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About The Henry County weekly. (McDonough, GA.) 18??-1934 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 1907)
Georgia Cullings Curtailed Items of Interest Gathered at Random. Athens to Have Carnival. Athens will have a big carnival 6om e time during the month of Oc tober. An enthusiastic meeting was held Thursday night at the city hall, at which it was determined to put on the carnival this fall. It will be given on a large scale, in keeping with one of 1900, which was the best ever given in the south. * * * Georgia Vets Meet November 12. A subcommittee of the executive committee at Augusta in charge-.of the matter has selected Tuesday and Wednesday, November 12 and 13, as the dates for the 1907 reunion at Au gusta of the Georgia United Confed erate Veterans. The city is making elaborate preparations for the enter tainment of the veterans. * * * Many immigrants Coming. Director of Immigration Jno. J. Betj man said Friday that within thirty days the first really considerable body of foreign immigrants will be landed in Georgia. Just how many are to come and the exact date of their ar rival, Mr. Betjman said he was not ready to say, hut he announced that there would be enough to prove to the state that the immigrationists are in earnest about bringing new citizens. The steamer will land the immigrants at Savannah, and from that port they will be distributed through Georgia. * * * Salary Was Too Small. State Entomologist R. I. Smith has tendered his resignation to Commis sioner of Agriculture Hudson to take effect on October first. Professor Smith leaves tlie service of the state to be come professor of entomology and in charge of the experiment station of the North Carolina Agricultural and Me chanical College at Raleigh, N. C. He leaves because of the small salary paid by this office. An effort was made at the last ses sion of the general assembly to have it increased, but the effort failed. * * * Opposes Frat Organizations. A neat publication, entitled The Fo rum, has just been issued by the rep resentatives of the non-fraternity or ganization among the students of Mer cer university and Emory college. The purpose has been to inform new stu dents regarding conditions at college prior to their coming, and enlist them in the ranks of the non-fraternity ele ment where possible. Claiming that non-fraternity principles are sinvPly that every man shall have a chance at the honors, students of Mercer, Emory and Wake Forest, have con tributed numbers of articles largely setting forth their opposition to fra ternities and the publication is now being circulated. * * * Druggists Make Inquiries. Druggists all over the state have been eager and anxious to secure in formation about the new prohibitory narcotic drug law passed at the re cent session of the general assembly. More than 175 druggists in all parts of the state have written Secretary of State Philip Cook asking him as to when the law goes into effect. The law became effective on August 22 the day on which It. was approved by the governor, this being specifical ly provided in the act, After that date any druggist selling cocaine, morphine or similar drugs, except upon the pre scripticn of a licensed physician, in regular attendance on the case for which t'ne drug was wanted is liable to prosecution under the act. Unlike the state prohibition law. the effect of this act was not post poned until January 1, hut made im mediate. * * * Fulton tc Pay One-Tenth. Fulton county, always the biggOo. taxpayer of the «n e hundred ana ror ty-five counties in the state, will ior the year 1907 pay over one-tenth of the state taxes paid on the returns as they appear in the digest. It has been figured out that wni the state tax rata at tne highest point allowed by law five mills, that Fulton county will pay into the state on *‘ J, ‘ 464,865, the sum of $367,324.32 The total amount to be col.ccted from the entire state is $3,459,619 and not $4,459,619, as reported. A Up graphical eror made the amount fig ure $4.459 619 where it should ha been $3,459,619 and the . . c rr -<907 on’v about v -45V consequence "cr ‘ - 000, instead of $1,430,000 as the print ed figures made it appear. Fulton county has long led the state in the matter of tax returns, and the consequent payment of state taxes and the increased amount of property re turned for taxation and the higher tax rate levied increases this lead. * * * Historic Landmark Passes. With the removal of the county property from Irwinville to Ocilla, marks the passing of one of the most interesting and historic places in south Georgia. Besides being the historic spot where the late Jefferson Davis, President of the southern confederacy, was captur ed, Irwinville was one of the oldest towns of the state. It was made the county seat soon after the county of Irwin was laid out in 1818, while that county embraced all the territory from the Ocmulgee river east to the Flint and south to the Florida line. At a time when the judges, lawyers and ministers mads their circuit on horseback, Irwinville was the scene of many events that went toward the ma king of the history of the state. It is a noteworthy fact that the rec ords of the county, since its organiza tion S 9 years ago are practically com plete, and they are very interesting, nof only as curiosities, but valuable contributions to the official records of the state. * * ♦ Jamestown Bills Paid. All of the bills for the Georgia ex hibit at the Jamestown exposition have been paid, with the exception of that for carriages used on Georgia day, to the amount of S4OO and for flowers used the same day to the sum of S2OO. Commissioner of Agriculture Hud son, who has just returned to Atlanta from Jamestown, made this report to the governor. Commissioner Hudson stated that while he was at the Georgia building he came across the S3OO worth of champagne, for which payment had been refused, as it was claimed the ■wealthy water had not been ordered, and directed that it be returned to the wine agent. The commissioner gave to the con tractor, John Calligan & Co., a check from the state for $3,710, which set tles in full the indebtedness due on the state building which is a replica of the ancestral home of the presi dent’s mother at Roswell. This includ ed the SI,OOO bonus offered by the commission to the contractor if he would work day and night and have the Georgia building complete by Geor gia day. The entire cost of the building was approximately $13,500, a part of which will be reimbursed by the sale of the Georgia building, after the fair closes KILLED BY AN ATTENDANT. Asylum Authorities Responsible For Death of Crazy Youth. The climax to the legislative inves tigation of Alabama's insane hospital at Tuscaloosa was reach, d Thursday, when Attorney Curry of that institu tion admitted that young Hines, an inmate of the asylum, who dLd inside its walls some time ago, was killed in a struggle with an attendant. The father of Hl'.es, who is the sheriff of Lauderdale county, says he will prosecute every one and seek in dictment and send them to jail. DENTIST ATTACKED BY STUDENT. Unexpected Effect of Gas Administered to hull a Tooth. While under the influence of gas in a dentist s office in Washington, preparatory to havir.g a tooth extract ed, George W. Bowers, aged 28, jump ed from the chair, and violently at tacked Dr. R. B. Leonard, severely beating and knocking him dowm. The doctor reacheu icr a small hammer nearby, and used it freely on Bowers’ head, causing a compound fracture of the skull. During 'the struggle Bowers’ wife and a number of women patients were thrown into a panic and took flight. Bowers will recover. ACTOR RICHARD MANSFIELD DEAD. Best Known Theatrical Man in Americ a Succumbs to Liver Trouble. Richard Mansfield, the best known actor on the American stage, passed away Friday morning at his summer residence, Seven Oaks, Ocean avenue, New London, Conn. Death was directly due to disease of the liver, aggravated by complica tions and was not .entirely unexpected, ahheugh this fact had not been made public. vrhePui/o/r\ A SERMON “ ©Y" THE RE'/~ , [R4VW£pENDEßs°]'i x^%'!l^' Subject: The Church and Amuse ments. Brooklyn, N. Y.—Preaching at the Irving Square Presbyterian Church. Hamburg avenue and Weirfield street, on the above theme, the Rev. Ira Wemmell Henderson, pastor, took as his text 1 John 2:17, “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” He said: Happiness is a universal human longing. The search for it is a world wide human characteristic. The longing of living souls for that which ministers to the satisfaction of the noblest and most lasting of human needs and desires is natural. God created us to be happy. We were not men did we not search for joy. Je hovah meant us to live in the pos session and exercise of all that is peaceful and joyous and lovable. It would be strange if we did not seek to possess them. We are foolish if we do not use them. Not otherwise pleasure, or the sat isfaction of lesser human desires arid human needs, is a universal human craving. As we long for those things that are eternally and finally satis fying, so do we long for those things that are of immediate and of contem poraneous value. And this craving is natural. The desire is divinely granted. It is not strange that we want pleasure. But happiness and pleasure are not necessarily to be found in that (and w r e shall deliberately circumscribe the application of the word) which we call amusement. Happiness may be far from the heart that is amused. Many a soul that is seared and heavy with sorrow has been amused. But amusement brings such soul no abid ing joy and ministers no balm of solace to heal their wouqds. Pleas ure is not amusement. For a man may find much pleasure outside of that which in the common use and acceptation of the term is called amusement. Happiness is a matter, at the base, of subjective satisfac tion. Happiness is centrally a con cern of the soul. Pleasure may con serve happiness. But a man may be well pleased and yet not be happy. A man may be amused and find pleas ure in the amusement. man may be superlatively unhappy though his face may be forced to smiles through the power of amusement. For amusement is a diversion, a dissipation, an indication of inward discontent. Happiness indicates con tentment. The desire to be amused is very nearly always an indication of the incapacity of a man to achieve hapifiness: ,The church expresses happiness in the terms of eternity, of divinity, of conscience. The happiness of man is, in the mind of the Church of Jesus Christ and in the light of His truth, dependent upon its perdura bility, its divineness, upon the clarity of the conscience of the man who possesses it. In the conception of the church happiness is eternal, it is the gift of God and a force that propels man nearer to God; it can not be enjoyed except the conscience of men are void of the consciousness of their unworthiness before God. A man is not really happy unless his soul is satisfied in an eternal fashion, unless he has the joy and peace that are the gift of God unto those who love Him and who keep Elis command ments as his innermost possession, unless his mind and heart are certi fied of his personal acceptability be fore God. The church expresses righteous and worthy pleasure in the terms of the conservation of that which is eternal, the promotion of that which is divine, the satisfaction of duty. Any pleasure that does not augment happiness is unworthy. That is to say, that if our pleasures militate against our growth in that which is eternal and divine, if they dull our consciousness of the imperatives of the Almighty that are law and life to the human soul, they are unright eous. Now', the Church measures amuse ments by these same standards. She asks us what our amusements do to afford us a larger vision of the eter nities, to increase our certainty of the reality and of our self-possession of divinity, to draw us into correct relationships with God. By these standards we have a right to meas ure our amusements and by these judgments they must stand or fall. If they can meet these tests they may remain steadfast and they will. If they cannot be justified by them or squared to them they will fall and they ought to. For life is short. Time advances. Opportunities come and go. There is much to be done. We must do it. We have little time to waste. Our efforts must tend, be they little or momentous, to the en largement of humanity's comprehen sion of those things that are eternal and divine, if happiness lies in the achievement of these graces we have stipulated then we ought to be about the Master’s business. No country in the world needs the white light of publicity and philos ophy and of uncommon sense to glare upon its amusements more than America. For we are amusement crazy. Our catch-penny, tinseled, gaudy summer places of amusement are evidence of our amusement fever. Our theatres are jammed with peo ple who want not to be compelled to think or to be brought face to face with reproductions of real life in miniature. They go largely to be amused. Our amusements are almost wholly superficial. They minister to the needs of the mind that is mo mentarily surfeited, to the jaded spirit. They are strictly temporal. They are very nearly always inex pressibly cheap and tawdry when we sift them to the bottom. They are unrelated to duty. For they are primarily intended to aid us to forget duty. Of our multitude of amusements we shall consider four: the card table, the dance, the theatre, the racetrack. And they are taken for consideration, not because they are per se evil, but because they have become perverted, because they are the means of entertainment for the mighty majority of our population, because there is wide difference of opinion as to their morality and propriety in the hands of Christian men and women or of anybody else to-day and under present social con ditions It is scarcely necessary for me to say that a pack of cards in it*self is not evil. It is far from my purpose to insinuate that either the dance, the theatre or the race is, under proper and normal conditions, wick ed. They become so, however, when men control them. It is far from my intention to assert that these forms of amusement are incapable of proper use and that the host of moral, well-meaning Christian people who indulge in them are not perfectly sin cere. r have seen card games that, were harmless, and horse-races that were above reproach, and theatrical performances that, with a little ref ormation, could have been immacu late. and dances in which it was per fectly safe for young men and women to glide through the mazes of the waltz. But on the other hand, I am painfully conscious that I became disgusted with cards because of the profanity, the unbridled vulgarity, the total incapacity for self-control, the trickery, the dishonesty, of those who played the game. The question ableness of most of the performances upon the American stage make it necessary for even a grown man who possesses any remnants of self-re spect to secure a theatrical Baedeker before he attempts to go to see a show. I have seen so many pure, gentle, lovely girls (not in dance halls, hut at the dances of approved and conventioqal society of the best type) locked in the embraces of lech erous, villainous men whom they would not allow within a yard of them in the seclusion and privacy of their own parlors, that I have passed from wonder to disgust. Any one who has ever taken a good, honest, long look at the class of men who fre quent the racetracks of a metropoli tan district will be convinced, if he never was before, that the average of the devotees of the turf go to the track least of all to see the “ponies run.” If gambling was disallowed by law at the tracks half the racing as sociations of the country would go out of business. All these amusements are supplied in some measure by church people. All of them have been so perverted that they have become stumbling blocks to human souls. For they have led many a man over the brink of wretchedness into the depths of despair. And these men have not infrequently fallen into the meshes of iniquity because of the ostensibly harmless pastimes of Christian men and women. As an obsession it is paltry for me to say that they are wholly evil. For we are agreed that when they are al lowed to dominate a life they are of the devil. The question is, shall the Church sanction them or shall she ban them? Let us look them over one by one. When did a game of cards minister to the enlargement of our conscious ness of that which is divine and eter nal? Or when did it increase our sense of responsibility to the world or God? Or when did the theatre or the dance or the race? Seachingly, honestly! The truth is that the more we are aware of divinity and eternity, the more exalted our conception of the demands of conscience, the les3 we need these things and have time for them. We find our happiness else where; we secure our pleasure through unquestionable channels. We neither care nor need to be amused. When I know that amuse ments are stultifying the spiritual efficiency of the people of God, when I see the flagrant perversions of the amusements of the day that exist, then I am persuaded that the fathers were right to condemn these things with no uncertain sound. And I am further convinced that it is not only the duty of the Church to denounce them, but also to transform and purify them. I am certain that it i 3 our duty to divert the energies of the multitude from following their cheap amusements to the service of Almighty God. The Ideal is Attainable. It is ours to keep on trying to do God's will perfectly. Alone, we cer tainly never can. How far towards the golden goal He will sweep on oar consecrated endeavors we may never know. We cannot limit God. “Ail things are possible to him that be lieveth.” The ideal is no mirage, no tantalizing illusion, no fatuous “will-o’-the-wisp.” It is attainable; else it would not be an ideal at all. God’s Son once reached it. Some day He may permit other sons to ciimb the sunlit heights.—Herbert N. Be vier. We Shall Receive Strength. It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the re sponsibility of not doing it. We have abundant assurance that we shall re ceive all the strength we need to per form any duty God allots to us. —J R. Miller. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM ME NTS FOR SEPT. 8 BY THE REV. I. \V. HENDERSON. Subject: The Brazen Serpent, Num bers 21:1-0—Golden Text, John 3:14, I.l—Memory Verse, 9 Commentary. Doubting, trustless Israel is con founded. When the Canaanitish king hears that they are coming his way he sets forth against the Israelites and take 3 many of them prisoners. Having no faith in God Israel falls an easy victim to his prowess as a warrior. The calamity sends Israel back to God for consolation and for comfort. Misfortune is the dynamic that impels many a man and people Godward. A trial of her unaided and unenthused fighting ability displays Israel’s weakness to herself. Strength is found in communion with God. Israel prays. And petition brings power. Israel’s prayer is a confes sion and a dedication. It is a confes sion of human incapacity and of hu man reliance on God. It is a dedica tion of the divinely empowered mili tary energy of Israel to the service of God. All prayer ought to have these elements. And all true prater will effect results that are beneucial to humanity and well pleasing to God, lilpny a man who is battling with little success might do wonders for God if he ■would apply to God for strength. Self-reliance that discounts the power of God is egotism. Self reliance that comes from ihe con sciousness of God’s favor is glorious. The effectiveness of each is illus trated in some measure in the first four verses in the lesson for the day. The circumstances surrounding the raising of the brazen serpent are sug gestive. Thirty-eight years have passed since the ten spies advised against doing the will of God and obeying the call of Jehovah implicit ly. The years of wandering in the wilderness are nearly over. Another generation has grown to manhood. God has cared for them all the years in spite of their weakness and sin.* And yet Israel has not gained that spiritual consciousness that she should possess. The way, though short, becomes beset with difficulties. And the people, discouraged with the obstacles along the way, revile against God and against Moses. Moses had labored with them and for them for nearly forty years of desert wandering. God had fed .them. And yet they forgot all that. They cursed God. They cursed Moses. With Canaan just in Light they looked back through the long perspective of the years of sorrow that they had brought upon themselves, upon the leeks and the garlic and the flesh pots of Egypt. And, as always hap pens, leaving their faith in God they were assailed by worse terrors. The serpents wrought havoc among them. . The results of their sin brought them back to their senses and to a realization of the enormity of their sin. They prayed Moses for aid. And Moses prayed for them. God’s pa tience went out to them and the fiery serpent was given as a cure for their ills and a sign of the interest and the grace of God. The method of salvation from the serpents' bites was simple and ef ficient. It is worthy of rote. Out of the midst of their trouble Israel cried unto God and He heard them. And He afforded them a way of escape from their afflictions. As soon as they cried in sincerity and humble ness with a sense of their own sin, God answered them. His method of relief was simple. They had but to look upon the brazen serpent and they were delivered. But they had to look. The salvation became ef fective when they accepted it. That is to say, it became active when they looked. Not otherwise do we experience salvation in the Christian economy. Out of the depths of his gin and shame man calls upon God for aid. Christ holds Himself up as the gift of God to the age for the healing of the sins of the individual and of the nations. But the salvation does not become effective until the man looks and accepts. And it becomes ef fective then. The moment that a man takes Christ as the active truth of God in his life and renders himself subject to the control of God as Ho reveals Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and mediates His truth to men to-day through the person of the Holy Spirit, that moment the man is a saved man. His salvation begins there. Then he is born anew. He starts a new existence. He is a new creature. He matures in another sphere. We are bitten with sin that is more harmful than the bite of any serpent. For the sin that destroys us is the power that is able to confront God and to utterly confound unaided man. But even as the serpent of brass saved the men who were poisoned with the venom of the desert snakes so the crucified Christ saver, us from that body of the living death that men call sin. Israel always made a mistake when she forgot God or attempted to pro gress without him. And there is a les son there for us. Many men to-day, as we march toward better and diviner things, are prone to curse God and the better leaders of the time. Many a philosophy of social regeneration leaves God out of account entirely. Religion as an active force is mini mized. This is a mistake. The sur est foundation of success is that which is built upon the religious con sciousness of a people. If we pro ceed without God—that is to say, without a proper religious motive— we shall be bitten with the serpent.
