No. 2 Certain-teed Roofing No. 3 Certain-teed Roofing Major Slate mhmdtmm&x;tmmm No. -1 Guard Roofing Nto. 2 Guard Roofing No. 3 Guard* Roofing Certain-teed Shingles WE COVER YOUR WANTS COVERING WHOLESALE DTtTHIBUTOR I If_ SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON v __Bv WILLIAM* T. ELLIS From the midst of the mess and Unenaoe called "Tjie Near Eastern Question.” and weary or writing upon the political phaseB of It all, X turn with relief for a steadying look at a Man—one of the huge, heroic figures of history,' who greatly fulfilled hia des ■ 4 tiny in an hour as oritical aa the pres ent. Because he was a man for his own V- time, John the . Baptist has beoome a man for the ages. No phase of contemporary affairs >s more appalling than the dearth of ade quate men. Since the first of the year I have been In Europe and the Near East, dealing with the pien who are re sponsible for official action in this Imuddled period of hufnan affairs; and • only one man of the whole company haa oven slightly Impressed me as be ing of a stature commensurate with the task. He Is Prime Minister Stambo • lister, of Bulgaria, "the peasant pre mlsr,'*l'*who is sneered at by the fault Heasly^formal hut futile diplomats as '“unoouth” and as primitive. Hordes of professional office-holders Know the etiquette of statecraft; and are skilled in the machinery and the arts of ®°Y" eminent; hut of personalities, big in brain and character and vision, there seem to be almost none. Are we In the era of the apothesis of the common place? Bhrewd and sophisticated and *— conscienceless politicians we have In plenty, hut where are the men or straight sight, dear convictions, sure courage, and passionate devotion to the right and to the welfare of the world? 'Truly, this Is a time to study the John the Baptist type. An Imprudent Hero Of guile and prudence the world has an over-supply today. Perhaps It Is ' beoause I am writing In Bible lands, where the “safety first” principle has • been carried to most craven lengths, that I • express myself fellingly upon the need for an outspoken, oonvlcltion iand courage that la even reokless. Pru dence Is a minor vfrtue of second-rate souls; all the truly great have some thing-of the flavor of John the Baptist, who defiantly flung his challenge and his message and his life straight Into the teeth of a soft, self-indulgent and jpleasure-seeklng time. He had looked Iso long upon the face of truth that he fhad no fear of the face of man. He (was more concerned about being true (than about being polite. There was (too' much ceremonial politeness In his /■world, and too little rugged honesty, j It is easier to admire a hero than (to emulate him. The price of freedom and oonrage is willingness to live In the desert and to wear camel's hair and >a leather girdle and to feed upon lo custs and wild honey. If a young man 'or young woman “must have” colthes In the prevailing mode, the luxuries of an expensive home, and the table daln (ties of the age, then he or she auto enatlcally ls cut off for any sort of John Ithe Baptist career. Such a one may (be good, but necessarily Ineffective. '•S'The task of being truth’s herald, and ■ jOod's sent messenger, Is for some stur dier soul. Ability to forego and to en dure is the first requisite of great llv v Ing. The keen wife of a clergyman once said, “Mrs. Blank used to come to lour missionary meetings' in the latest : (mode, and urgp us to sacrifice for mis sions; but somehow our women were v never moved by her.” No truth evur (grips until it becomes Incarnated in a In an or woman, The Inscription (At Angora Recently, at Angora} the remote ln : terlor capital of the new Turkish na . tlon, I saw the Augustlnlan Inscription an elaborate surviving record upon (marble walls of the honor and acts of jfche Roman emperor who reigned When ijeeus was Jborfl. Other inscriptions in abundance may be seen In Angora, as, [indeed, throughout Anatolia Most of (them mean nothing to the average per von: the men glorified have been for gotten for hundreds and thousands of Mt I years. In this same category are the 4 I,Roman officials enumerated by Luke, L i as he dates the beginning of John the Muap 'St's ministry, in our lesson chap *W£er: “Now In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pi ■late being Governor of Judaea, Herod Tetrach of Ituraea and Trachonljls, and Lyeanias Tetrach of Abilene, during the High-priesthood of Annas and Cai V spas, a message from God came to John the son ofze^hariah, in the desert." How big these officials ail were In their day—and now they are only re membered because of their relationship to a rude wlldemees preacher, and to ; a carpenter’s Sonl It is a study In rel & atlve values and eternal worth. The SL Important clause In this official w -enumeration by Luke, and the one jus tifying the rest is “a message from God came to John.” That is the great thing. We date our calendars by events of this’’sort. When G6d speaks to a' receptive soul, then things hap pen. Emperors and satelites beoome ’ puny alongside of the man \yho has beard God speaking to him. That was John’s equipment. It was j his adequate substitute for a theologl Cai course. It qualified him to stand A before kings without blanching. To 5 speak, one must first hear; the reason V) deaf persons are mutes is simply bs • |,jauso they have ner heard; whioh Is a fact with a profound spiritual analogy. We may hold conferences and write books and Issue statements until we are weary, concerning the spiritual si tuation of our era, but nothing will ever really come of it until individual men and women have clearly heard the voioe of G<^d in their own spirits. This is the distinctive teaching of the Quak ers; would that they might practice and proclaim It to all the churches. No other fitness or urge is of any real avail until it can be written, “a mes sage from God came to John”—and to Henry and to Robert and to Thomas and to Mary and to Jane and to Mar garet. Religion and the City Drift One of the loveliest spots in Palestine, is the village where John the Baptist is supposed to have been born. It is only a short distance from Jerusalem; and John's father was engaged in the temple; but the young man did not go to the big city. He went into the wil derness. One wonders whether pur modern slump from spirituality and morality has any relation to the reffSnt overwhelming drift of life.away from the country into the cities. City life irons out individuality; it makes con formists of even strong personalities. Our civilization is conventionalized to death. What makes “society” stale, flat and unprofitable is that it has lost the tang of originality and freshness. S pall of deadly sameness lies over it. Dame Grundy is the tyrant of the city, and she rudes it to the tune of “Every body’s Doing It!" “hey Say!" and “What Will People Think!” and “It's the way It’s being done now!" are the laws of the bandar-log in the jungles of the big cities. There is a sad sig nificance t in the recent sale ot tens of thousands of books of etiquette. Myriads of us are more afraid of being unfashionable than of being unright eous. That is the brand of the city up on us. _ Out in the country it is easier and more natural j to be religious. God seems a near neighbor in the wide spaces out of doors. In town a lta^ may easily be an atheist, but not in the big woods. Prophets grow in the des ert, from the days of Elijah and John and Jesus and Paul down to Moham med. Let us fice away from the city for our sense of true and permanent values. When God wanted to show the heavens opened to the beloved apostle he took him away from the clamorous city of Ephesus, to the lonely, rocky isle of Patmos. A short time ago I traveled over the regiop of Paul’s Jour neys in Asia Minor, and of the Seven Churches of Asia (which is largely the territory covered by last year’s Greek retreat) and I saw so muoh that was heartsearing that I went to Patmos for a corrective vision of things; and I con fess that I longed to stay for a time la the quiet of the monastery. When John the Baptist had got his message in the wilderness the crowds flocked out to him from the cities. It is not a bigger and better pulpit that most preachers need, but a clearer mes-'i sage. Often I saw in Dr. Jowett’s church in New York city men from dis tant cities who had traveled far, as I myself had done, to hear a word straight from, the book and mind of God. The Mam Who Was Inadequate A striking truth about this hairy, rugged, romantic figure from the des ert, John the Baptist, is that he him self was not adequate for his time, and he knew It. As this lesson Is taught all over the world tens of thousands of teachers will stress the thought tha^ our day’s need is for a John the Bap tist. To say this Js tq miss the point of the narrative. We need herald prophets, it is true; but only as her alds. John’s greatness-consisted in his seeing clearly the world’s need of a Greater than himself. He had not the remedy for the sickness of his world; but he pointed to One who had. He was but a signboard on the way to the "Lamb of God, who. taketh away the sins of the world.” This prostrate humanity of today, whose illness seems to baffle all the political and social physicians of civili zation, can only be cured by the Heal er foretold by John. , It needs repent ance and contrltioit—the two notes that seem lacking from all the clamor of walling that rises from Europe and Asia—but it needs moat of. all the sal vation which is the gift of Christ alone. It is not reconstruction that our time awaits so much as redempt tion. So the call is for prophets, after1 the fashion of John the Baptist, who will point to the new social era (as he did point) by way of the Saviour. An altered society derives from trans formed souls. And that healing comes to those whom some forerunner has introduoel to Jesus Christ. SBTBIf SENTENCE SERMONS Reason is our Soul’s left hand. Faith is her right.—John Donne. The secret of success lies in the man and not In the stuff he works on.— Bradford Torrey. ' The man who is able to look “down and see the part of him capable of dls ■ , .. araaasea - -—_i_=5= _ CALVE AS GUIDE TO AMERICAN" GIRLS | "s. Mme. Emma Calve, noted soprano (right), conducts American pupils studying at her chateau through the summer on a dally promen^jie through Paris. 1 . H appointment lying beneath him, Is far more blessed than he who rejoices in the fulfillment of his desires.—George Masdonald. * Deeper than chords that search the soul and die, Mocking to ashes color’s hot array— Closer than touch—within our hearts they fie— , The words we do not sayf —Martha G. Dickinson. Love never faileth.—I Cor. 13:8. Oh, watch and, fight and pray, The battle ne’er give o’er; Renew it boldly day by day. And help divine Implore, —Anon. There never was night that had no morn.—D. M. Mulock. Mrs. Richardson Is Now Improving The wide circle of friends of Mrs. E D. Richardson will be glad to learn that she is Improving after her late attack of acidosis. Her daughter, Mrs. Valno Creasy, of Wilmington, has been at her bedside constantly. The "?elatlves and friends of little Jimmie Creasy, Jr., regretted very muoh that he was unable to participate In the Creasy-Hunter wedding, at which he was. to be ring bearer be cause of his grandmother's illness. locusts have fine; pedigree HARRISBURG, June 30.—A brood ot 17-year locusts—Jn the words of the scientists Brood No. 14 of the periodical cicada—the brood which has appeared I at regular Intervals in this country I slnoe 1684 when the Pilgrims discov ; ered the Insects In Massachusetts, is making its appearance in Pennsylvania this spring. They are present already in four counties, and are expected in 19 more., ENGLAND HAS CHEAP GAS I LONDON, June 80.—British chemists have evolved a household gas so harm I less that would-be suicides oan get no | more than headache from It. The new gas, which Is now in use at Newark-on-Trent, can be produoed at about a third of the cost of ordinary gas. It contains only 1.4*per cent of carbon monoxide, which ijj the poison ous element in household'^gas. Amer ican gas contains more th^n 4 per cent of this ingredient. Cj This new gas gives OBJ a pungent, penetrating odor of such wbwer that it can be detected immediately. In this lies its protective feature. **C:^N YOU BEAT THAT? We're takfog this old hill on higB, and only day before yeslferday I had to back down &M1 go half a mile out of myfyay because I couldn't,make at all! I got to hand it to Joe s|} right. He told me it wasn’t the carburetor or the motor, but" just, plain leaky piston rings that were 30 blame all the time. Well, w,e livjjjjand learn." ! Now he's learned tgask for Vic tory Hammered Piston.Ringa, FRANK W. PRIRFKR, Wilmington, ifAc. ' ‘1 VICIOHY T HAMMERED PISTON BINGS USE STAR WJlT ADS —y \ OPENING THURSDAY, JUNE 7 i I 3 SEASHORE WrightdVflle Beach's Newest and Most fitodern^Hotel. i, J/ All rooms with private or connecting bath, hot a^d cold running water. Tables abound in every delicacy of the sea, prepared and serredihy men of experience. | , oath House has S00 large, well-ventilated dressing rooms, all-new bathing suits. I| Twaxompetent Life Guards on <luty during ijathing hours. '; 1 ' Nochargeior checMng valuables. § \ —: RATES 1 ' $5iO0t©*$7.OO Dally—$80.00 to n40.00<We$dy Edgar L. Hinton, Mgr. Special Features at Grace Church Today Speoial features will characterize both morning and evening ^ervlees at Grace Methodist church today. At the morning service, a tablet hon oring the memory of Mrs. Henrietta Watson will be unveiled. Mrs. Watson was for 58 years a member of this church and bequeathed one fourth of her estate to the church. A patriotic program will feature the evening service. Major W. A. Graham will deliver an address on “An Ex Soldier’s Point of View.” Thle will be followed by a brief address by the pastor, Rev. W. A. Stanbury, on "A National Covenant with God.'' “There will be special music at each service. HARRY T. LEWIS Wholesale Distributor Of FRUITS AND PRODUCE Phone 253 Derrick Boat Black Goes on Cape Fear The derrick boat, Blaqk, has finished its work-on tho Black river where it has boon for tho last two months. The boat was transferred yesterday to tho upper Capo Fear rl'-er, at Lock No. 2, seventy-two miles from Tv'ii mington. The work -will be down the stream removing logs and snags from tho channel along the upper Laps Fear river. Happy as They Work! WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC FANS Walk into any office wfhere the Electric Fans are singing cooLbreezes and note the smile of content—the smile of efficiency on the happy workers. Is your office a place of drudgery or happy efficiency? Electricf Fans will work wonders wth your office force, during the hot months of the year! You can equip your offics at a very low cost with iWestlnghouse Electric Fans. EASY PAYMENTS IF DESIRED TIDE WATER POWER CO. - t •• ■ ' 1 NOTICE! ' ioodyear Tire Prices Reduced AND AS AN ADDITIONAL INDUCEMENT TUBES FREE With Each Tire Purchased (Pathfinder Tires Excepted) 30x3 Smooth.$10.45 30x3*4 Non-Skid . 12.50 32x3*72 Wingfoot Cord .. 20.70 32x4 Wingfoot Cord .. 24.95 33x4 /'—Wingfoot Cord ,. 25.80 32x4% Wingfoot Cord , .$32.35 33x4% Wingfoot Cord .. 33.1Q 34x4% Wingfoot Cord ... 33.90 33x5 Wingfoot Cord .. 40.30 35x5 Wingfoot Cord...... 42.25 * OTHER SIZES IN PROPORTION EXTRA SPECIAL 30x3 ' Goodyear“Pathfinder”N.S...~.$7.90 30x3% Goodyear “Pathfinder” N. S.8.90 ■_ j_• • _>. - - ■ We Would Appreciate An Invitation to Your Blowout 4 FAST, FREE ROAD SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS! J. F. WALTERS H3 N. Second Street ( Telephone No. 1193 imiiiuiimmmmtuimimiiiimiiimmunmtimii

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