Newspapers / The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, … / Oct. 29, 1913, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
TtnE CHATHAM RECORD tl A. LONDON, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR Terms of Subscription $1.50 Per Year Strictly in Advance THE CHATHAM RECORD Rates of Advertising One Squar. on fcsrtM $L0O OneSquara, two ktMrtiMM 1113 On Square, on montk . VUBO For Larger Advertisements Liberal Contracts will be made. VOL. XXXVI. PITTSBORCX CHATHAM COUNTY, N .C., OCIOBtR 29. 1913. NO 12. " : ' BRIEF NEWS NOTES FDR THE BUST MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEKTOLD IN . CONDENSED FORM. WORLD'S NEWS EPITOMIZED Complete Review of Happenings of Greatest Interest From All Parts of World. Southern. A bolt of lightning struck a march ing column of the Sixth United States cavalry between Texas City and Gal veston, instantly killing Privates Monore Morris, George Morris and John Zimmer. Seven miners, entombed for days in the Vogel and the Lawrence Lig nite workings at Rockdale, Texas, were found alive when rescuers gain ed the mine interior by drilling a 90 foot shaft. The men (Mexicans) were imprisoned by a cave-in following a cloudburst which, flooded the mines. Fifty miners, all Mexicans, were in the workings at the time a nearby creek overflowed, flooding the mine, but the others made their escape be fore a cave-in blocked the tunnel. , Twenty soldiers were killed and p.bout one hundred hurt when a spe cial troop train on the Mobile and Ohio plunged through a trestle near Stale Line, Miss. The wreck was caused by the engine tender jumping ihe track about 200 feet from a tres tle. The engine was not derailed, and passed over the trestle safely. The however, and plunged with baggage hower, and plunged with the baggage car and three coaches to the ground, twenty-five feet below. Sixteen bodies were taken from the wreckage and Su perintendent Piggord said in his re port there were four more bodies left. Three hundred and sixty-one refu gees from Mexico, most of them des titute and a number of them victims of the long, disastrous siege and sub sequent capture of Torreon by the Mexican Constitutionalists, reached Galveston by steamer Tampico. They told stories of guerrilla warfare be tween the Mexican factions, of rob bery and cruelty, and thirty-three Ro man Catholic nuns, driven at midnight under fire from their convent, told of hospitals put to the torch, and the men killed for the gold in their teeth General. Ultimate self-government of the Philippines and Porto Rico and control of Indian affairs by a permanent non partisan national commission were recommended at the close session of the Lake Mohonk Conference of the Friends of Indians and Other Depend ent Peoples. The conference declin ed to indorse the view of some mem bers that the Philippines were ready for immediate independence. The con ference recommended that no date be set for the withdrawal of our super vision over the Philippines, and no de cision be made as to the ultimate form of' complete self-government. ' Princeton University's graduate col lege at Princeton, N. J., and the Gro ver Cleveland memorial tower were dedicated. Gifts amounting to over two million dollars for the erection and endowment of the college enabled Princeton to realize an idea conceived 20 years ago, the housing of graduate students in a body. The tower was presented to the university by the Cleveland Monument association. Between 230 and 280 miners were entombed bv an exDlosion in mine No. 2 of the Stag Canon Fuel company a Dawson, N. M. The entombed miners inluded General Superintendent Frank MeDermott of the mine and several other American miners. The cause ef the explosion is unknown. The indictment of ,23 former officials of East St. Louis, 111., on charges grow ing out of an investigation of alleged municipal irregularities, was charac terized by State Attorney Webb as the forerunner of other indictments to in elude many, prominent men who had been former officials in the city gov ernment. Because of the refusal of congress to convene in extraordinary session to consider the presidential message urgently recommending a new foreign loan of $15,000,000, 'President Menocal of Cuba issued a public appeal, declar ing that he may be compelled to have recourse to extraordinary measures in the event of continued obstinacy on the part of congress. The entire railroad terminal of East St. Louis said to be the largest in the United States, was threatened with destruction by a fire which began on the bank of the Mississippi river and rapidly spread in three directions The damage is believed to amount to several hundred thousand dollars. The fire raged on the properties of the Advance Grain company, the Chi tag and Alton freight house and in the car-filled railroad yards. William Sulzer, impeached governor of the state of New York, wras nomi nated for the assembly by the Progres sives of the Sixth assembly district Mr. Sulzer began his public career in 1889 as a member of this branch of the legislature. . He has agreed to ac cept the nomination, it was announced at the meeting when he was chosen as the candidate. The nomination of the impeached governor was said to have been brought about against the desires of the state and county lead rs of the Progressive party. The sen timent of Progressives in this and oth er states was against the move. . MAN More than two hundred coal miners are known to be jiead at Dawson, N. Mex. Rescue parties have torn , away mre than a mile of debris caused by the terrific explosion and revealed nearly one. hundred bodies. A gas oven in which metal was be ing enameled on the top floor of a six-story factory building in Canal street, New York City, exploded, kill ing four persons. More '.than a score of others were injured or burned in the fire that followed the explosion and some of them may die. The New York state senate unani mously confirmed the nomination of James M. Lynch, president of the In ternational Typographical Union, as state labor commissioner. Dominican rebels at Puerto Plata, San Domingo, agreed to accept the conditions of the treaty of . peace ar rangil Extrcvsh efforts of James M. Sullivan, the American minister. Hos tilities have ceased. Henry Spencer, confessed murderer of Mrs. Mildred Allison Rexreat, a dancing teacher of Chicago, and many other persons, related in the Wheaton jail how he had for several days followed Mrs. Potter Palmer and waited for a chance to rob her after her arrival in this city on the 3d of last November. Spencer said Mrs. Palmer's $100,000 diamond necklace was the prize for which he played. Theodore Roosevelt was received with military honors as he stepped ashore from his steamer at Rio Ja neiro. Edwin V. Morgan, United States ambassador to Brazil, 'with the staff of the embassy, went on board before the vessel docked with a re ception committee headed by Senor Moreira, represeating the ministry of foreign affairs; Lieutenant Colonel Achilles de Pederneiras, Brazilian at tache at Washington; Don Jose Carlos Rodriguez. Admiral Antonio Olynthe Coutino, Gomez Pereira and Antonio Olyntho de Magalhaes of the histori cal institute. In the most fiercely contested judi cial election in the history of Illinois, Charles C. Craig, Democrat, of Gales burg, was elected to the supreme bench to succeed Judge John P. Hand by a majority of 3,646 over Judge Les lie D. Putermaugh, Republican, of Pe oria. Polk Miller, a Richmond business man, known throughout the South for his plantation stories of war times and his performances on the banjo at many Confederate reunions, is dead, at the age of 69, in his home" in Richmond, Virginia. Washington. The United States government is preparing to notify the nations of the world generally that any interference in Mexican affairs will be regarded as unfriendly to the United States gov ernment. Millions of dollars' worth of imports may be affected by a decision of the treasury department refusing to pro hibit under the new tariff law the entry of. bagging for cotton from Great Britain, alleged to have been manufac tured in part by convict labor. Whether there shall be one Federal reserve bank with oranches through out the United States, or several banks, as provided for in the adminis tration bill, promises to be the chief issue of the final currency reform fight in the senate committee. The hearings of the committee will con clude and the committee members will begin the arduous task of attempting to agree upon a revision of the Glass bill that wrill prove acceptable to President Wilson and the house. The president has made it known that he was opposed to the central bank plan in all its phases. More than one-fifth of the men who served in the army and navy of the United States during the Civil war were still on the government's pen sion roll at the beginning of the pres ent fiscal years. Secretary Daniels formally announ ced that the historic battleship Ore gon, which made the famous trip around Cape Horn in the early' days of the Spanish war, will lead the great international fleet through the Pana ma canal, when the water way is op ened in 1915. While plan3 for the event have not yet been formulated, Secretary Daniels will be aboard, and, in all probability, President Wilson. The answer of the Philippines to President Wilson's message delivered through Governor General Harrison came by cable in the form ofa reso lution adopted by the Philippine as sembly. Emphatic belief in the right of the Filipinos to be freely expressed in the resolution and the president's words are gratefully accepted as "a categorical declaration of the purpose of the nation to recognize the inde pendence of the islands." "There never was a time when the people needed the interpretation of the Bible more than .they do at pres ent," said Secretary Bryan, in address ing the delegates to the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Meth odist Episcopal church, in session in Washington, "and," the secretary add ed, "there is not a community .which cannot be purified, redeemed and im proved by a better knowledge and larger application of the Bible to the daily life." The doors of the United States were opened to Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst, and during the few weeks covered by her lecture engagements the British militant suffragette leader is free to go where she will in the United States. An order releasing the much-discussed visitor from detention at Ellis Isl and, N. Y., and revoking the deporta tion order of the special inquiry board, was issued after President Wilson had conferred with Secretary Wilson of the department of labor and a formal hearing before Immigration Commis sioner Caminetti on Mrs. Pankhurst's appeal had been concluded TO PICK OUT FIVE IN LOT OF 2,000 NORTH CAROLINIANS WHO HAVE MADE APPLICATIONS FOR IN COME TAX JOBS. TO SOLVE GREAT PUZZLE Representatives From the Old North State Find More Work With Friend ly Administration in Charge. Some Who Have Landed. Raleigh Special from Washington says: As soon as the members of the North. Carolina delegation return to Washington they will hold a meeting and endeavor to pick five men good and true from a list of two thousand who have applied for jobs as deputy cellectors of the new income tax as provided in the new tariff law. Com missioner W. H. Osborne said he will decide on the men according to the recommendations of senators, repre sentatives and the collectors from the various states. At least, that is Col. Osborne's in tention now. Revenue experts have (been in session for the last few days trying to work out this and other features of the new law. What will happen when the delegation dis agrees or when the recommendations ofmembers of congress conflict with those of the collectors is not known. In fact, treasury department officials are as much puzzled just now as are the applicants themselves, who have been shunted from representative to senator and back again ever since they have made known their aspira atrions. The law says these deputy collec tors shall be appointed by the com missioner of internal revenue with the consent of the secretary of the treasury. The deputies, however, are bonded to the collectors under whom they serve and these collectors are responsible for their acts. There are ten congressional dis tricts and five jobs, there are two thousand men from all parts of the .state who want the jobs, four hun dred for each place. . . S. H. Boyd, of Greensboro, has his place. The others each have one enhance in four hundred. Mr. Boyd is now assigned to work here, but soon after January 16 will go back and wprk in. the state. Now that the president has signed the urgent deficiency bill, Collectors Bailey and Watts can appoint such Democrats as they choose to work un der them. The president in signing the bill defended the section which took dep uty collectors out of the civil service by saying that he does not believe it was ever intended that such places Should be in the classified srvice. The justice of 'Senator Overman's o sition in having this law enacted has thus been vindicated by-the highest authority in the. land. ' Work Only 8 Hours. Union carpenters of Asheville have named eight hours as the length of their working day and it is announced that afiter the first of the coming month the ?n embers of the Asheville Carpenters' Union will nut away their tools after spendin-g eight hours of the day on the job. The action was taken, it is said, in view of the fact that the carpenters are called upon to work in all kinds of weather and in cramped positions in many instances. They -claim that when they have work ed eight hours, they are badly in need of rest. Begin Postoffice January 1. The postoffice department has serv ed notice upon Mr. Henry Johnson of i Tarboro and Dr. R. H. Johnson of ' Baltimore that all buildings now oh tne .site purchased by the government for the new postoffice building at Tar boro must ibe removed within 60 days. It is planned to begin work upon Tar boro's . new $78,000 federal building January 1 Tucker Will Is Valid. The supreme court announced re cently its decision that the will of the late Mrs. Florence P. Tucker estab lishing a trust for her estate for the benefit of her children, instead of dis tributing her estate of more than $1, 000,000 among her children at her death is valid. Certain of the heirs brought suit for dissolution of the trust in which Gary K. Durfey is the surviving trustee on the ground that the will of the late Rufus Tucker, her husband, did not convey his property to Mrs. Tucker in fee simple. A. & M. Has 709 Enrolled. The 'North Carolina College of Ag riculture and Mechanic Arts has an enrollment of 709 for this session and out of that number 32 counties of this state and 17 other states are repre sented. Mecklenburg and Wake are tied tor the largest number of stu dents, each having 44 representatives, while Guilford comes second with 25, Buncombe third' with 19 and Iredell fourth with 17. Virginia leads in the number from other, states, having 13 while South Carolina, second, has 5. THE FARM EXHIBITS GREAT Show Wonderful Progress in State's Agriculture Remarkable In spiring Elevating. Raleigh, .Significant of the won-, derful progress North Carolina has made in the last five years in the de velopment of her agricultural re sources is the remarkable improve ment in the quality, extensiveness and variety of the exhibits of farm pro ducts at the state fair. "Nothing about the fair impressed me so much," said a visitor, w;ho has attended five of the last eight state fairs, "as the remarkable improve ment' in the agricultural exhibits. There are more of them, they are larger, they are displayed with great er care and taste, they are more va ried and extensive and comprehen sive, and above all the farm products are of immensely higher average qual ity, than tihos .shown here from five to ten years ago. This fact speaks volumes and tells a ibig and wonderful story of the progress North Carolina agricultural interests liave made in re cent years." iNo patriotic citizen of North Caro lina could pass through the halls and look carefully over the exhibits of farm, garden and horticultural pro ducts without having inspired in his bosom a greater pride in his state. The wealth and variety of North Car olina's agricultural resuorces as dem onstrated at the state fair this year was something wonderful. If one desires to find the reason for the wonderful progress that has -been made in agricultural pursuits in North Carolina in recent years, let him view and examine the exhibit made by the state department of ag riculture and the bureau of horticul ture. These in part tell the secret. The department's exhibits is largely scientific, but it demonstrates in striking manner what this department is doing and has been doing in the promotion of better farming methods, in teaching the farmers by demon stration and otherwise the science of fertilization, of soils, of seed selec tion, of cure and prevention of plant disease, of prevention and elimination of pests and parasites, of preparation of soils, cultivation of crops and of preparation of farm products for mar ket. In the state horticultural exhibit is shown numerous varieties of mag nificent apples, pears, walnuts, pecans and other nuts. Another factor in the development of the agricultural interests of the state has been the boys' corn clubs and the girl's canning clubs. There were not so many of these classes of exhibits this year as there should have been, nor as many as were ex pected and the fair management hopes that greater interest will be taken by the girls and boys in prepar ing and entering exhibits of their club work at the next fair. However, the girls' canning club exhibits this year were splendid and the boys' corn club exhibits are very creditable. The boys'' exhibits of corn come from the counties of Wake, Durham, Wayne, Halifax, Caldwell, Mecklenburg, An son, Buncombe, New Hanover, North ampton, Wilkes, Columbus, Surry, Ala mance and Forsyth. Twenty-seven boys "had exhibits in 'the fair. ' The counties of Moore, Wilkes, Granville, Alamance and Wake were represented in the exhibits by the girls', canning clubs. ' ' , . 7,504 Indians in North Carolina. The records of the Indian Bureau show that Norttr Carolina has 7,504 Indians, 2.OT8 of whom are under. the protection of the Federal government. Of the 2,078 about 730 are of school age, 1,136 are females, and 942 males. There are 860 full bloods:, females 467 and males 393; mixed blood (one half or more) 487: females 267 and males 220; mixed (less than one-half) 731: females 402 and males 329. There were 35 marriages between Indians and 26 between Indians and' whites last year. No plural marriage was discovered among the government In dians. Z. . "Poor Man's" Bank. The committee on organization of the Morris-plan bank for Durham met recently and are now out soliciting subscriptions for the stock. They have been unusually successful and there is little doubt but that one of these "poor men's banks" will be establish ed in Durham. Buncombe Has Clear Docket. For the first time in many years, the criminal docket of the superior court is practically clear. With the impos ing of sentences on a score of defend ants recently, the week's term of the court, which had (been presided over by Judge'Frank Carter, adjourned and the attorneys of this- county are greatly pleased with the progress which has been made. With three weeks more of court this year, it is believed that Buncombe county will begin the year of 1914 with clear civil and criminal dockets. v Craig Cannot Attend Conference. The inability of Governor Craig to attend the general rally at Charlotte that will conclude the Farm Life Con ference November 7, has occasioned much regret. V It was expected that the chief executive would visit Char lotte November 7 and on that day re view, the grand parade of school chil dren and participate otherwise in the festivities of that . occasion. He has just written Mr. J. Leake Carraway, of his inability to attend, at the same time expressing his very keen regret that other matters prevented. ASHLEY HORNE DEAD A VICTIM OF SUDDEN ATTACK WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN PARALYSIS. HIS LAURELS HARD WON Among Chief Characteristics Was In domitable Energy, and More Espe pecially Devotion , to the South Done Much For His State. Clayton. Ashley Horne, died sud denly at his home here recently, his death being due, it is thought, to pa ralysis, a slight attack of which af fected him some time ago. He was about 65 years of age. Prominent alike in business and public life of the state, Mr. Horne was known more especially for th devotion to the cause of the Confed eracy, both during and after the Civil War. Never" did the "Lost Cause" lose its luster for him, and he was always active in behalf of his less for tunate comrades of jtihe great strug gle and their widows and children. Just this year he had given $5,00 for the erection of a monument to mem ory of Confederate women. This when erected will be a monument to his memory also. Coming from Appomattox with nothing and barefoot, even, Mr. Horne "borrowed" a couple of horses from Sherman's army and made his first crop. It may or may not have (been a good one; but since that time die has made many that were good and made a goodly fortune from his farm and store at Clayton, although of late years he had been interested in nu merous enterprises. , . In 1908 Ihe was a candidate for th Democratic nomination for governor of the state and ran a food third to Messrs. Craig and Kitchin, being loy ally supported by the Confederate veterans of the state and many of their sons. He was always prominent and active in public affairs, but asked nothing for himself in the wTay of office. His energy was indomitable. Char acteristic of his ability to carry a heavy burden is the story of his fight with a fertilizer company wheh tried to absorb the Caraleigh works at Ral eigh, which he had been instrumental in building. The trust forced the company to run at a loss and Mr. Horne assumed $45,000 of the com pany debt as his own, declaring that he might be forced to place tine com pany in the hands of the sheriff, but that he would not place it in the pow er of the unfair competitor. When railroad rates were exorbi tant on his cotton he started a wagon train to Raleigh in competition to the road and secured better terms. In addition to owning one of the best and largest farms in the state, Mr. Horne owned a large store at Clayton, much stock in cotton mills, at Clayton and Raleigh. His estate will certainly pass the $500,000" mark if it does not reach $.1,000,000. New Dormitory. . Greensboro. Livingstone College, one Of the best known and most pop ular schools for colored people in the South, located at Salisbury, is to have a new dormitory for girls," replacing the one which was burned a few years ago. The General Education Board of New York has pledged $12,500, pro vided the colored people and their friends in the South raise $37,500 Livingstone is the leading institution of the A. M. E. Zion church and is in the midst of a campaign to raise the required money. . Apologizes For Arrest. Greensboro. 'Mayor Sutton of Kin ston has written a letter to Mr. John L. King, of this city, apologizing for the latter's arrest while in Kinston conducting an auction sale of horses a few weeks ago. Mr. King refused to take out a $50 license required by town officials for selling horses at auction. A warrant was issued for him and he was tried and convicted From the judgment he appealed. Better Mail Service. Greensboro. A government expert will soon come to Guilford county to work out- a plan of rural delivery for the entire county, such as no other county in the state except Mecklen tnirg has. This will mean the exten sion and redisricting of the routes In rural Guilford so that routes will reach everybody. As the routes are ivot formed so as to serve all, but have been gotten up by the more prosper ous communities, leaving the isolated farmers to get their mail as best they can. Just Begun to Grow. Charlotte. More than a million dol lars has already been invested this year in buildings which have been completed or begun in Charlotte. The exact amount is the tidy sum of $1,- 186,956 from January 1 to October 1 During the same period of last ye?x the total was; $772,411. The increase is just $414,545. In the language of the Piedmon't - humorist, "Pretty good, eh?" These figures would seem to give a firm basis for the claim that Charlotte has just begun to grow. NEWS OF NORTH CAROLINA Short Paragraphs of State News That Has Been Condensed For Busy . People of State. Greenville. A tract of 20 acres just outside the city has 'been bought as a site for a cotton mill and w.ill be laid off at once. Work on the buildings will commence soon. Concord. Joe Cannon Bost, the 10- year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Bost of No. 11 township was run down and instantly killed recently by the automobile of Mr. T. L. Ross of Kan- napolis. Winston. Workmen recently began the excavation for the new $10,000 store building on Trade street for the Forsyth Hardware Company, this ibe ing the large store building erected recentl yr" Winston-Salem. The Yadkin and Dan Rivers have been on a "tear" re cently on account of the severe rains which have fallen., Much bottom land with standing corn was covered and many farmers have serious losses. Chapel Hill. As fforth Carolina' representative, Dr. Ghas. Lee Raper, professor of economics in the Uni versity went to Buffalo, N. Y., a few days ago to attend the Seventh Na tional Conference, on State and Local Taxation. . Wilmington. Clarence Collins Wil liams, a young white man, formerly a brakeman on an Atlantic Coast Line freight train between Wilmington and Rocky Mount will ask the railroad to pay (him $25,000 for the loss of three fingers. Henrietta. The officers and promo ters of the Western North Carolina Poultry Association (have just held an enthusiastic business meeting and preparations for the annual. show are being made. The date is December 4, 5 and 6 and the place Ellenboro. Statesville. Most of the $400,000 of Iredell's road money having been spent, the county commissioners have begun to dispose of some of the road building equipment. Eleven of the big mules used to draw wiheelers have been sold to Davie county for simi lar w.ork. Greenville. The high wind accom panying the drop in the temperature here recently blew down p. large bill board on Annie Donaldson, colored, crushing her so badly that death re sulted in a short while. The iboard was near a sidewalk on which she was passing. ' Winston-Salem The work of clean ing up the grounds preparatory to the enlarging and remodeling of the government building in this city has been started, although it will be some weeks before the actual construction work can begin and probably spring before much headway can be made. Wake Forest. The third annual sophmore-Sunior debate was held in the Wingate Memorial Hall recently, The query was "Resolved, That the closed shop system is dertimental to the interests of the American people, and was ably discussed. The decision of the judges was rendered in favor of the affirmative. Wilson. With the prospect of a large increase of working capital Wil son people expect to see big results from the future work of the Brett En gineering & ' Contracting; Company, a local Concern; Late reports indicate that this concern will proceed to'de velop large tracts of North Carolina swamp land. Scotlan d Neck. Up to . October 15 there had been ginned in Halifax county only 661 bales of cotton this season against 2,361 at the same time last year. The crop is not only un usually late in this section, but it is exceedingly short, say those in a po siition to know, caused partly -by 'the severe storm that vsited Eastern Car olina several weeks ago, and partly by anthracnose. Durham. The board of aldermen have decided to have a sand-filter dis posal plant, recommended by Mr. Gil bert C. White, erected on Third Fork Creek to take care of the sewerage from the southern section. of the city Mr. White has been directed to draw up the plans and specifications and to have them ready by the December meeting of the board. A committee bas alsobeen appointed to look into getting the necessary land for the erection of such a plant. Durham. W. M. Wilkins, the Brag- town farmer, arrested on a charge of retailing because of his possession of a government license to sell whis key, was discharged by the recorder. Greensboro. A public meeting was held in the chamber of commerce rooms recently in the interest of the ibaseball club of Greensboro which is badry in debt. Charlotte. The French Oil Mill 'Machinery Company, manufacturers of improved oil mill machinery with headquarters in -Piqua, Ohio, have recently established a branch in this city with W. P. Ferguson in charge. Asheville. After an illness extend ing over several months, Dr. T. C, Smith, one of Asheville's pioneer busi ness men, died at his home recently. He had been in ill health, for several months and his death was not unex pected. Washington. A hjg sweet potato weighing 6 3-4 pounds was removed from the desk of President Wilson re cently and carried to the White House kitchen. The potato was the gift of Charles L. Robinson, of Lin colnton, N. C. The donor sent it, he aiid, "as a sample of Democratic prosDeritr." MIlTMTIONAL SDNMfSaiOOL Lesson (By E. O. SELLERS, Director of Evening Department, The Moody Bible Institute, Chicago.) LESSON FOR NOVEMBER 2 BALAK k AND BALAAM. LESSON VEXT Numbers 22:l-, 24:10- 19. Read Numbers chs. 21 -Si. GOLDEN TEXT "A double-minded man, unstable In all his ways." Jas. 1:8. Following our last lesson the Isreal- ites marched along the borders of tho wilderness meeting with much opposi tion. In Num. 20 we are told of the death of Aaron. They met Arad (21:1-3) and overthrew him. Moving around Edom was a difficult process and the people became discouraged. Again they murmured against God and against Moses. Swift punishment followed in the form, of fiery serpents, Num.- 21:4-11. Confessing their sins Moses interceded on their behalf and the look at a brazen serpent suggest ed to them the necessary attitude of faith towards God. After sundry wan derings, the . dwelling among the Ainorites and the overthrow of sun dry tribes, we come to their encoun ter with Balak. As they journeyed the ieport of their victories preceded them and Balak sought to protect himielf against these strangu "peo ple come out of Egypt," by other means than that of war, for, said he, "they are covering the face of the earth." See Ex. 15:15. v Little Known About Balaam. Here Balaam appears upon the scene. Little is known about him. He evidently had a knowledge of Jehovah and yet was a sorcerer or spiritist, dealing with evil spirits, and was, probably, a Midianite. I. The Call to Curae, Ch. 22:1-6. There are six personal pronouns in verse; Balak sought to fight' fire with fire, to save his own face. He feared those whom God blessed. The- world today hates those whom God blesses. Had Balak been wise he would have cast in his lot with Israel and not have miserably perished in battle along with his unwilling tool, Balaam. (See Num. 31:8, Josh. 13:j32.) , Balaam at first refused Balak's in vitation (v. 13), but Balak sends more exalted messengers and greater offers of honor and" rewards, promising him honor in the kingdom if he would but curse Israel (v. 17). Balaam again returns word that this is impossible (v. 18) for he cannot go beyond .the word of Jehovah, not that he was in sympathy with that word at all, ybut he was conscious of Jehovah's power. II. A Challenge by the way. Ch. 22: 22-35. The angel of Jehovah, as the agent of his anger, interposed to save Balaam from himself. Lust had so blinded his eyes that even an ass saw more, clarly than he. God re buked him and, those who trafficked with evil spirits in order to produce results are raocked by the fact that a dumb ass . found voice and spoke. Finally, after . repeating his condi tional permission that he was to speak only the word Jehovah was to give him, he is. permitted to proceed with the "princes of Balak." Balaam a Prophet. III. The changeless message, Ch. 24. Read carefully the intervening chap ters. In them. we have the acount of Balaam meeting Balak and of his brief but wonderful prophecy concern ing Israel. Balaam gives us a won derful description of one who is a prophet (24:16). He (1) "heareth the words of God," (2) "knoweth the knowledge of the most high," (3) "seeth the vision of the almighty." Verse 17-is a wonderful phophecy of the Lord Jesus, who is "a star," for he "lighteth every man who cometh into the world." (See also 2 Pet. 1:19.) He is called "a sceptre" be cause of his kingly sway (see Lk. 1: 32, 33, Heb. 1:8). From the context we read how once his lips were open ed he declared a wonderful prophecy concerning these whom Balak consid ered his enemies and with prophetic eye he sees the coming glory of Israel. Balak's anger Is kindled, and he seeks to drive Balaam away, but each time there comes forth from his lips one of these unwelcome prophe cies. These marvelous prophecies which fell from Balaam's lips, as an instrument, taught that this entire un der world of evil is under control of Jehovah and its curses upon, his peo ple are important. He may even com pel unwilling instruments, if needful, to become agents for the accomplish ment of his purposes. Balaam's sad end strikingly illustrates the fact that a man may admire the ideal of right eousness and the beauty of holiness and yet failing to yield his own life to those principles fail utterly in the consummation of his life and hl3 in fluence. He taught Israel to ein. Th Golden Text. It would almost seem that James must have had Ba laam in mind when he wrote these words. Double-minded means ' "two minded" and unstable means that we lack foundation, are "not fastened down." James is speaking of the lack of wisdom which may be sup plied by asking him who gives liber ally, but admonishes us to ask In faith, "nothing wavering." This is a picture of all men. who. knowing God. yet deny his power, and for the greed of gain refuseto yield to his claim and so fail in the realization cf tholx true SftJvea. - 1
The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 29, 1913, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75