Newspaper Page Text
Banks County Gazette.
VOL I.—NO. 21.
Birds of a Feather Flock To
gether.
The following essay was read at
Berlin, September 19th, at the close
of Mr. J. E. Riteh’s school, by Miss
Mollie J. Anderson :
This old and oft repeated maxim
is true literally. The tiny snow birds
of winter, the musical black bird as
well as the crow and buzzard are sure
too often form large congregations..
Very many of the birds are of great
benefit to mankind as they are con
tinually destroying such insects and
worms as are destructive to the farm
ers’ crops. Others are noted for
their beautiful songs that delight the
ear with their -wonderful minstrelsy.
While the crow delights to destroy
our cornfields and buzzards revel on
carrion, so it is among the human
family. The low down and vicious
are sure to congregate. They are
never content except when together,
and that far bad and unlawful pur
poses. Sodom of old was an example
of such association, and in the days of
Christ Capernaum must have been
worse as the Savior said: “If the
mighty works which have been done
in thee, had been done in Sodom, it
would have remained until this day.”
I have heard that in cities there are
almost whole streets that are enhab
ited entirely by the bad and vicious.
Thieves drunkards and murderers
make boon companions. Bad in
fi iiem oes make bad people and no one
can grow better while living and
associating with only the depraved.
The filthy, unsightly carrion eating
comiorants band together, and so do
the warbling songsters of the beauti
ful groves. The good, the pure, the
virtuous also are fond of being togeth
er. They choose the pure atmos
phere of the broad and well paved
street?. They congregate and form
our Christian churches. They form as
sociations for the world’s intellectual
and religious training of the rising
generations. In the former associa
tion no good influences prevail, and
all grow worse ajad worse; pandemo
niimjt exists. In the latter good in
fluences and good examples and good
teethings make all better, and almost
a heaven on earth is the result. Our
object in life should be to do good
not evil all the days of our lives. Our
example should be only good. One
bad w r ord, one bad example, may be
the destruction of a fellow being.
There is a turning point in the life of
many persons, when a good word
may save or a bad one destroy. It is
right and expedient that we should
flock together for good, “for in union
there is strength.” So it might be said
that heaven is the result of our choice.
When the good have all flocked to
gether around the throne of God,
what a blessed consumation. But
when the wicked shall have run their
race on earth and have received the
condemnation, “Depart ye cursed
into everlasting fire prepared - for the
deli'il and his angels,” then birds of a
feather will have flocked together.
Do Your Best.
“When I was a little boy,” said a
gentleman one day to a friend with
whom he was talking, “I paid a visit
to my grandfather. He was an aged
man, and wore a black velvet cap,
and knee breeches with large silver
buckles at the knees. When I went
to say good-by to him he took me be
tween his knees, kissed me kindly,
and then laying his hand on my head
he said : ‘My dear boy, I have only
one thing to say to you; will you try
to remember it ?’ I looked him in
the face and said, ‘I will, grandpa.’
‘Well,’ said he, ‘it is this: Whatever
yon have to do, always do the best
you can.’ This was my grandfather’s
legacy to me. It w r as worth more
than thousands of gold and silver. I
never forgot his words, and have
always tried to act upon them.”—
Anonymous.
Cost.
Everybody is busy at work picking
cotton.
We spent Friday, September 19th,
very-pleasantly at Berlin. Mr. Hitch’s
school closed that day. When we
reached the school house all seemed
to he enjoying themselves “hugely.”
We are sory to learn that the school
had to close, on account of fonder
and cotton. They could not have an
exhibition, though they had a nice
time. The speeches and essays were
all good. Several prizes were award
ed. Misses M. J. Anderson, H. E.
Anderson, Dill and Alice Eng
lish, and Master Martin all re
ceived prizes. Miss H. E. Anderson
received two. The editor of the Ga
zette gave tho school an excellent
talk on religion and education. We
see he is in favor of the girls being
educated in preference to boys.
Sunday, September 21st, was a bad
day for campmeeting. There were
several knocked out of going on
account of the rain. Mr. J. A. Sheri
dan and family started and had to
turn back.
Mr. D. 11. P. Garrison has about
completed his gin house aud is ready
to go to ginning.
Piedmont.
Morbid contemplation and analysis
of self, to the exclusion of active duty,
and the willful ignorance of self which
carelessly inflicts harm and misery
upon others, are both products of an
ungenerous egotism. True benevo
lence and true humanity will take us
onto f ourselves to live for higher and
nobler things, and will equally bring
us back to consider ourselves when
that is necessary to purify our influ
ence and to make it a blessing to the
world.
Labor, not enjoyment, should be a
present thought with Christian peo
ple. It was delightful to the disciples
to behold the glory of the transfigu
ration, but they were sent hack to
work. Spiritual delight should stir
the Are of zeal and make us the mere
anxious to serve others.
Conspicuous dressing lias been one
of the <li*naWs *4 the ago: and if the
tailor made dress had not run into the
region of costliness, it would have
wrought wonders for women of all
grades. The perfectly dressed wo
men causes no one to turn the head
and glance at her, unless for her
charming ensemble: blit if by any
accident the glance is arrested and
fixed on her toilet, then it is seen to
he faultless. Only in the private
dephts of one’s boudoir, where none
but intimates have access, can- any
eccentricities of dress lie indulged,
and there one can cultivate the
picturesque at one’s own sweet will,
if it is really worth while to give the
subject so much attention. The
chief thing to remember is that a
style of dress becomes a part of'ono’s
own personality, of one’s individual
ism, and one would always prefer
that that should be pleasing. —Har-
per’s Bazar, .
The human heart is so formed that
its innermost depths can be opened
only from within. The best love,
human or divine, waits outside that
sacred inclosure, saying, “Behold,
I stand at the door and knock;” and
not until the heart’s door is open
from within can that love find admis
sion there. Nor can the heart’s door
be open from within to receive love,
except as it opens for the outgoing of
love. Friendship’s best gifts are
therefore kept inside the heart until
the heart’s door swings outward at
the pressure from within of friend
ship! that must find its way beyond
the heart. Then, and not till then,
the heart secures the full gain of be
ing loved, while having also the great
er gain of loving.
Time is the most valuable of things,
and punctuality is a virtue bordering
nigh on to a grace. An exhortation
to begin on time will fit many a neg
ligent, nonpiunctual preacher who
waits for the choir and waits for the
congregation, and then begins the
service with a slack hold, and the grip
is not tigheneu all the way through.
Be.punctual. Begin on time and
move choir and congregation up to
the point. God’s service, like time
and tide, should wait for no man.
HOMER, BANKS COUNTY, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER I, 1890.
Surplus Exhaustion and Other
Matters.
In answer to R. J. Dyar’s letter of
last week I must say that it would
have been good policy for Cleveland
to have purchased bonds, even at the
premiums demanded, as by hoarding
the surplus he produced such a con
traction of the currency that there
was not money enough in circulation
to move the crops, which accounts
for the low prices of grain aud cotton
during his administration. Cleveland
saw his mistake when almost too late,
and purchased on an average of $7,-
000,000 per month during the last
eighteen months of his term of office.
Most of the bonds that Cleveland
purchased, and those now being pur
chused fall due in 1907. Better to
pay them and stop the interest, and
get the money into circulation. There
was no other way then to stop the
contraction of the currency.
In answer to “O.B.” I must say
that I have been misrepresented. I
did not say that the surplus was ex
hausted. I simply quoted the often
repeated inquiries of those democrats
who never read hut one side. I did
not say: “One other administration
like the present will exhaust the
treasury,” I said “One more adminis
tration like the present and but little
will be left of the debt.” We are
continually hearing about contraction
of the currency, and to show that it
cannot be laid at the door of this ad
ministration, I will make a few quota
tions from the report of Secretary
Windorn on the 10th of this month:
On the Ist of September, 1889, the
amount of net cash, fractional silver
and national bank redemption fund
in the treasury was §141,000,000.
The amount of the same items Sepi.
10th, 1890 was $99,509,220 made up
as follows : Fractional coin, $22,000,
000, (not available), in national de
positions §25,000,000 now in circula
tion. These two items amounting to
deducted frdfh ft?
$99,000,000 leaves about $52,000,000,
which represents the present availa
ble cash in the treasury, or the sur
plus. Secretary Windom is now pre
paying the interest on the bonds and
purchasing $16,000,000 of them in
order to throw enovgh money into
circulation to move the crops and
relieve the stringency.
As regards the “Butt cut of repub
licanism in Banks” becoming a demo
crat, I will answer the often pro
pounded question: “What is the
difference between the democratic
and republican parties?” “What
difference does it makes, only that
one has the offices and the other
wants them?” To satisfy 0.8. on
that score I have one slight observa
tion to make; one slight difference to
suggest, and that is, that upon every
issue, upon every question affecting
the honor, the welfare, the prosperity
and the existence of this nation for
the last thirty years, the republican
party has always been right and the
democratic party lias always been
wrong, and it is just exactly as wrong
to day as it was in 18G1 or any time
since. Slavery, secession, state sov
erignty, reconstruction, the public
credit, the resumption of specie pay
ments, the coinage of silver, protec
tion to American labor and the tariff
for the protection of American indus
tries; upon every one of these ques
tions, from the beginning down to
the present time, the republican party
has always been right, and the demo
cratic party has always been wrong,
and I believe will continue to bo
wrong forever and ever.
As an eminent statesman has recent
ly said: “The democratic party is the
political dumping ground of the
politics of the nineteenth century.
Every excluded heresy, every aban
doned heresy, every thing that the
nation has got done with and tired
of, and has cast away to be trodden
under the foot of man is the heritage
of the democratic party.”
In many localities it is the aggre
gation of the imbecility and the dis
loyalty of this country, it being
strongest where public morality is
weakest, increasing all the dangers
and destructive agencies of society
and having neither conscience nor
courage of convictions. It is the never
ending menace to the prosperity and
the honor of the American people.
So, in the language of another I
answer: “Politically, I think the
worst republican that ever lived is
better by far than the best democrat
that ever lived.” I don’t want to
join the democrats.
Thomas Hayden.
When perplexed as to duty, bowed
down as to any of life’s sorrows, re
bellious as to disappointed hopes, de
feated purposes, irremediable losses,
or thwarted desires—may the image
of the great Burden-beurer in Gethse
mane rise before the mind, strengthen
and quiet the heart. If thorns in the
flesh are not extracted,grace sufficient
will be granted so to endure as that
larger blessing shall accrue to the
sufferer and greater glory .to him.
The formation of the Christ image,
th n, demands in us a willing denial
of will. By the example and grace
of Christ we will say in the dark and
cloudy day or in tho clear shining,
“Not as I will, but as thou wilt.”—
Rev. William M. Campbell.
Why should we insist on bearing
our own cares when God is ready to
bear them for us ? Why do we mag
nify them, and multiply them, and
brood over them, as if in so doing we
could relieve ourselves or make them
fewer and lighter? Let us go with
(hem at once to Him, knowing that it
is as self-righteous to keep our cares
as our sins from him. Let us go to
him with thanksgiving as well as
prayer. O, how thanksgiving lightens
all burdens and scatters all shadows.
How quickly care leaves us when we
rebuke it with “Bless the Lord, O my
soul ! ’—H. Bonar.
Unless your religion changes you
from a mummy to a man, makes you
kiwfajk in business, pious- beMM
counters, temperate at dinner tables,
loyal to your country, affectionate to
to your family 7 , neighborly in your
community, conscientious at the
ballot box, patient in affliction, hum
ble, cheerful, and hopeful everywhere
and always; unless it links you in
brotherhood with the poorest of God’s
children; unless it leads yon on er
rands of mercy to hovels arid hospitals
and prisons, as well as to cushioned
pews and sacramental boards; unless
you live Christ on week days as well
as worship him on Sabbath days, then
is your religion spurious, hypocritical
and abhorrent—a refuge of lies.—Dr.
Alexander Clark.
“I was glad when they said unto
me, Let us go into the house of the
Lord.” This was the Psalmist’s ea
gerness to appear before God. God’s
house, God’s service, God’s word,
God’s people have a strong and a glad
attraction for the saintly soul. The
godly soul longeth, yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the Lord. Absence
from God’s house is a sore privation
to a child of God. Voluntary ab
sence from God’s house is a sin un
know to the true and devout Chris
tian. Backsliders and formalists only
are guilty 7 of it.
We want one man to he always
thinking, and another to be always
working, and w r e call one a gentleman
and the other an operator; whereas
the workman ought often to be think
ing and the thinker often to be work
ing, and both should be gentleman
in the best sense. The mass of so
ciety is made up of morbid thinkers
and miserable workers. It is only
by labor that thought can be made
healthy, and only by thought that
labor can be made happy, and the two
cannot l>e separated with impunity.
—Raskin.
The best thing to give your enemy
is forgiveness; to an opponent, toler
ance; to a friend, your heart; to
your child, a good example; to a fa
ther, deference; to your mother, con
duct that will make her proud of you;
to yourself, respect; to all men, char
ily-
The New Testament term propecy
is difficult to define, because the term
has outlived the fact. It is not
preaching as it is often, but wrongly,
defined. Mr Fletcher says it means
to magnify God with the new heart
of love and the new tongue of praise,
as they did on the day of pentecost
when filled with the Holy Ghost.
He insisted that believers are now
called on to prove the same baptismal
fiire. We think this is clear. Proph
esying is the spontaneous and pow
erful utterances of praise, rapture,
and exortation, when filled with the
Holy Ghost.
Some of the St. Louis people are
agitating the question of furnishing
free books to all school-children.
Why not furnish to the school-chil
dren free shoes, free hats, free coats,
free dresses, stockings, etc.? Chil
dren would do quite as well in schools
without books as without clothes. If
St. Louis is goihg to be liberal, why
not do the liberal thing all around ?
A Williamsport girl, rvho in the
matter of beauty and eft'ectionate ex
uberance was not to say “fresh as
first love and rosy as the dawn,” was
asked why she did not get married,
and this is what she said in reply:
“I have considerable money of my
own, I have a parrot that can swear
and a monkey that chews tobacca, so
that 1 have no need of a husband.”
We are glad to believe that many
of our public men are men of the
highest character-truthful, honest,
and pure. They dignify the bosi
tions that they hold, and are worthy
of all the honor that can he paid them.
But there are many others of whom
these things cannot he said—drunk
ards, profane swearers, blackguards,
and debauchees. No eminence of
official position can make offenders of
this sort respectable or even hearable.
We are reminded nowadays of Ly
man Beecher’s prayer: “God help
us not to despise our rulers, and God
help them not to be such men that
we cannot help despising them.”
Cheerfulness is a medium betwixt
levity and gloominess. It is compat
ible with seriousness; and its purest
and most permanent source is a hum
ble consideration of the many favors
and blessings which w r e enjoy from
the Divine hand. An inward cheer
fulness is an implicit praise and
thanksgiving to Providence under all
his dispensations.
The preacher should not regard
himself as a mere drill-master in mi
nor morals. While he must, of
course, give the people formal in
struction in all matters of righteous
living, he must at the same time re
member that it is his chief business
to quicken their consciences by the
presentation and enforcement of the
highest spiritual truths. If he for
gets this fact, there is grave danger
that he will degenerate into a scold,
and loose his influence as a public
teacher. To draw the line at the
right place is not an easy task; but
the wise preacher will diligently seek
to do it. .
There are many seasons in a man’s
life, and the more exalted and re
sponsible his station the more fre
quently do those seasons recur, when
the voice of duty and the dictates of
feeling are opposed to each other;
and it is only the w T eak and tho wick
ed who yield that obedience to the
selfish impulses of the heart, which
is due to reason and honor.
For their own sake children should
be taught that their happiness de
pends upon their being of service to
other people. No greater wrong can
bo done to a child than to bring it up
with the notion that it is the creditor
rather than the debtor of the world.
The end of such training is disap
pointed hopes, a sour temper, and a
malignant heart.
Five minutes, in the pew, before
the service begins, spent in prayer
and meditation, are invaluable as a
preparation for the worship of God.
SINGLE COPY THREE CENTS.
Tlie Preacher’s Task.
With the preacher every Sabbath
brings a crisis which makes a heavy
draft on his nervous force. During
the entire week his mind is working
up to tlie supreme moment when the
deliver}' of his sermon begins. A
few great men have lived who could
preach great sermons without spend
ing much time in preparation. Mr,
Spurgeon spends the week about
other caies, and prepares sermons of
great beauty and force on Saturday
evening and Sunday afternoon, aud
preaches them to eight or ten thou
sand people with rare unction aud
effect. Henry Ward Beecher was
accustomed to a similar plan of work.
But ordinary, and even extraordinary,
preachers find it necessary to keep
the mind working almost every day
of the week on the message they pro
pose to deli ver on Sabbath. When
the day arrives the nerves are wrought
up to a high tention, tlie energies of
thought and feeling accumulated
during six days of meditation are
jgoured out in two discourses, and
when they are over relaxation must
needs follow.—New- York Christian
Advocate.
The Jnliei-itance of Believers.
Notice how many good things they
have who believe in Jesus: They
have everlasting life. Tlie light of
life. Hope toward God. A con
science void of offense. Peace with
God. Access into this grace wherein
they stand. Fruit unto holiness.
The first fruits of the spirit. The
Holy Ghost within them. A build
ing of God, a house not made with
hands. All sufficiency in all things,
God’s promises, exceading great and
precious. Redemption through Christ.
Access by one spirit unto the Father.
A desire to depart aud be with
Christ, which is far better than to
stay here. They have tho same love.
The promise of the life that now is,
and also of that to come. A great
High-priest that has passed into the
heavens. Hope as an anchor of the
soul. A strong consolation. Bold
nes to enter into tee holiest. Fellow
ship with Jesus. An advocate with
the Father. Boldness in the day of
j udgment.—Methodist Protestant.
There is a great deal more defense
of doctrine, attack of science, cham
pioning of faith going on from press
and pulpit than the situation demands.
The Bible is in no danger, truth is
not menaced, religion is not attacted
every time some startling theory is
advanced by so-called or real scien
tists; much less is Christianity threat
ened when fresh wind-puffs of per
sonal opinion flare the petty rush
lights of religious prejudice. It is
pitiful weakness to rush out the big
guns of the Church and pour broad
sides when a freebooting shallop fires
a culverin against the towering bul
warks of Christian faith. But some
of our overzealous sentinels beat to
arms and sound the tocsin at every
puerile alarm on the frontiers of faith.
This serious gunning for vermin, tins
sober stalking of small game in the
name, of tho Chnrch’i defense, is
about as gallant and as helpful ns it
would be to resist a ehigre with a
Bowie-knife, or pursue a mosquito’
with a double-harreled shot-gun.—
Southern Christian Advocate.
Life’s harmony must have its dis
cords; but, as in music pathos is tem
pered into pleasure by the pervading
spirit of beauty, so are all life’s sounds
tempered by love.
Labor, not enjoyment, should be a
present thought with Christian people.
It was delightful to the disciples to
behold the glory of the transfigura
tion, but they were sent back to work.
Spiritual delight should stir the fire
of zeal and make us the more anxious
to serve others.
Good temper, like a sunny day,
sheds a brightness over every thing.
It is the sweetest of toil, and the
soother of disquietude.
Tins Banks County Gazette ia
the official an of Banks county.
