Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Banks County Gazette, VOL I.—NO. 52. What Side Will The Clergy Take? The forces are now being marshaled for the greatest battle ever fought upon this continent. A battle, how ever, not to be fought with bullets, but with the ballots of the patriotic, liberty-loving citizens of the United States. On one side will be arrayed all the plutocracy of the nation with its vast horde of parasites and cring ing slaves, all who how the knee to the golden image set up by the money kings in Wall street. On the other hand will stand the patriotic farmers and working men of the great American Republic united in one grand invincible phal anx, contending for the inalienable rights of man. The contest has al ready begun. The tongues and pens of millions of freemen, who have been awakened to a sense of their danger, are daily pleading for equal rights to all. Wall street working through a subsidized press and mercenary poli ticians, is making a desperate effort to crush out this grand movement of the industrial classes, that the work of spoliation and robbery may con tinue till the 3,100 persons who now own three-fifths of the nation’s wealth may gobble up the remainder. As every intelligent citizen must sooner or later take one side or the other in this contest, a very important question is which side will the clergy take ? Will they, like the Master, sympa thize with the common people, or with the plutocracy ? Will they ad vocate the cause of tho weak, the downtrodden, and the oppressed; or those who “have kept hack the hire of the laborers” and “laid up_ their treasurers in the last days ?” Occa sionally we see flings at the Fanners Alliance, made by preachers in re ligiotis Journals. Some good brother says, ‘“Well, that is a small matter.” Very well; it may he a small matter, originating in a small brain or narrow heart, hut straws show which W’ay the wind blows. When “for gold the parson preaches tru h, “for gold he will frequently do something else; for gold or some other cause he will sometimes step out of tha narrow way to misrepresent the farmers to whom, by God’s grace, he owes his living. Here is a sample: “Farmers demand special legislation, so the government can loan the money for a song, and enable them to hold their products for higher prices.” Is this true? Have tho farmers ever asked the government to loan them money for a song, liter, lly or figuratively? If the farmers deposit wheat, corn or cotton with the goverment, and bor- row less money on it than it will bring on the market, do they get it for a song? Is wheat, corn cotton only a song? Has not each an in trinsic value? If the worthy divine were hungry and naked would he not soon conclude that the simple pro ducts of the farm have greater in trinsic value than even gold itself? Is it not a patent fact that Congress by one iniquitous act lifted $484,- 141,180 out of the pockets of the peo pie anr! put them into the pockets of the bondholders? Was not this special or class legislation ? Why is it, then, that the tongues of many preachers cleaves! to the roofs of their mouths while this and many such like things were done, but as soon as the fanners ask only what is just and equitable their tongues are loosed and they become eloquent over the evils of class legislation? Again, it is well known that in 1884 Congress passed a bill loaning *l,- 000,000 to the World’s Industrial and Cotton Fxposition, and as far as is known to the writer no clergyman entered his protest against it; but the, idea of loaning money to the poor farmers, even on the best of security, is in intolerable to some that wear the surplice, as well as to the bankers and krokers. When, Jesus dwelt on earth the i humble, suffering poor were the special objects*of his love, and those preachers who do not follow Christ are doing more to promote the cause !of infidelity than the cause of Christ, j So long as they respect men’s person ■ and money instead of their character, so long honest-minded sinners will fail to appreciate or heed their teach ing. When men see magnificent tem ples built for the worship of God from which the humble poor are virtually excluded; when they see the preacher worshiping the million aire more than the lowly Redeemer; when they see the immoral holding high positions in the church because they are rich; when they see all this and much more of the same kind, with loathing they will turn away and say, in truth, this religion is all a splendid farce, for Jesus is not there. Reader, would you have an answer ito the question, Which side will the clergy take? Here it is: Many who are trying to follow Christ will he found on the Lord’s side, and some who arc vainly trying to serve God and gold will sooner or later be found on the other side. The I.ord’s side is the side of the oppressed; the other side is the side of the- oppressor.— T. J. Stone. Gillsville. Every body in this community seems cheerful, and are as happy as June bugs. Their wings shine just as bright, and oh, how some of them do “flop” when a little cloud sails up! The farmers have certainly made use of the recent fair weather, and some of them are very near finished planting. ■ Mr. J. N. Garrison, one of our thriftiest and most energetic farmers, has finished planting. He is ahead this season. Mr. ],. B. Carter has the finest oat crop of any one in this section. Sunday the 2fith of April was a very bright, sunny day, and a large crowd gathered at Midway church and listened to mi excellent sermon. I)r. Bryant, of Maysville Ins locat ed at Gillsville. The pupils of the academy gave the Doctor a hearty welcome, especially the young lady pupils. M iss Annie Eborbart, of Gaines ville, is visiting her sister, Mrs. Dr. Welehcl, this place. Miss Annie is a sweet girl. Our school commissioner, Mr. J. D Gunnels, hag at lust made his ap pearance at Gillsville. He his visit ing all the schools of Banks. We hope he will be so well pleased with the schools tha lie will visit them again. The school at this place is still in a thriving condition, though some of the girls have dropped out for a while, taking a resting spell, among these are Misses Maggie Chandler and Hat tie Mulikin. The appearance of our little town is greatly improved by some painting. The cold weather kill most of the peaches, but the other fruit tr. es are full of fruit. News is scarce. We appreciate The Gazette ever so much. Broad Brim. Live Your Text. Among all writers, so long as the world began, there have been those who have earned greater laurels than others, and whose works live long after the pen t at wrote them is' idle, and the hand that wielded it, dust and ashes. But the works that live longest, whether of written text or chiseled in innrblef or yet again set by the painter’s brush, are those whose tale is the more life-like, and whose story is tlfe more often seen and easiest comprehended It is never told so well as when the writer, the sculptor, or the artist feel its throbs of passion. Ah, he must feel ere lie can make the plain pages of a book talk, or the colder marble speak, or the canvas reveal. The best preachers we have—not always the most eloquent, perhaps, ■but those whose sermons tell with the greatest force, and whose lives are living examples —are those who have lived the text they offer long ere the ears and hearts of the multitude receive it. It gains fire and force from conscious striving; wherein is HOMER, BANKS COUNTY, GEORGI A, WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 1891. written, “I know whereof I speak.” A child once, seeing her pastor carry the best of his own dinner to a poor woman who was sick, said, with some astonishment: “Why, he lives what he says, mamma,” —a sad satire upon those who do not. Teacher, Sabbath after Sabbath appearing before your class, armed with patience, as full of the lesson as you have been able to acquire, are you yet in a condition to teach? Has its text been the key note of your own better living during the week? If so, with the soul-life you will put into it there will he little danger but what you will gain the keen attention and the heart of your hearers. They will know by the way you present it, by the interest you show, by the effect of it shining from your face, heard in the tones of your voice, that you are yourself living in the midst of it. With such a teacher hardly a class hut will, sooner or later, follow in the teacher’s footsteps—for your self is lacing ever reflected in some or all of your class. They note your weekday manner, and will draw’ sharp comparison between that and the Sabbath teaching. Would that both might always agree. Ye that stand in the place of leader at the weekly prayer meeting or lift up your voice in prayers for the people—does your own life at home and abroad agree? If not, let them he humble, indeed, *nd your speech of the most sincere, until such time as the divine favor of God, unmerited, and which we call grace, lighten and soften your being into a more fitting speech anti prayer. Ye who write the thoughts you cannot altei, and whose accents are redolent with grace and beauty, charming those who read with a de sire to know and appreciate the author of so much that is rich and worthy—see to it that the pen be dipped, not so much in the old ink well and its dusky fluid, as in your heart's blood, out of which come good or evil, according to its kind. We have no right to stand before men save sincerely, honestly, uprightly, with ourselves somewhat in keeping with the words we write,the thoughts we utter, the things we do. If you would advocate generosity, give of your means—not gingerly, hut gen erously, self-denyin ly, and where you tread many will follow—but you must go before. If you would in spire missionary zeal, don’t be afraid to turn missionary yourself, and come down from your high stool of com mandery from whence you have been wont to dispense precept and maxim, and*toueh with the hand of your own love til at hand of the lowly, and the very sinful even, for it is here that the lesson begins. Ay, the text without life is but a dead truth, falling short of its mis sion, however eloquent the words or graceful the manner in which it is presented. The look in the eye of the speaker, the fire and force of the words as they follow each other, re gardless of the exact form in which they should have corno, sue so many evidences of the soul growth that, out of its own struggle and victory, would wfn the heart of its neighbor. No cheap imitation there, hut the ringing true metal of moral growth. What would you do, then, to win the hearts of the people to the thing you present, the truth you utter, the text you preach? Live it in your own life, over and over again, until its meaning is given unconsciously in word and look and love, and action, tco, as never the finest oratory could give or the most graceful command. It is yours, and therefore.you can give, it the more truly.—Christian at Work. A Conspiracy Against tlie Alli ance. The bitter and vindictive war against the Farmers Alliance is not confined to Georgia, or even the United States, but the moneyed pow ers of the world are now arrayed against us. Capital has combined to crush this young and powerful organi zation, the doadliest enemy to con centrated wealth. The money centers of Europe have conspired with t'e speculators and monopolists of this country to wreck the Alliance, by bringing about a financial stringency and unnatural condition of affairs, all of which would be charged up against tile Alliance. The low price of cot ton and other troubles is nothing but this war of the money power against our organization. But so far from discouraging the farmers in their efforts for relief, it should only cement them the more tightly and strengthen their determination. Let us elect to office men who will lessen the .burdens of the struggling masses, and by creating a currency that can be controlled by the people, rid us of the tyranny of European capital. Before the next general election you will see every scheme that brains can conjure set in motion to discourage lire fanners and disrupt the Alliance. In order to cru-h our organization these money kings and protected manufacturers would bring upon the country not only’ financial ruin, but a famine if they could. The farmers may expect every trouble that over takes the country to he charged up against the Alliance; but, in fact, the organization lias nothing whatever to do with such matters. It is a deep laid conspiracy tcfcfdestroy confidence in the flatly possible measure of relief that stands between the’thiling masses and the oppressors.—Southern Alii Alice Farmer. Man, coining in contact with man, for the betterment*of the race, always results in loss as well us gain. The benefactor must lose, if the beneficia ry should gain. As supply and de mand ape the only legitimate laws of commerce and power and speed the only true factors in forceful motion, the loss of merit and the gain of Vie merit are the fundamental rules of moral economics. But understand, that we speak only of the contact of man with* man. With Jesus, as the Son of God, tliis was not so.—Kev R. T. Bentlv. No onp will be able' to find any work adapted to himself who cannot in a large measure adapt himself to his work. Persons who waith to find something that “just suits’’ them before they go earnestly to work are never likely to be just suited to any form of useful emyloyment. It is the forcing of one’s self into the general outline of any mould which God lias ordered for him, that develops in one that quality of metal that is necessary for his life-uses. The great pianist composer, Liszt, s lid of the eminent violinist, Wilhelrnj, that he was “so thoroughly adapted to the violin that were the instrument not at hand we should have to invent it for him.” Not in any degree could or would the violinist altar the shape of the instrument to suit his seeming phys ical needs while lie was a learner, and yet the adaptability of the mas ter is so great that he seems to be the mold into which his instrument is cast, rather than that the instru ment is the mold into which he has been cast. Has God put an instru ment into your hands? Make your self superior to it by making it seem to have been made to suit you, rather than you suit it. In so ne parts of Scotland there was formerly much oppossition to the culture of the science of music. On one occasion two ministers of neigh ing churches exchanged pulpits. One of the churches had a fine choir and excellent congregational singing, hut the other utterly disregarded such creditab’.e work. As the minister of the one fond of musical culture was going to take dinner with an elder of the other church, he remarked to him that he was surprised that they had such poor singing in their services; he could not see how such perform ances could be pleasing to the Al mighty. The elder, not liking the criticism, replied: “O, we do not sing to please God.” “Indeed,” said the minister, “pray, then, what do you sing for?” The elder, being of a hu morous turn of mind, made the ridiculous, not to say blasphemous response: “We sing to frighten the devil” which the minister made the reply: “Well, brother, I caa as sure you, you are in a very likely way to succeed.—Musical Messenger. Let The Church Goto Work. The church is a power for good or evil in the land. So long as it teaches real, genuine religion, as taught by our Savior, it is entitled to, and should have the support and encour agement of all good citizens. But it cannot be denied that there is more todayism to wealth and aristocracy in the church of to-day than is con sistent with the teachings of the Man of Galilee. As in the days preceed ing the Christian era, there is greater stress laid r n the forms of religion than the spirit of Christianity. Men go to church on Sunday and pray that t (is earth “may be as the king doti uf heaven” and put in the bal ance of the week making it as near like hell as possible for a very large majority of people. True Christian ity is charitable in its speech. Imag ine Mary or Martha making use of the expression “Shoo: them down like dogs—mad dogs.” Beal Chris tianity does not sit surrounded b\ millions of wealth while thousands arc starving for the common neces sities of life. Imagine Simeon, Paul or Peter sitting on a Richly uphol stered chair, at a tabic inlaid with pearl, surrounded by all the luxuries of wealth, counting, with a gold tipped pencil the interest on bonds or railroad stocks, or an income on rents from tenement houses that breed disease and death, and crime misery, while the cries of distress from their tenants commingled with the music of a magnificent upright piano which decorated their parlor. A Chris tianity whieTt iefiyhjes that poverty for the many is a hat-ural condition and should of drawing them a lie. A Chris tianity that negleotslo look after the temporal as well as the spiritual wel fare is not worthy of the often do we hear a Her man preactrod against the curse of usury? How often do ministers of the Gospel raise their voice against tie infamous and vicious system of class laws which enrich the strong and impoverish the weak? Let the voice of the church be raised against these evils. The Reformer suggests that its readers take this matter up and press it upon their ministers to preach against the existing evils. As a starter wc suggest as a lesson Ne hemiah V, 1 to 11 verses, with the latter part of the 10th verse, “I pray you let us leave off this usury,” as a text. The Reformer will front time to time persent other lessons and texts as subjects bearing upon the existing evils. Now let the church go to work and perform its part in tho great work of reform.—National Reformer. In these days when total abstinence is becoming more popular, there is a renewed effort to introduce alcoholics into cookery. If you put the devil out of the door, he flies in at the window; and if you put him out of window, lie dances down the chim ney and sets his blue lights timing on the cook-stove. Caterers consider many of, their most delicate dishes incomplete without the smack of alco holics; they hide this devil in solution in their sherbet, in their pudding sauce, in their cakes, their pies. Let temperance people be on the lookout at restaurants, hotels, and s--calle<l high-toned dinner-tables.—Union Sig nal. A traveler, on leaving the dinner talrle at the hotel, was sorry to leave any thing behind; he therefore slyly appropriated a chicken and put it in his pocket. The waiter in attendance noticed the proceedings, hut said nothing. He took the gravy tureen and deftly emptied the contents into the traveler’s pocket. The latter, feeling a strange warmth, turned round and said: “What are you doing, waiter?” “Sir, you forgot the gravy; they both go together,” was the reply. A little girl, in order to prove that it was wrong to cut off the tails of horses and dogs, quoted the scriptural injunction: “What God lias joined together let not man put asunder. SINGLE COI’Y THREE CENTS, A Sore Evil Under The Sun. There are cities in several Western Stales containing hundreds of retired farmers. These absentee landlords take little interest in sustaining schools of a or in keep ing up good roads* in the townships where their lands lie. They do not even keep up improvements an their farms, as a rule, much less undertake new ones. They erect no substan tial buildings, plant no orchards, set out no ornamental trees and shrubs. On the other hand, the tenants, having no interest in the improve ment of land rented form year to year, simply get out of it what they can. Thus is forming a distinct peasant class, such as is found on tne conti nent of Europe. There are entire in Illinois and Wisconsin in which, outside of the large towns, the English language is scarcely eyer heard. Church servicestand school instruction are ’Y* ven in foreign tongues. The mental development of the people is on a par with that ot peasants in Central Europe, or with the lowest class of laborers in our large citiiv. The townships liabit seem like detached portions, of** Bavaria or Bohemia.—The Watch man. A decided sensation has been caused in Jerusalem by the introduc tion of electric light into anew and flourishing flour rn 11 just started there. The building in which the light has been introduced is near to the supposed site of Cavalry and close to the Damascus gate. It need hardly he said that the Arabs and Jews arc much puzzled to account for a light in a lamp in which there :s no oil, and up to the present lime, whilegaxing with wonder, have been keeping at a respectful distance. We all have our secrets which are not the common property of tho curi-* oils and careless throng. We all have" our personal traits, impulses, charac teristics, which those who merely meet us on the street, or in the mar ket place, never know. *We all re serve pur wea th of most ardent affection for those whom our hearts have enshrined in-a closer nearness than the rabble. We don’t trust our secrets, our inner selves, or our in tensest affections —unsought, unask ed —upon the world. We do not cast our pearls before swine. It is so with God.—Rev. M. 11. Moore. “There is,” says Bishop Stecre, in one of his published sermons, “a lan guage that all can understand, Shat is to all most convincing, that has made more converts than any other. A loving, devout, self-sacrificing spirit, shining through the life, goes home to the hearts of all, and they cannot refuse to listen.” The Canada Presbyteriart says: “In one of Ids charming letters to the British Weekly, on religious life in Scotland, Rev. W. J. Dawson says: ‘ The stream of religious life does not babble as it flows, but it runs deep and constant.’ The trouble with some types of religious life on this side of the Atlantic is that there is more babble than flow.” The Freeman, London, says words true enough to be graven in gold: “If a minister of Jesus Christ spends some time each day in communion with God, in meditation on his work, in reading for spiritual help his Bible, he is certain, as the week goes on, to have a message from God for his fellow-men. And if he delivers that for their good, not for hits own glory, they will come and hear.” The word “habit” is one of the most, peculiar iu our language. If you take off the first letter .you still have “a bit.” If you remove the second the word “bit” is' stiff* .on hand. Decapitate that bjf removing the “b,” and it is still a word. Take off the “i,” ffnd *you find tha old “habit”, not “t”. totally destroyed.— St. Louis, Republic. * . ' *.