. and but for meeting some
metal obstruction, would most prob
ably have hit one of the women. The
car was being driven by J. K. Simon-
ton. As It passed Davis, who was
driving a buggy, the mule became
frightened and broke a shaft, where
upon the farmer opened fire upon the
machine.
Dublin.—Surrounded by 125 of his
descendants at a strictly Georgia
products dinner, Zenus Fordham, of
this county, celebrated the rounding
out of his 94th year at the home of
his daughter, Mrs. T. J. Perry, near
Dublin. Mr. 'Fordham, who Is one of
the best known citizens of the coun
ty, has been having a dinner of tills
kind for the past several years, gath
ering his children, grandchildren and
greatgrandchildren for a family re
union and big dinner in celebration of
bis birthday. He has nine children
living, all of whom were present
Atlanta.—As was generally expect
ed by lawyers, the state lost In Its
fight for Tallulah Falls. The supreme
court handed down a decision in the
case of the State of Georgia vs. the
Georgia Railway and Power Compa
ny, in which it upheld the decision of
Judge J. B. Jones in Rabun superior
court, to the effect that the state
had surrendered its interest in the
falls when it granted away the land
nearly a century ago. The court up
holds an old principle of law that the
state haB no Interest as a sovereign
in a non-navlgable stream, and that
where the land has been granted
away the boundary does not stop
with the banks of the stream, but
goes to the central thread of it. Con
sequently the Georgia Railway and
Power company, in acquiring from
prior holders the land on which Tal
lulah Falls is located, has also ac
quired tne falls.
Cedartown.—Recently quite an hon
or has been bestowed upon Mrs. John
Dodds, who resides on Herbert street,
In this city, by Mrs. Woodrow Wilson,
wife of the president of the Uulted
States. It la this: She has been given
an order to bake the Christmas fruit
cake for the white house family, be
ing the first Georgia lady to receive
such a compliment The order came
to Mrs. Dodds through Mrs. Wilson's
private secretary. Mrs. Wilson’s
father. Dr. Axson, was the pastor for
some time of Mrs. Dodds’ family, her
maiden name being Miss Maggie
Walker, when they resided at Cave
Spring, Ga. It is probable that on
account of the friendship of the two
families that she has been granted
the distinction of baking for the first
family of the United States.