Newspaper Page Text
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS.
oATUIWAY. SEPTEMBER B, 1907.
H
A FRIEND TO PUBLICANS AND SINNERS
By REV. RICHARD GRME FLINN,
PASTOR NORTH AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Did you read the story In The Geor
gian last Saturday evening entitled
“How Does It Keel to be Down and Out
In Life?” Well, we did, and it cut us
to the heart. It was a story dictated by
a man on a hospital cot, who had at
tempted three times to end it all by
suicide. There was no complaint in
the story, no bitterness, but there was
a profound sadness, a deep discontent
with himself,- and a hopelessness ns
black ns a midnight sky when wild
tempests drive away the stars. He
say®, "I em responsible for my present
condition/’ • * * “A man Is re
sponsible for all the suffering ho has to
bear; trouble ma> / come upon him
through no fault of his own, but suffer-
ing—the kind that makes a man want
to die, the kind that la too hard to bear
he must blame‘himself for. Suffer
ing has caused my desire for death. No
one knows how I have suffered. Many
time® I have prayed to God to let me
die. I do not want to cumber the earth
filling the place some better man might
occupy.” And then ho tells us of his
disgrace, his sickness, the emptiness of
life, the despair of anything better
farther on and the absence of any stim
ulating sympathy, and here his word®
cut deepest, for ho said. “I did not be
lieve anyone cared at all for me.” And,
my friends, the pain this story gave us
w&i not due alone to the genuine hu
man sympathy we felf for a man whose
heart was so full of deppair, but most
of all we were touched by a sense of
*hame that there could be in this Chris,
tian city even one man in such an hour
of need who did not know Jesus Christ
who Is the "friend of publicans and
sinner®." When our Master was on
earth there was^io doubt of His friend
ship for the lost. It is remarkable
how He Impressed both friend and foe
with this fact; that Ho was the friend
of i>ubl leans and of sinners. Why, the
Pharisees, HI® bitterest enemies, sought
to disgrace Him by this charge. They
said, "He is the friend of publicans;"
that 1®, those who are socially non
grata personae, whose business puts
them out of the pale of good society.
Yes, He Is even the friend of sinners,
an associate of those whom decent peo.
pie avoid with acorn and contempt. But
this charge of His enemies did not
abash Him, as Luke tells us in 7:34. He
accepts the same as true, and not only
declares explicitly Himself that it is so
and that He came not seeking the
righteous, but the sinner, but He proved,
by all of His actions that indeed He was
the friend of sinners.
Whatever the sinner and the outcast
may think of Christ today, none of
those who came near Him when He
was in the flesh doubted for a moment
that Ho was their friend.
In the melancholy confession of this
man, who is go severe In his self-cen
sure and so lacking in any acrimonious
charge against others, Is there not, all
unconscious to him, a solemn arraign
ment against us who claim to bo
Christ’s disciples, and yet who, as such,
somehow failed to make this one feel
that there was one who did care, who
Is the friend to sinners? You and I,
who profess to bo His followers today,
ai*e the only means Christ has of Illus
trating to the world what He Is and
what He stands for, and as His friends
He Is counting on us not to misrepre
sent Him. Christ loves those who are
sinners, and He declares that He Is
near to those of a contrite spirit and of
a broken heart, and yet, my brethren,
]i“n- in mir very midst, \v;m a man who.
despite our < Inin lies ami institutions
and the thousands of Christians of this
city, thought that no tone cared, and,
because he did not recognize the fact
that no matter how far astray he
might have gone, Christ still loved him,
sought to throw his life away as worth
less Instead of yielding it up to God
for service.
li it Fair?
I want to ask, Was it fair to the
Master? And I want to ask. Was it fair
to the man? Whatever may be our
boast today, I am very sure that we will
not please our Lord unless wo keep
very clearly impressed upon the world
the fact that He was so careful to im
press, namely, that He is a friend of
the publican and the sinner. We may
rejoice In our splendid church archi
tecture, our fine appointments, our
music, our theology, our polity, our
religious leadership,, or whatever else
we please, but unless with ail .these
things and in all these Jhlngs and
through all these things we still make
clear to the publican and to the sinner
ttiat we care for them and desire to
befriend them/ and that Christ loves
them and is able to save them, all these
other things in which we may rejoice
are an abomination unto God. If our
churches become too fine for the poor
est to be comfortable In them, or If our
services become too stately to be inter
rupted in order that the cry of the
penitent may be heard, or If our eccle
siastical affairs are so engaging ns
that we can not find time to be practi
cal in our kindness as He was “to the
unthankful and to the evil," then we
are radically wrong, and have drifted
far aflcld from Christ, who was the
friend of the publican and the sinner.
A Frank Admission.
We may as well be frank with our
selves. We must admit' that the world
today Is not os much Impressed through
us with the fact that Christ loves the
publican and the sinner ns It was when j
He Himself was here in person, espe- I
citdiy the publican and .the sinner ore
not thus Impressed. Sinners do not|
floek to the churches os they did to
Him, nor do our enemies charge us
with being too much concerned with
those that are suffering the disgrace
and shame of moral shipwreck. In
stead, they charge us with ministering
to the decent rather than to the evil,
•'»n«l miy tliar our rhmvhes an* filled
with the respectable rather than with
the outcast. As the slimy tides of sin
invade the down-town districts, the
churches move up town, they say,
where the better people live, and the
slums are left to themselves. It is
charged again that those who have
been sinners—that Is outrageous sin
ners—are not desired by the church
for membership. Indeed the church is
embarrassed when a man who ha® fall,
en very low—or more especially when
a woman who has fallen very low—ap
plies for admission. Not that the of
ficers are not willing to receive them,
and not that the best people do not re
joice In their fescue, but instead they
are more pleased with their salvation
than with their affiliation; they wotild
rather they should attend somewhere
else, because they are afraid there are
some In the membership who will not
forget the past and who will not man
ifest the same kindly interest that the
Master did, which made even the wom
an w'ho was a sinner unafraid to go
through the c^owd to bathe His feet
with tears and: wipe them with her hair
as she anointed Him at Simon’s table.
It is charged that when mer> are in
REV. RICHARD ORME FLINN.
dire need they do not turn to the church
unless they have to, ns Its finances are
not arranged with reference to such
emergencies, and so, It Is claimed, they
may hope for surer help from frater
nal organizations outside the church
than from the church itself. There arc
discussions In the magazines concern
ing even the' indifference of the
churches to woll^groqmed strangers,
and the embarrassment of poor people
who would Join the church were It not
for the frequent appeals for money,
which appeals would be unnecessary
if those who have abundance were as
much In earnest ns Christ was, who
"though rich made himself poor, that
we, by His poverty, might become
rich."
Now undoubtedly there is much In
these charges that is unfair. For in
stance, it is said that we see few save
the respectable at church. In a sense
this Is true, but why? Because, if a
dissolute man will but truly turn to
God, He makes a respectable man out
of him very quickly. He may como In
rags, but he will not stay in rags. In
& little while you will find such a man
wearing clean linen to correspond with
his clean heart. And so we might like
wise examine the other charges and
find that there Is much of* mis-state
ment, yet we must admit that the
charges are made, and this in Itself Is
bad enough. The very existence of
these charges manifests a doubt on the
part of the world concerning our
friendliness to the publican and to the
sinner and no such doubt existed In
their minds toward Christ when He
dealt with them directly instead of
dealing with them through us.
And further, we must acknowledge
that the marvelous growth of frater-
rtal organisations outside of the church,
the conflict of their lodge meetings with
the church services, and the attitude
of many of these organizations to the
church with the decreasing attendance
upon our services of the working peo
ple, and the almost entire absence from
them of the sin-marred and the de
spairing, Is a matter of significance,
Christ was sought by such. They
claimed Him as their friend, and heard
IHm gladly, and we are persuaded that
their attitude would net be so differ
ent to the church today were it per
fectly true to its Lord. If there could
be such love (by which Christ said all
men should know them as His disci
ples), such fellowship and such prac
tical co-operation and sympathy be
tween thofce who claim to be Christ’s
followers as the Master means there
should be, we are persuaded that those
charges would not be made so frequent
ly and boldly, nor would there be felt
the need of the multiplication of out
side fraternities.
What Can Wo Do?
If we admit as a fact this distrust
on . the part of the publicans and the
sinners of the church’s friendship, such
admission calls for an explanation.
Some one must give an account of this
to God, for some day He is going to
ask about the reason for this condi
tion, which is so contrary to His plan.
Let us see, then, if we can discover
wherein the trouble lies, that ..tve may.
If possible, correct it. The problem Is a
difficult one, but may not the following
be factors worth considering?
First, do we not sometimes misplace
the emphasis in our conception of the
sphere and the purpose of the church’s
work? We speak often of our church,
as though everything connected with
It was for us alone, as though It ex
isted for our benefit, our comfort, our
pleasure. But this is not according to
the plan of Christ. It is for Us, but It
is for us in order that it may enable
us' to be for others. He loves us, and
He has made Us 'brothers with Him
self that we may learn with Ulm
to' love our brothers who are
yet outside; therefore thit which
should most concern us ad we come into
Christ's church Is that we bring others
with us. As we learn tp appreciate the
gospel, our chief endeavor, should be
to bring the gospel into v contact with
the restless hearted, sln-smltten world.
When we know the Christ ns Lord, it
should be our mission to introduce oth
ers who ore lost, that in their despair
they may realise how great is God’s
love for them and how ready anfl able
He Is to deliver them, and thus, have
hope.
Second. May It It not he that the
trouble has arisen by our trying to do
Christ’s work by contract and through
others. Instead of by contact and in
person? May it not bo that we need to
get away from machinery and to get
more into personal touch with men? Is
it more of religious or philanthropic in
stitutions that are needed? Is It more
of machinery, or of professional agents?
Or, in order that the world may be
convinced of Christ’s concern, is it not
more of compassionate, spirit-filled In
dividuals that we need?
Third. May not*another secret of our
failure lie in Christian Inconsistency?
We were warned long ago against an
effort to pluck out the motes from our
brothers’ eyes before the beams In our
own eyes have been dealt with. Has
this warning been heeded? Is there not
far too much of unrebuked sin in the
church today? Is there not a need to
get this sin out of the church in order
that wo may get'sinners into it? As
Christians we must clear our skirts be
fore we can hope to be very helpful to
others In cleaning theirs. The charge
is sometimes made that professing
Christians are so entangled with the
world, and running so much with Its
crowd, that they have lost their power
to persuade the world that they have
anything to offer other than what it
holds. Is there any truth in this, so
far as our lives are concerned? Do we
not, as individuals, need to prove to
the outcast and the publican that we
are not with them in their sin. andjhat
we have something better In order that
we may persuade them to leave sin and
enter with us Into service?
Fourth. When, by God's grace, we
have In a measure gotten the world
out of us, is It not true that we make
the mistake sometimes of trying to get
outselves out of it? Christ’s prayer
for His disciples was that they might
be In the world and yet not of ft, but
the effort of the disciples too often
seems to bo to revise, or even to re
verse, this plan. They crave to be de
livered from contact with life In the
rough and the raw—that is, t.» get out
of tho world—and yet, sometimes—la
not our surmise true—they do not seem
to crave to have all of the world got
ten out of them, but hug to their hearts
much that they should execrate and
scorn? *
If we are to be true to God’s high
design for us, like our Master, we need
to keep close In touch with men. to
mingle with them, and to know their
needs and dangers. Christ’s dealing
with the demoniac of Gadara, whoso
name was Legion, so full was he of t ho
devil, Is a lesson to us concerning
Christ's method. When the demons
were departed, when the man was
clothed and in hls right mind, he de
sired to leave the scenes of hls disgrace
that In fellowship with the apostles
he might follow tho Lord into other
regions. But Christ said, “No; go
home to your friends and neighbors and
tell them how great things God hath
done for you and hath hail compas
sion on you.” We need more men who
have been saved to remain in Gadara
that they may witness concerning
Christ's wonderful power and compas
sion.
■Oh, my brethren! Ho who was so
Inexorable In hls antagonism to all evil,
whose life was so holy, and who was
so intolerant of sin, yet who was
known by sinners as their friend. Is
misunderstood, and in part, at least,
are to blame. We who represent
Him, have not been faithful, and be
cause we have failed to do our part
men are despairing nnd dying, who
should, through knowledge of His
friendship, be rejoicing. For the world's
sake and for the sako of truth and loy
alty to Christ, by a kindliness, a sym
pathy and love, wo need to make tho
Master known today to all as the friend
of publicans and sinners-
MY LAST EXPERIENCE AS A CONFEDERATE SCOUT
When General Hood', campaign Into
Tennessee In December, 186*. culmi
nating In tho disastrous battles of
Franklin and Nashville, had ended and
the Confederate army had recrossed the
Tennessee river. Rose’ brigade of Tease
cavalry, or more properly, mounted In
fantry, were ordered back to Missis
sippi, whence they lmd been withdrawn
at the beginning of Sherman's famous
campaign through Georgia. The Tex
ans hailed tho order to return with a
yell of delight. They had done service
In Mississippi for two years, and a
strong .mutual attachment had sprung
up between them and the hospitable
Mlsslsslpplans. ,
When the brigade reached Corinth,
Its destination, the soldiers went Into
winter quarters Immediately. The bri
gade was stationed there to guard the
approach to the staid ffom Tennessee.
Corinth, situated on the line between
■r:ilfs of Mississippi anil Tennessee,
Is about twenty-flve or thirty miles dis
tant from tho Tennesseo river.
An outpost of pickets and scouts was
established on the river, as well as the
writer remembers, at Walnut Grove;
hut It may have been at eome other
small town on the river. The writer
never entered the town for reasons soon
to be mentioned, nnd therefore never
became familiar with Its name. Such n
squad of pickets or scouts usually con
sisted of twenty or thirty men under
the command of a subordinate officer.
Each squad did picket duty about a
week and was then relieved by anothor.
After sovernl weeks hod passed mo
notonously In camp at Corinth a part of
Company C of tho First Texas Legion,
of which the writer was then a mem
ber, was ordered to go on duty at the
place abovo designated.
Halted by Vidottos.
The season of the year was some
where about the beginning of spring. In
1865. Wo sot out early In the morning
from camp that day, and about 1 or 2
o'clock p. m. wo were within a short
distance of the town where we expect
ed to relieve the party of scouts then
on duty. We all wore 1 the blue Federal
overcoats, which had been enptured,
and generally had Federal equipments,
so that It was difficult to distinguish
Confederates from Federals, Near the
end of our march we were called to a
halt by two vldettes, whom we sup
posed to be Confederates and members
of the squad we were sent to relieve.
When asked, "Who are you?" Lieuten
ant Newt Murray, the officer In com
mand, answered, "Friends.” The men
on post asked, "Of what command?"
"First Texas Legion,” answered tho
lieutenant.. Some of tho boys began
to. Jeer at them, some saying, “We are
Rebs;" others, "We are Yanks."
our astonishment, they fired at us and
fled. Well docs the writer remember
the shock of surprise to ub all, and the
very words of the question of Lieuten
ant Murray, "What does this mean?
Can they bo Yankees?" Ordering hls
men to follow, ho quickly dashed for
ward In pursuit. We rode at a rapid
gait until we came In full view of the
town whore we saw the hill-side next
to us covered with blue coats hastily
forming In lino of battle. After wo had
sufficiently reconnoltered the town nnd
taken In the situation, we slowly rode
away, but not before they began to fire
on us, discharging also a few small
cannon.
Captured by Federal*.
A large force of Federate had crossed
tho Tennessee river. The name of tho
general In command the writer has
never learned. Evidently they had sur
prised and captured the entire party of
scouts stationed there. Ry what means,
whether through their own carelessness
In keeping watch or through tho
treachery of some Federal sympathizer,
has always been a mystery to the
writer. Of the presence of Yankees
there could bo no doubt. There they
wore In largo numbers revealed to our
eyes.
The lieutenant Immediately dispatch
ed a courier to General Ross to Inform
him of the perilous situation. When
we left Corinth thnt morning no one
was dreaming of the enemy so close at
hand. Later on, as occasion required,
he sent back pne or two more couriers
to General Ross. He rode bock toward
Corinth a few miles, and took a position
on the western bank of n creek. Mul
berry, I think, was tho name of the
stream, and waited tho appronch of the
enemy. As the afternoon began to
wane and no enemy appeared In sight,
the lieutenant ordered three of us to go
back across tho creek, which was
spanned by a bridge, nnd aec If they
were coming. Thcro was a wide swamp
on tho side of the creek next to the en-
emy, through which thcro was a very
muddy and somewhat crooked road,
most of It newly cut through the woods.
We wero on the alort for tho enemy as
we wended our way through the swamp.
Beat Hasty Retreat,
Just as two of us had crossed a very
bad mud-ho|e, and tho third man was
looking for the best way through It.
suddenly the head of a column of Yan
kees appeared around a curve In the
road, not far distant from us. In
stantly two guns were raised, followed
by one report. My coi
missed firing. If there
Yankee dead from hls horse there
would have been no doubt who killed
him. The shot checked their advance,
and they began to turn back In con
fusion. The gun which tho writer car
ried at the time was a' light carbine
which he had captured In Georgia, at
Campbellton, from one of McCook’s
raiders. It wns light nnd convenient
to carry, but not very accurate, and
effective only at short range. The mud-
hole was not much In our way as we
turned and fled, plunging through It
without hesitation. We soon recrossed
the brldgo and rejoined our own com
pany. We did not havo to wait long
for the approach of the Yankees. No
doubt they hnd learned from Inquiry
of citizens along the route that we were
but few In number, and they begun to
pursue us rapidly,.
As experienced scouts, we kept as
close to them as possible to observe
their numbers nnd movements, nnd to
check their advance In order to give
General Ross opportunity to gat out of
the way or prepare for battle. We were
not out of sight or hearing of the ede
my much of the time during tho rest
of the afternoon and night. We sup
posed that they would camp when
night came on, but It soon became evi
dent that they Intended, to continue
pursuit. Wo kept up a pretty lively
skirmish with them through the night.
Tho sound of their horses’ hoofs al
ways gave us notice of their approach.
Halting by the road on either side wo
would await their advance, then Are
on them and retire. Once, at we flred
and retreated quickly, one of our num
ber, Doc. McFall, a bravo young fel
low, dropped hls hat. He carefully
noted the place where It fell, near a
certain tree, checked hls horse and
asked the writer to go back with him
to get It. We mentioned the danger
of returning juat for a hat, but he de
clared that he would get It, Reluct-
nntly we went, expecting the Yankees
to fire on us every moment. We reach
ed the spot, however, and he recovered
hls hat bfore the Yankees advanced
that for.
A Volunteer Guide.
About midnight, nr some time after,
we halted and waited longer than usual
for the enemy to advance. While wait.
Ing here, near a dwelling house, a citi
zen came to us who had left hls own
home about two or three miles back on
ths road we were traveling, fleeing from
tho Yankees. He was well mounted,
and appeared to be a very Intelligent
and affable gentleman. He told our lieu
tenant that he thought the Yankees
had camped near hls house, about three
miles distant, and proposed to pilot
some of us back to see. Being a nntlvc
of tho country, our guide was perfectly
familiar with the roads and by-paths
and assured us that he could take us
through the field and by-ways without
danger. The lieutenant sent three of
us with him, tho writer again being of
the number.
Now occurred an episode thnt has
made this night's adventure especially
memorable to us during the years since
the war. Our guide went to n house
close by and brought out two young
ladles as soon as they could get ready,
to go back to stay with hls wife during
hls absence. The young ladles were hls
slsters-ln-law. The arrangement was
for the young ladles to ride behind two
of us, whllo the other ehould ride In
advance with our citizen guide. The
writer, then a youth of 18 years, was
asked to take one of the girls behind
him, which he declined to do through
timidity, and excused himself by say
ing that hls horse would not carry dou.
hie. Tho Grey Eagle would have car
ried both of them If they could havo
found room on hls back, but we pre
ferred to ride In advance with the cit
izen than to ride In the rear with one
of the girls behind us on our horse.
When wo said that our horas would not
carry double, we made a positive ml«-
statement. It was a mere ruse to avoid
currying 'one of the girls. The event
seems more romantic looked at now In
the distance of forty years, than It did
i the night of Its occurrence.
Hurry Call to Saddle.
Our guide made a detour through
the flelde and came up In rear of hla
residence, which wns situated on the
m&ln road. While the writer held hls
horse, he pulled off some pickets from
hls garden paling as noiselessly as
possible, went to the back door, held a
short conversation with hla wife and
returned. He took the young ladles
Into the house through the garden.
Surely enough some camp fires were
burning In the large grove near his
house, and feeling confident that the
enemy had bivouacked for the nlgjit, we
returned with our guide to our own
post and reported. Deciding that the
enemy had camped for the night, we
R rocured some horse, feed, fed our
orses without unsaddling them, and
laid down to take a little needed rest.
Before we could take any rest or be
fore our horses could finish eating, we
heard the guns of our vldettes, and we
were again In the saddle. The moon
aroee some time after midnight, and
we had the benefit of Its light the rest
of the night.
The Federals kept pursuing until
after daylight, when we fell back upon
one regiment of our brigade, drawn
up outside of Corinth, to check their
advance. When we entered Corinth we
found It > evacuated. The wagon train
had been eent south from Corinth as
hurriedly as possible, with orders to
burn all bridges behind them. A force
of men was also sent to protect the
wagon train. The rest of the brigade
was crossing Hatchle river, west of
Corinth, when we rejoined It, the men
walking over the stream on trees that
had been felled, while tho horses were
ewlmmtng. As the men came to the
river they would dismount and leave
their horses to swim the stream, so
that there was but little delay, and the
lino of march was scarcely Interrupt
ed. In this way General Ross made a
timely escape.
Daring of the Texans.
As the brldgade just narrowly es
caped a complete surprise, there were
a few men who were captured as they
returned from foraging tripe Into the
country around Corinth. Wo heard aft
erwards. of one daring personal ren
contre of the kind for which the Tex
ans wero famous. One of our men
was returning to Corinth from the
country, unconscious of what had oc
curred, when he spied a suspicious
Ihoklng horseman meeting him, with
BY
REV. J. S. BRYAN
a few others following close behind
him. Our Texan cautiously slipped hls
revolver Into the right leg of hls hoot,
reined hls horse to the right side of
the road and kept close watch on the
stranger, who turned out to be aYlla-
keo cavalryman. The latter suddenly
leveled hls pistol at the Texan nnd
demanded a surrender, which helng re
pulsed. the Ynnkeo flred. As quick
as a flash, the Texan dropped on the
right side of hls horse Just as hls ad
versary flred, still clinging to the ani
mal by the mane with hls left hand
and holding on to the saddle with the
spur on hls left boot. With Ills right
hand he reached under tho horse’s
neck, flred and killed the Ynnkoc. Be
fore the Yankee's comrades could ar
rive, the Texan had regained hls sad
dle, dashed Into the woods and made
hls escape. The Texan dodged so
quickly when tho Yankee raised hls
pistol that the bullet missed him. The
Yankee doubtless thought thnt he had
killed the Texan when tho latter drop
ped from hla saddle.
This Is a record of our last hoatllo
meeting with Yankees. We hnd often
had similar but more perilous expe- ■
rlences, but this scout will be forever
memorable, first because It was the last
and secondly because of the touch of
romance In It. nnd of the cowardice or
the lack of gallantry manifested by the
writer In refusing to take one of those
Mississippi belles behind him on Ids
horse. As we never learned their
names, we have often wondered since
who thoy were, whether or not they
are still living, and wtint they would
have to say now nbout thnt hlght's ad
venture, If any of us killed or wound
ed any Yankees, waylaying and shoot
ing at them by night, we, nf course,
knew nothing of It. Soon after this
we heard of General Lee's surrender,
nnd then of the surrender of General
Johnston, and we, too, soon surren
dered and returned to our homes under
parole, never more to hear our bugler
sound a reveille or.an alarm.
Loses Fine Watch,
T. M. Jones, of Pulaski, Ga., a well-
known traveling salesman, has report
ed to the police by long distance tele
phone that ho was the victim of a pick
pocket Thursday In the Terminal Sta
tion, ns the result of which he Is minus
a fine gold watch.
Mr. Jones values tho timepiece high
ly, as It was presented to him by hls
firm for good work. On tho Inside of
the case Is engraved this Inscription
"Presented to T. M. Jones by Woolfe
Bros. Shoe Co. Sales for one year,
*247,455."
We Sell a Superior Grade of
CEMENT. PLASTER
9
ROOFING, LATHS, LIME, MORTAR COLORS
E HAVE every facility, for filling your orders
for Builders’ Supplies with greater prompti
tude and satisfaction than you can possibly
get elsewhere. Place no orders with any
one untu you get quotations from us.
We handle more Coal per year than all the other dealers in Atlanta
combined. There is a reason for this, based upon better service and
quality. Avail yourself of the opportunity of buying from us.
Office Gould Bldg.
10 Decatur St.
Atlanta, Georgia
THE PROBLEM OF THE CITY
Terso Comments on tho Uniform Prayer Mooting Topie of tho Young People'o
Sociotios—Christian gndeavor, Baptist Young People's Union, Epworth
League, Etc.—For September 29, "Homo Missions: Religious Progress In
Our Cltiee.”—Jonah 1: 1-3| 3: 1-10* 4: 0-11.
By WILLIAM T. ELLIS
The city la one of the big modern
problems. It Is so vast, so Intricate,
so unknowable a thing, that usually
only phnxes of It arc considered at-a
time. Some speakers talk of the city
when they only mean part of It th>t
Is given over to poverty nnd vice. Oth-
irs have In mind only the principal
down town” portions, when they talk
of the city: meaning thereby the mala
thoroughfares, tho hotela, the big
stores, the places of amusement and
the railway etatlons. Still others re
gard the city In an entirely material
sense—:1b buildings. Its Industries, Its
wealth. A city Is all these, and much
more. And In any light It Is worth
studying as the greatest, albeit per
haps the most perilous, product of the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
I A city’s sin Is simply the sin of In
dividual men and women.
Since human nature loves to Iqok
upon the dark side of things, we 14*ar
more about the evil of a great city
than Its beneficence. Yet the angels
must rejoice over the good that Is
crowded Into every large city. What
a heavenly spectacle are the Innumer
able hospitals, orphanages, asylums
and Instltutlona for dispensing a be
wildering array of charity to be found
In every great city of civilization. Ev
ery form of human need has been taken
thought of by the modern city. There
nrc homes for the aged and homes for
foundlings; homes for the blind; homes
for the deaf; homes for the crippled;
homes for the consumptive; homes for
young men, and homes for young wom
en; homes for waits, and homes for
the utterly outcast; homes for feeding
hungry bodies, and homes for minis
tering to starved spirits. Tho amount
of money spent for charity within
the bound* of any modern great city
amounts to a fortune every year. Let
this be reckoned In taking stock of the
city.
All the needs that human nature pos
sesses everywhere It possesses In the
city; and this Includes the need of
God.
Of late years ths churches have mode
a vigorous effort 'to grapple with what
they call the city problem. Church
extension and city mission committees,
of varying efficiency, ore common in
all denominations. Preaching places,
which ordinarily develop Into full-
fledged churches, follow the growth of
population. Rescue missions are main
tained In the congested sections. The
foreign population Is given special at
tention. Nevertheless, city mission
work may still be said to tie In an
experimental stage. Nobody thinks
that the remedies equal the needs.
There Is a vital something stilt lack
ing; so that the lire of the averare city
may fairly he said to be less religious
than the life of the same number of
persons In the country.
A city ministers to a man’s supxrfl-
clal and material needs completely; It
Is when hls spirit Is hungry that the
city often falls him.
What mean these tens of thousands
of persons who throng the thorough
fare! of the city to witness a proces
sion or spectacle? Probably more than
half a million persons endured the rig
ors of August heat In Philadelphia—
somo three thousand of them suc
cumbing thereto—In order to witness
the marching of a body of members of
a secret society which represents
nothing In particular. There Is appar
ently only one answer; the clamor of
the multitude for "bread and circuses”
Is as real as It was In the days of the
Caesars. People want amusement and
diversion. Anything to take them out
of themselves. Anything to till the
void In their minds. An appalling lack
of sufficient and sustaining life Inter
ests on the part of the masses Is re‘
vealed by the signs of the times.
The church must provide more than
prayer meetings for people If she la to
meet all their proper needs.
Almost no attempt—certainly no ad
equate attempt—haa been made by the
forces of religl&n to minister to ttje
general cravings of peoplo for amuse
ment. We condemn the theater and
the dance and offer no substitute. One
will search a great city In vain for any
considerable amount of entertainment
which does not hear the church’s ban..
Church socials are no substitute for the
drama. ColTee houses can not take the
place of saloons. When religious peo
ple seriously undertake to do for the
city what the city needs, there will be
many first-class places of wholesomt
recreation in every city—retorts which
will compete, on their Intrinsic mer
its, with tho best that the world has
to offer.
SEVEN SENTENCE SERMONS.
The shorteet life Is long enough If It
lead to a better, and the longest life Is
too short If It do not.—Colton.
I hold this thing to be grandly true,
Lifting the soul from the common aod
To a purer air and a broader view.
—J. G. Holland.
Cowards die many times before their
deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but
once.
—Shakespeare.
In character. In style. In nil things.
The supreme excellence Is simplicity.
—Longfellow.
If I Con put some touches of rosy
sunset Into tho life of any man or
woman, then I feel that I hRve wrought
with God.—George Macdonald.
Some hae meat and cannn eat.
And some wad eat that want It,
But I hae meat.
And I can eat.
And say the Lord be thanklt.
Burns,
essential
The home Is the basic and
unit of our Christian civilization, and
the capacity to establish, maintain and
own homes Is the most sjgnjfloant
characteristic of the highest develop
ment “f a people.—Charles E. Llttle-
That a noble deed Is a step toward God. field.
DOUBLE DAILY SERVICE
' • X .t
—BETWEEN— ‘ H
ATLANTA and CINCINNATI
Southern Railway
Lv. Atlanta * 6:60 a.m. 6:00 p.m.
Lv. Chattanooga 10:40 a. m. 10:10 p. m.
Ar. Cincinnati 9:20 p.m. 8:20 a.m.
IOUGH PULLMAN, PARLOR CARS AND DAY COACHES.
DINING CARS ON ALL TRAINS.