TNE CHATHAM RECORD H A." LONDON, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR Terms of Subscription $1.50 Per Year Strictly in Advance THE CHATHAM RECORD : Rates of Advertising One Square, on mrtjo $1.00 One Square, two mstrboa ' fLEQ One Square, one monlk S2 SO For Larger Advertisements Liberal Contracts will be made. si VOL. XXXVI. PITTSBOROv CHATHAM COUNTY, N .C, OCTOBLR 22. 1913. NO 11. BRIEF H5 NOTES FOR THE BUSY MAN MOST IMPORTANT . EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK TOLD IN CONDENSED FORM. WORLD'S NEWS EPITOMIZED Complete Review of Happenings of Greatest Interest From All Parts of World. X Southern. Gov. B. W. Hooper of Tennesee, who has fought persistently for the passage of the prohibition law enforcement bills in Tennessee, has signed the measures. The bill prohibits liquor shipments from county to county and in quantities over a gallon. It becomes effective at once. ' The diplomatic repersentatives of Great Britain, prance, Spain, Cuba, Guatemala and Norway, at a confer ence in Mexico City, decided to rec ommend that their respective govern ments send warships to Mexico for the purpose . of affording legation guards, should conditions so require. Judge R. R. Henderson in county circuit court, Maryland, in a decision sustained a mandamus petition seek ing to compel the board of election supervisors to place the name of Mrs. Grace Koontz , of Midland, Md., on the official ballot to be voted in the November election. Mrs. Koonta is the Socialist candidate. Governor Trammell of Florida an nounces that he is investigating the question of Japanese colonization in Florida by land companies and will act as his judgment dictates as soon as he has made up his mind as to the seriousness of the influx. An ex tra session of the legislature may be called to pass an alien land bill as a big protest has gone tip over the coming of these Japanese from Califor nia. They are settling in the celery belt for the purpose of raising vege tables for the Northern markets. H. A. Fillmore,, an employee of the Mississippi River company at the West Burlington, Iowa, sub-station, at tempted to light a cigarette at an elec tric spark and was killed by 11,000 volts passing through his body. He has been seen to light cigarettes in this manner a rumber of times, and had been warned that it was danger ous. Four persons were killed and more than twenty injured when a freight car loaded with crossties which broke from a train on a down grade crashed into an interurban passenger car near Dallas, Texas. The collision occurred on a 50-foot trestle and practically de molished the entire front end of the passenger car, but did not throw it from the bridge. The second extra session of Tennes see's fifty-eighth General Assembly, which convened at Nashville, the capi tal, gave promise of speedily pass ing the sp-called law enforcement bills, the subjects of which were specified by Governor Hooper in his call for the extra session. General. William Sulzer has ceased tp be governor of New York state. He was removed from the office by the high court of impeachment by a vote of 43 to 12, two members not voting Martin H.' Glynn-; lieutenant governor, v. as sworn in as his successor, the first in the history of the state to step into its high office in this manner Twenty-eight persons were- killed near Johannisthal, Germany, in the ex plosion and fall of Count Zeppelin's latest dirigible balloon, the "L-II." The twenty-eight men represented the entire personnel of the admiralty board which was to conduct the final trial of the dirigible looking to its acceptance by the' German govern ment as a new unit of the aerial navy, the pilot and crew and invited guests. P. B. Ellis "of Cripple Creek, Colo., arrived in Juarez from Torreoh. ... He said 'his brother Joseph was killed by Mexicans, while a party of Ameri cans was leaving Torreon for the bor der. F. B. Ellis was shot in the arm. Three others of the party are miss ing. Joe Ellis was killed at the first fire. After making a brief stand the Americans fled. Experts of bureau of foreign and domestic commerce --at Washington have issued a report showing that exports of eggs from the United States during the fiscal year of 1913 reached 21,000,000 dozen. Plans have been completed for the dedication of the, monument to Gen eral Braddock in the mountains near Uniontown, Pa. The monument has been placed on the grave of the f am ous English general, who was buried where he fell in a battle with the In dians in 1875. George Washington was liis aide-de-camp. J. It. Parrott, president of the Flor ida East Coast railroad, died at his summer camp a Oxford, Maine, of auguia pectoris. ine ena came sua denly. During the day Mr. Parrott was apparently in normal health. He had been closely affiliated with the late H. M. Flagler in the railroad and hotel business. He was born in Ox ford, Maine, October 30, 1859. He was a graduate of Yale, and while a stu dent there was active athletics, be ing a member of . the football team first and then stroke oarsman in the sculling team. At the time of his death he was president of East Coa'st road Prince' Arthur of Connaught, son of the Duke of Connaught, governor gen eral of Canada, was married to Prin cess Alexander Victoria, Duchess of Fife; eldest daughter of the widowed Princes Royal Louise. The ceremony took place in the ancient chapel of St. James palace, London, where both were baptized. A disaster, possibly the greatest in the history of the South Wales coal fields, whose annals are blistering with terrible catastrophes, occurred through an explosion in the Universal colliery near Cardiff. Shortly after the day shift of 931 men entered the mine an explosion shattered the works. During the day . and early in the night about five hundred miners were brought to the surface alive. Including" the bodies recovered and those killed at the pit head the known death roll numbers 16. Doctors with oxygen arid "medicaments descended the- shaft. The latest accounts or me disaster to the steamship Volturno, burned and abandoned in mid-ocean, confirm that the loss of life will be limited to about one hundred and thirty-six. The Car mania, first of the rescuing ships to reach the burning steamer, arrived off Qtteenstown, but, owing to the gale, proceeded , direct to Fishguard. A graphic story by the solitary survivor aboard the Carmania was received by wireless and presents a terrible pic ture of the horror, the panic and con fusion aboard the burning liner, but the story is too incoherent to be ac cepted in every detail. Washington. Frank admission that the "grandfa ther clause" of the Oklahoma Consti tution was designed to restrict the right of negroes to vote as far as pos sible within the limits of the Federal Constitution, featured the argument in defense of the clause before the United States Supreme court. Pensions for teachers in the public schools, to be derived from funds founded and administered by the indi vidual states and without contribu tions by the ultimate beneficiaries, are advocated by Raymond W. Sies, in a bulletiin issued by the United States bureau of education in Washington. Doctor Sies' recommendations are the result of an intimate study of the pen sion system maintained abroad. In suggesting the adoption of pensions in the United States, Doctor Sies declar ed the Scatch system, based on sci entific insurance principles, is espe cially valuable for this country. Fifteen girls, one from each of 15 Southern states; will visit Washington, probably on December 11, as a reward for their success in being awarded first place in the. girls' canning club state contests, the department of ag riculture announced. Women agents of the canning clubs will assemble in Washington at the same time and will act as chaperones for the girls. The department estimates that 25,000 girls have been enrolled in the canning chibs of the Southern states this year. Each girl is supposed to have carried out a delnite project in gardening on the 10-acre plot. ' " The .interestate commerce commis sion has postponed the date when its decision in the LaGrange and Vienna, Ga., cases will become effective. The new date is February 1, 1914. The v designation of five natives to majority control of. the commission of nine for the Philippine Islands marks the first step in the policy of the Wil son administration, aiming at self-government and ultimate independence for the Philippines. Governor Gener al Harrison recommended the native commissioners, stating that they were among the most prominent and best educated of the islanders. In the ap pointments three members have been selected from the majority party and two from the minority party. Two have been appointed from the Visayan islands, Manila, and the neighboring provinces are given two members, and one is from the Ilocano province in the north of Luzon. The United States government has informed Provisional President Huer ta of Mexico that it looked with ab horrence and amazement upon his as sumption of both executive and legis lative powers in Mexico and that in view of his course could not regard as constitutional the elections plan ned for October 2(. Two notes, one strongly phrased and written by. Sec retary" Bryan, and the other drawn in forceful language by President Wilson himself and said to constitute the last efforts of the United States govern ment to deal with Huerta, were sent the Mexican president. It has taken Uncle Sam fourteen days to catch the assistant postmaster of Pocahontas, Va., who is charged with the robbery of that office of $14, 000. Postmaster Mastard received a telegram from Cleveland, Ohio, stating that his late assistant, Edwin M. Sil berger, has been caught, in that city, and some of the aioney has been turn ed over to the ofjficer making the ar rest. He was in company with his wife. She was arrested as an acces sory. The secret service men traced him after leaving Pocahontas to Nor folk, the. home of his brother, and from there to Cleveland. German's decision o dispatch a war ship to Mexican waters attracted wide attention in official circles in Wash ington. No intimation had been re ceived at Washington of Germany's in tention, and President Wilson was in formed by press dispatches of the ac tion. No formal comment was made on the incident, but it was apparent that the Washington government was not displeased- The sending of a Ger man warship is in line with the pol icy - of other European governments which' had vessei cruising off the Mexican coasts from the moment' of Mexico's internal strife. SPECIAL SESSION IS NOW HISTORY SENATE FINALLY AGREE ON VEAL BILL AND ASSEMBLY , ADJOURNS. SUM OF PRINCIPAL ACTS Acceptance of Railroads' Proposal and Passage of Intrastate Rates Bill Constitute Main' Results. Num ber of Minor Bills Passed. " Raleigh. The gavels of President Daugh triage of rthe senate and Speak er Murphy of the' house fell simul taneously at 8:28 o'clock Monday night as the voices of these two pre siding officers rang out through leg islative halls and the corridors of the state Ihouse -declaring the 1913 ex traordinary sessions of the North Car olina general assembly adjourned sine die. The senate had held quite a busy evening session, while the house waited more or less hilariously the pleasure of the upper branch for final adjournment. The senate at last ad justed the ever-present Caldwell calf bill prohibiting the sale or . shipment of calves dead or alive, under one year old to slaughter for veal. As ratified the act applies to Caldwell, Alamance, Alexander, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Cabarrus, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Durham, Franklin, Gaston, Groham, Guilford, (Henderson, . Polk, Lee Lincoln, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Robeson, Rowan, Ruther ford Moore, Sampson, Wake, Warren, Wilson and Lenoir counties. The extraordinary session of the legislature just adjourned that was called for the specific purposes of taking action for the settlement of freight rates and passing upon con stitutional amendment proposals to be submitted to the people for ratifi cation at the next general election, passed 497 acts and 19 resolutions, the great hulk of them bearing on the local matters in every section o the state. ,- - ' Principal x Acts. The principal acts of really state wide interest are the resolution ac cepting the proposal of the railroads for settlement of the interstate freight rates, the passage of the bill to ireduce intrastate freight rates and provide for special commissions to investigate allegations of any railroad companies that the i-ates prescribed are confiscatory, the act providing for a rate expert and a'Cltional clerical force for the corporation commission, the act carrying the constitutional amendment proposals to be submitted to the people, an act to work con victs on public roads instead on rail roads for stock in roads built after present contracts with railroad com panies are completed, provision for completion and opening ol the state school for the feefole-mlnded at Kin ston and supplementary appropria tions for a number of state institu tions. Afternoon Session. Much time at the afternoon session of the senate was devoted to consid ering a resolution from the house for a seeial commission of three to re vise the court procedure in this state, the resolution finally going to the table. ' ' Thesenate finally disposed of 'the wrangle over the site for the state .school for the blind -by providing that ithe state treasurer shall pay the $4, 600 ibalance due for the new -site out of proceeds from the sale of 35 acres of land The principal changes recommend ed iby the conference committee are: That mileage of members be five cents each way instead of 10 cents; that the house recede from its posi tion favoring local legislation in the matter of bridges, ferries, . etc.; that game laws should be passed hy the general assembly; that towns and cities he allowed to levy $1 tax on real property; that the politax shall not exceed $2 for state and county purposes and may not exceed that 'sum for municipalities. Marking Daniel Boone TraiL The General Joseph Winston Chap ter; Daughters of the American Revo lution, have undertaken ; the marking of the trail of Daniel Boone from his old home on the Yadkin river, near Salisbury, to the place where he crossed the line of North Carolina and went into Tennessee. As marks to thfi trail, handsome bronze tablets will beerected at 15 points in this state. The unveiling of the first of these tablets . was in the center of Huntersville, this, county, recently. Others will follow, soon. State's Income Tax $450,000. The new income tav, it is estimated, will yield albtout $80,500,000. North Carolina's share of that is some wjhere in the neighborhood of $450, 000. The sum of $800,000 has been provided for the collection of the tax. About $3,500 of this will go to North Carolina, which will he used by Col lectors Watts and Bailey in the em ployment of additional help. Charlotte or Winston-Salem the experts have notnot decided which will play the greatest sum of any Tar Heel com munity to the income tax collectors. SYSTEM OF RURAL CREDITS Commission Which. Investigated Euro pean Conditions Makes Sugges tion With Report.. '. . ' Raleigh. The special commission appointedy.by the governor to. investi gate the' rural credits systems of Eu rope and to mak'e a report and recom mendations based thereon makes pub lic its findings, setting forth what it considers the needs of the farmers of the state in regard to credits, hanking and co-operation. "It is clear that there is something radically wrong with the facilities for ibor rowing money on farm lands in North Carolina," says the report From inquiry, it is stated, it has been found that few banks in the state lend money on farm lands and tha the farmer, compelled to deal with land-loan shaiks, has to pay from six to 20 per cent-interesrt. "Hardly any greater blessing," says the report, "could befall the farmers of North Carolina than the institu tion of a system of land-mortgage credit that will bring money to the farmers and landowners at a low rate of interest and, -by the process of amortization ar annual instalments, extend to them the privilege of re paying this money over a long period of years, v. ' "Collective credits ror public pur. poses at from four to five per cent has already been extended by inves tors to nearly all counties of North Carolina, but collective credit has been denied the citizen in his individual capacity." The result has been that the counties and cities in their cor porate capacity have made marvelous progress, yet the farmer is doing little to develop his lands. It would be difficult for the banks to extend the necessary credit, but there is a pressing need of a great state land-mortgage, institution, or some institution of like nature. The farmer's greatest need is for long-time credit, yet there is fuvner great need for short-term credit, also. The manu facturers have a practical monopoly on short-time loans and the farmei has either no credit at all, or is forced to obtain the high-priced credit o? the merchants. Experiment Station in Haywood. That Haywood county hs been de cided'upon by the United States gov ernment as the most important stock raising center in the South was prov ed when final arrangements were made for the location of a large ex periment station on the T. L. Gwyn farm at Springdale, .nine miles from here. The. announcement was not made here until the superintendent, Mr. T. F. Peeden, had received his civil service commission and all ar rangements for beginning operations were completed. This is the only such station in the South, except one, in Alabama. Mr. Peeden, who will have charge of the station, is said to be an experienced etock man and Mr. Gwyn, upon whose land the operations will be carried on, is a member of a family of leaders in the cattle-raising industry. The chief aim of the exper iment station is to make tests an the feeding and care of cattle. A series of experiments along this , line will be made for a period of six years. Vaccine Probablv Free. Dr. C. A. Shore, director of the. state laboratory of hygiene, says that within a short time the laboratory will be ready to begin the distribu tion of typhoid fever vaccine cultivat ed in the laboratory. The law pro vides that the vaccine, shall 'be furn ished to the people at actual cost of production. However, Dr. Shore finds that the cost is so very. little that tTie indications are that the vaccine will be distributed' free of charge. "Poor Man's" Bank. Coincident to the tprosecution ' of the loan sharks at Durham which has been announced by City Attorney Scarlett, another set of men are mak ing an effort to organize a ".poor man's" banH for the city. This Vill be one of a chain of what is known as the Morris system, and one of the big officials of this system will come to Durham the middle of this month to make a speech at a mass meeting in the interest of the proposed bank. Delegates to Cruise Appointed. , Adjutant General Young recently is sued an order designating Lieut. R. T. Brinn of Hartford and Lieut. Geo. F. Poppendick of Elizabeth City as the ofGcers of the North Carolina na val brigade who shall accompany the Atlantic fleet on the cruise of Euro pean waters this fall. The cruise starts October 23 and the return is to be by December 15. The order was made a" few- weeks ago by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels for the North Carolina authorities to desig nate two officers. Declares North Carolina Happy. Representative Robert L. Doughton, a mountaineer of mountaineers has come hack to Washington from a visit to Alleghany county, this home wih a most , glowing and cheering story of real progress in -North Carolina! He says that his people are more pros perous, soberer and happier than ever before in the history of the state. He attributes this state of affairs to pro hibition, the enforcement of the law the high price of meats, apples am" other things that the Tar- Heel mour tain dwellers make. RATES INTO EFFECT GOVERNOR CRAIG THINKS RATES CAN BE PUT IN OPERATION IN ABOUT 90 DAYS. THE INTRASTATE TARIFF State May Be Involved in Long Ltti- gation Before Scale of Tariff Can Be Adjusted and Put Into Effect, Must Give 60 Pays Notice; (Raleigh. Governor Craig gave as surance to a big delegation of Wil mington business men, recently-that he will proceed just as soon as prac ticable with - litigation against the railroad companies and (steamboat lines for procuring freight rate re ductios, espeeiaJly from the Eastern and Northern shipping points to Wil mington with a view to putting Wil mington on the proportionally lower rate basis to which she is entitled through here water facilities. The delegates -here from ' Wilming ton felicitated the governor on the outcome of the stand Ihe has made for better rates to North Carolina ship pers and assured him that they real ized that he was acting in the best faith for the advantage of the whole people. The governor promised them that he would proceed as speedily as possible to accomplish every conces sion possible for Wilmington and the other Carolina ports, along with prop er reductions from them inland. The conference was executive and the governor and the Wilmington delegation manifested thorough satis faction at the outcome of the confer ence. Governor Craig expects that it will require about 90 days for all the ma chinery to be perfected for putting in operation the reduced interstate freight rates included in the proposal from the railroad companies. The rates have to 'be worked out in detail, printed and distributed to agents throughout the territory involved and there was to be 30 days' notice pro mulgated therefor before the rates can be operative. I Tithe matter of the interstate rates involved in the Justice bill the course will be that the rates are op erative within 60 days after ratifica tion, unless the railroad companies represent to the governor that they regard the rates -unjust and -confiscatory, in which event the governor will proceed to name the special rate com mission to investigate the claims of the railroads and recommend adjust ment of rates. The governor can postpone the ap plication of the rates for 60 days af ter they are operative under the act, while -the special commission, makes its investigation. Also there is a pow er on the part of "the governor to fur ther suspend the operation of the act on representation of the special com mission that the 60 days' suspension is not sufficient for completing the investigation and adjustment of the rates. State Charters Granted. Raleigh. Four new corporations chartered: The Winston-Salem He brew Congregation, Winston-Salem chartered for congregational purposes , ami ultimately establishing a syna gogue. The incorporators are M. Marks E. Robinson and others; the Rex Lumber Company, Washingtori, N. C, capital $50,000 authorized and $4,000 subscribed by W. T. Hudnell and others; Nash Telephone Com pany, Battleboro, capital $25,000 au thoribed and $2,500 subscribed for establishing rural telephone lines; the Queen City Medicine Company, ;Marsihville, capital $125,000 authorized and $10,000 subscribed. Highway Most 'Completed. Linville Falls. By another season this region will be accessible at all times to automobile from several (railway points. The . crest of , the Blue Ridge 'highway, from Altapass on the Clinchfield road to a connec tion with tho Yonahlossee road on Grandfather Mountain, passing Lin ville Falls, Altamont, Crossnore, Pine ola and Linville to Blowing Rock, will be completed iby that time. To Build Baseball Training Ground. Southern Pines.-The prospective new hotel and baseball training grounds near Southern . Pines have aroused talk of a trolley line from Pinehurst by the ball, grounds to Southern Pines, and thence 'by the Hoke county battlefield down the ridge to Raefordand out to Red iSprings. This route has been the subject of more or less talk at one time or another, one- portion being considered by one authority another by some one else, and surveys made of it with -several ciles graded. , "Back Home" Celebration. Ttaleigh. There were hundreds of callers-at the 'News and Observer building recently for the "back home" celebration marking the reoccupancy of the rebuilt and enlarged News and Observer (building. Fitting ceremo nies included addresses by Governor Craig, Editor Hight C. Moore of the Biblical Recorder and others. Josephus Daniels, principal owner and president of the The News and Observer Co was chief host, aided by Busines; Manager Henry Bagley, Editor E. F 3ritton and News and Observer staff. DON'T WALK ON RAILROAD More Than Half Fatalities on Rail roads Caused by Using Tracks For Walking. . Atlanta, Ga., October 12. "He was In the habit of walking home nights along the. railroad . tracks," says a newspaper account of the death of a minister of the gospel who was re cently killed by a frieght train near a Georgia city. A college graduate, a man far above the average in intel ligence, and a useful citizen, yet this man by his daily habits, formed prob ably because the railroad track offer ed smoother walking than the public foad, did (nothing less than invite the late which finally overtook him. .Commenting, on thiswdang0rous practice the Atlanta Journal says edi torally: , "The loss of forteen lives in a wreck would loom forth as a national horror; yet statistics show that there is an average of fourteen deaths every day caused iby the dangerous custom of walking on railroad tracks or otherwise trespassing on such proper ty. It is estimated, indeed, that in this manner occur more than half the fatalities incident to railroads in the United States; and the majority of the persons thus killed are not tramps but children and valued citizens. "The time has come when the pub lic should take serious note of this record with its grim warning to all who are accustomed to use railroad tracks as a common . highway. The transportation companies are extert ing themselves to end this peril and the Interstate Commerce Commission has" spoken to the same purpose. After aU, however, it is upon the individual that responsibility must rest; it is popular .sentiment and jjppular judg ment that must correct this evil. Five thousand lives a year is a terrible sac rifice to carelessness. It can be re duced and prevented only through in dividual recognition of the great risk in walking on a railroad track. "This matter should now be of pe culiar concern to the South where railway traffic is fast increasing. In Georgia and neighbor states many more trains are in operation today than ten or even five years ago and their number is continually multiply ing. The danger to pedestrians who venture on the tracks Is accordingly more and more serious. It is far bet ter to stick to the muddiest highway or the roughest woodland path than to take the deadly chance of follow ing a railroad track simply because the latter affords easier walking. . - "Much emphasis is now laid on the need of greater caution in the traffic of crowded cities but It is scarcely less important to remember that in rural districts and in the ope,n coun try there lies a constant jeopardy of life to every one who walks on a Tailroad track." Could Improve Physical Standard. Washington. The general physical standard of the enlisted men of the army would be materially advanced, in the opinion of Captain H. J. Koeh ler, instructor of physical training at the United States Military Academy if the graduates of the academy were required to impart to the men under their command the training they themselves have received. He has suggested that the war department Issue the necessary orders. Colonel Townsley, superintendent of the acad emy, in commenting on the sugges tion, says that while the men at pres ent take enough exercise in the course of their drills to insure health they fail to acquire that all around de velopment' physically that results tv$m regularly planned exercises. Big Improvement in Corn Crops. Washington. An improvement in the condition of the corn crop during the past month, to the extent of 22, 000,000 bushels in the estimated final production was the feature of the de partment of agriculture's October crop report issued recently. The indicat ed final ' production is placed at 2. 373,000,000 bushels, or 752,000,000 bushels below last year's record crop. Tobacco prospects increased 19 per cent during the. month and flax 5 per cent, while the prospects of rice de creased 7.4 per cent, buckwheat 6.7 per cent and white potatoes 1.8 per cent. Savages' Idea of The Soul. London. Some of the curious con ceptions of the Kiwai Papuans with .regard to the soul were described by Dr. G. Landtman in the anthropologi cal section of the British association. It appears that among these savages the word for "soul" has three other meanings. It may mean a shadow, a reflection in the water or a 'picture. The shadow idea is the one most closely associated with the soul, for it is generally believed that you can steal a man's soul by catching his shadow. ' Big 'Bus Strike Started. London. What is believed to be the .biggest li very business in the world, the proprietors of which own and run over" 500 motor omnibuses and employ, besides more than 5,000 Jiorses and a huge fleet of motorcars, proves to have started some 60 years ago . with just one solitary gray nag. This business is the one of Messrs. Tilling, whose dispute with their mo tor omnibus drivers as to whether the atter shall he allowed to wear their liiion badges when on duty has startr d a & 'bus strike here. iNHTMnGNAL School Lesson (By E. O. SELLERS, Director of Evening Department, Th Moody Bible Institute, Chicago.) LESSON FOR OCTOBER 26 SIN OF MOSES AND AARON. LESSON TEXT Numbers 20:1-13. GOLDEN TEXT "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable In Thy sight, O Jehovah, my rock and my redeemer." Ps. 19:14. Forty years have passed since Isreal committed its fatal mistake of diao- bedience. This lesson Is a three-sided picture.', A murmuring, blindly diso bedient people; God, the righteous di rector -of the affairs of men; Moses and Aaron, the divinely appointed but sorely tested leaders of the people. I. The people's petition, vv. 1-5 The name of this place was Meribah (y. 13), which means strife. 'It was not the fault of God nor the desired lead ings of Moses that brought these peo ple to this place. Forty years of wan dering seemingly had not taught them this lesson. Many people accuse God when they themselves are t6 be blamed for the evil that comes upon J.1- T -4 - 4 A P TfTI A. A. 1 V 1 mem. o ames x.xa-xo. wnai a lernoie sin ingratitude is and how incredibly ungrateful these people are. Their Usual Plan. II. God's Plan, vv. 6-8. Moses and Aaron followed their usual, and the wisest plan of taking their difficulty to God. Separated from the people they throw themselves upon their faces before him and he graciously manifested himself unto them' and gave them explicit directions (v. 8). Other-times M"es had had this same experience, ch. 14:5; 16:4, Ex. 17:4, etc. It is an inspiration to recall the multiplied times God has used these common agencies in the hands of his consecrated servants to work his mighty deeds an ox-goad, a boy's sling, a lamp and a pitcher, a few loaves and two small fishes. III. Moses' and Aaron's Pride, Vv. 9-14. These servants began very prop erly to carry out God's instructions. They took the rod from God, "as com manded" (v. 9). They gathered the people together in the right place "be fore the rock." But then began their failure. Some may plead extenuating circumstances or great provocation. But Moses, for he takes the place of leadership, made a four-fold mistake which was too serious to be over looked or to go unpunished. (1) He deceived the people. He had just come from "tent of meeting" (v. 6) and,- as heretofore, the people expect ed some message from Jehovah, whereas he gave them not God's words, but those of his own coining. This ought to be a warning to minis ters and teachers, viz., that the people have a right to expect from their God called and . instructed leaders, his word, not the opinions of man nor the wisdom of the sages. Considered Them Rebels i Moses in his pride separated him self from the people. He assumed a "holier-than thou" attitude. He looked upon the people, over this line of separation, as being rebels, and God will not allow Christian leaders to hand out admonition upon a platter of anger. (3) He took the glory to himself. This was more serious still and was in direct violation of the spirit of those laws he had received upon the Mount, Ex. 20:5. "Must we fetch you water," is quite different from "Thou shalt bring them forth." This is that which has set aside many Christian workers. We must not lean to our own understanding nor fail to acknowledge that it is God that works and to him be the glory. Look up Gen. 40:8; Dan. 2:28-30; Acts 3:12-16; I. Cor. 3:7. (4) Moses smote the rock. ' God had told Meses to "speak unto the rock" (v. 8) whereas he smote the rock as though the power were in the rod or the strong arm back of the rod. Exct obedience is expected by God and to do anything else is to doubt his power, to reflect upon his word and to draw attention away from him and upon ourselves. Our attention has been called to the fact that on a previous occasion, Ex. 17:5,' 6, God had commanded Moses to smite the rock, that the rock sug gests Christ (I. Cor. 10:4), that he was to be smitten but once and thereafter nearly a word of "prayer would bring forth water, see Luke 11:13. No man is essential to God's plan though God's plans are always worked out through men. When men fail to see this God speedily sets them aside and ap- spoints other leaders. Moses and Aaron fell 'through unbelief (v. 13) and Moses is compelled to give up his place of leadership and is not allowed to enter the land of promise though graciously granted a view of it, (Deut. 3:23-26; 32:49, - 50; 34:4). Moses "spake unadvisably with his lips.' Moses had also to suffer for Israel. IV. The chief points. There are three great teachings in this lesson. The ' wrong of having a provoked spirit, one contrary to that of the God of Mercy and Grace. It is hard to learn that God is hindered by those who manifest such a spirit. Again God must be represented, glorified, by those who profess to be his serv ants. To let our methods, our per sonality or our Ideals come between man and God invokes his jealousy. And lastly, the measure of privilege is the measure of responsibility, and understanding. sw