Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / April 17, 1908, edition 1 / Page 2
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it not the ,Jt LUaning thnsuamty Waxing Mammon ism THE TWIN SPECTERS OF OUR J$GE - By President Schurman of Cornell T-T A T . WUht Tvinlmlv lf OUT timC? iS AAA.! ' 13 ilJU Ultllt CLiiU niiwuu mean and sordid conception of human life which everjne prevails,? Among all classes and conditions of people do you not find a vitally active, if generally unexpressed, belief that the life of human beings, like the brute creatures about them, consists in the enjoyment of the material ttainss which perish in the using? To irpt nnd to have is the motto not only of the market. ' but of the altar and of the hearth. The energy of the nation I pouring Itself into production; we are coming to measure man man with s heart and mind and soul in terms of mere acquisition and possession. ' A waning Christianity and a waxing Mammonism are the twin spectres 01 r age. And between them not only the natural idealism of the spirit, but e Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule are disavowed or disregarded, td in their place, at least for the six active days of the week, is the ruthless I ruggle for life and the success of the strongest, the most cunning or tnu ost highly favored, whether by powers supernal or by powers Infernal. But the vast m.iioritv nre f.it:illv handicanried. and goaded either by the st ice. thev bitterly snounce a social order in which favored classes monopolize what tney aetm .e good things of the world. The call to earn a livelihood is two-fold. If you don't you become a rara te on the community and you stunt your own nature. The idle rich are an ccrescence in any properly organized community. The vice of the age is that men want wealth without undergoing that toil F which alone wealth Is created. Among the rich and well-to-do business ad professional classes "grafting" has been so common that the very idea of jmmercialism has become a by-word and a reproach. Financiers, capitalists, corporations may be the most conspicuous sinners; ut equally guilty is the merchant who cheats his customers, or the lawyer ho shows his client how to circumvent the laws, or the scholar who glorifies is patron's success in business, irrespective of the method by which that suc ess was achieved, or the preacher who transfigures the ruthless oppresser nd robber of six days into the exemplary Christian of the seventn. We are dealing with the virus of a universal infection. The whole nation, eeds a new baptism of the old virtue of honesty. The love of money and the eckless pursuit of it is undermining the national character. But the nation, thank God. is beginning to perceive the fatal danger. The eaction caused by recant revelations testifies to a moral awakening. At heart he cation is still sound, though its moral sense has been too long hypnotized iy national prosperity. h The Unlimited Power of h e T ho "Dannie ? Ey EX' Governor Frank S. Black, QvvwVS of New York. rttyl& T must be remembered that the people are all-powerful. They can do whatever they decide to do. They are now checked by their Constitution, but they made even the Con stitution and they can unmake it. There are at least two methods of doing this one by amendment and the other by revolutioa. But the prayer of every patriot in the land will be that the Constitution shall not now be changed. The ideas now most popular are also most dangerous. The clam or is for the limitation of foi tunes, forgetting that that also neans the limitation of industry; for tha curtailment of the power of the :ourts, forgetting that that means death to the freedom of the individual; for Jie equality of men by arbitrary rule, forgetting that this means to clog the ndustrious and help the lazy. The spirit now abroad if given rein would make he incompetent equal by law to the skilled, the dissolute equal to the sober, Jie cheat and shirk equal to the honest man. The people, when they try, can aze everything to the ground. They may unmake or remake their Constitu ion. They may, if they like, abolish their courts and legislatures and take he reins of government directly in their own hands. This means revolution, )ut are there no precedents for revolution? Is there any prophet abroad In ;hese days who can say how far the people would go in their present temper? vVould the majority vote to limit private fortunes? Would they vote to re listribute private estates which were largo; enough to tempt their cupidity? Vould they curtil the power of the courts? You can answer these questions is well as any body of men cow living, and you can also answer whether the juggested changes would be wise. est Sleeplessness By George Lincoln Walton, M. D. -I N O one can acquire the habit of sleep who has not learned the habit of concentration, of devoting himself single-minded to the matter in hand. If we practice devoting our minds, as we do our bodies, to one object at a time, we shall not only accomplish more, but with less exhaustion. Training in this direction will help us, on retiring, to view sleep as our present duty, and a sufficient duty, without taking the oppor tunity at that time to adjust 'or to try to adjust) all our , tangles, to review our past sources of discomfort, and to speculate, upon the ills of the future. ; , ,,A walk, a bath, a few gymnastic exercises, will often serve a useful pur jo&e before retiring, but if they are undertaken in a fretful and impatient spirit, and are accompanied by doubts of their effectiveness and the insistent .nought that sleep will net follow these or any other procedure, they are likely :o accomplish little. The best immediate preparation for sleep is the confidence that one will jleep, and indifference if one dees rot. This frame of mind is best attained by the habitual adoption or the same attitude toward all the affairs of life. It i3 an aid in its adoption as regards Sleep to learn that many have for years slept only a few hours a night, with out noticeable impairment of their 1 eaith or cemfort. From Lippincott's. aew Society's ""g Responsibility for Crime By Deputy Commissioner Woods, of Hie New York Police Department HERE is r.o sucn tning as a criminal class. Any .v;rf Tjent with reference to the to-called criminal clasu makes the prosperous feel entirely too comfortable, sitting at the club with their after-dinner cigars. It removes the feeling of re sponsibility from that section of society where it properly be longs, and places it on heredity and circumstances over which we have no control. In a large proportion of cases 1 the criminal is society, and not the poor fellow who has gone X wrong from lack of work, poverty, strangeness to the cus s and language of the country, or the sudden flash ,f passion common to all of us. Economic pressure and octoi maladjustment, well within the scope of our power to remedy, rillSexplain very much of the crime nnd the making of very many of oui cnni nais. And a great evil in our present f-ocial system is that it too often makes :k criminal of the first offender the citizen who has slipped over into wrong ioing once It makes him hardened instead of dealing with him as a human teinff. THE TRADITIONAL SITE OF THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE. 6A-STSR,' DAY AS Christ risen from the dead? If not, then the history of nineteen centuries Is an inso luble problem, the Christian Church Is a gigantic Imposture, the creed of Christianity is a house built on the sand, the hope of the Christian soul is a fond imagination. The grip of sin has not been loosened, death Is still the king of terrors, this pres ent world is our master. Innocence has suffered her irrevocable defeat, injustice is seated on the throne for ever. The meek and the lowly, the holy and the faithful have been de spised; the priests and the Pharisees, the tyrants and the traitors have con quered. And the most beneficienl and most radiant vision that ever visited the human soul is only a mirage. "Kat, drink nnd die, for we are souls be reaved. Of all the creatures under heaven's wide cope We arc most hopeless, who had once most hope. And almost belictiess, that had most be lieved. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. As of the unjust, also of the just Yea, nf that Just One. too! It is the one sail gosjel that is true Christ is not risen. ' Once a year this question demands an answer, once a week It stands at the door, every day as we live and work, and suffer and trust it, it is in the background of our minds. We may go to a distant land for the an swer to the tomb in Joseph's garden, said to have been open and empty on Easter morning. We may consti tute a court of law to decide the question, and take the evidence of the holy women, of the eleven apos tles of Christ, of Jewish enemies and a host of other disciples. We can appeal to the tradition of the church unbroken through the centuries and sealed by the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. We can cite the facts of history, the conversion of Saint Paul, the faith of the martyrs, and the miracle of Pentecost many times re peated. But this means a long jour ney and much reading and intricate argument. Can we not change the form of the question, and ask it again not has Christ risen? but is Christ alive? Let us turn from the centuries and take the date of this morning's letter; let us forget Palestine and be content with our own land; let us close the books and look at life. Let the schol ar come from his cloistered seclusion and the toiler from his workshop, and the mourner from his shadow, and meet where all are equal on the common platform of contemporary fact and human experience. Were one dropped from Mars upon this earth, could he discover that a certain person called Christ had once lived, and now was living, nnd was likely to live forever? Come first to the church it mat ters not whether it be St. Peter's at Rome, or "Mount Zioii" Chapel of WW- 1 J r - - v I r f ' 1 Browning's poem. It is a place of worship, where the human soul mak ing Its journey from one world to the next in the midst of the sad mys tery of life, unburdens itself of care and sorrow. So many hundreds or so many thousands are calling from the depths of their need unto God, whom no man hath seen or ever can see, and they are beseeching His mercy and His help through whom? Through Christ Jesus our Lord. They lift up their voices in a song of victory between the battle of last week and the coming battle of this week, unto whom? Unto Him who .s loving is and hath washed us from our sins. The crowd pours through the door, but they are other people than when they entered. That beaten man has straightened himself, that widow has peace upon her face, that outcast has obtained a glimpse of hope Christ Is alive. Come again to this other building which rivals a church. Within cool wards, fragrant with flowers and society; it Is the most practical phil anthropy that ever has been in vented; it Is the redemption of the chief woe of life, the Borrow of the children. And the founder of this home of joy Is the friend of little children. Better than all the manuscripts, and all the theologies and all the his tories are those three evidences of the living Christ. Here is the living Christ, whom no grave on earth and no throne in heaven can hold. "Though dead, not dead; Not cone, though fled ; Not lost, though vanished. In the great gospel and true creed, He is yet risen indeed: Christ is yet risen." Ian Maclaren, in Youth's Companion. EASTEIl With heart aflame and eyes tn r1itrh Yet glowed the wonder of a vision bright," In eager haste she sped to comfort bring To those who sorrowed for their Lord and King. "Fe is not dead." nhe cried, her voice Athrill with rapturous ecstasy. "Our Lord is risen, empty is the tomb; Our Lord is risen, past the night of gloont." But they, too jealous of their grief And Minding tears, believed ner not. lo them The story of the Resurrection Morn .Seemed but un idle tale in fancy born. Thev needs must see nnd touch and hear Before their doubting hearts could certain be That He for whom they mourned in an- cuish sore Had triumphed over death forevermore. O Faith that seeing not, believes, How dear to Him who died and rose again! His gift to us was Life, now prant we pray Our gift to Him be Faith, in Easter Day. Josephine Robinson, in the Home Mag azine. . Easter Novelties. All sorts and conditions of rabbits of apparentlr every age, from the tiniest bunny to the full-grown size with large startled eyes and long pointed ears; chickens, roosters, ducks and pigeons come in the form CHIIST IS RISEN. WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHRE EARLY IN THE MORNING. adorned with pictures, the sick are lying. . They are poor people, who can pay nothing for this kindness. Some of them have been useless peo ple, who Vave deserved nothing from society; some of them are incurable people, of whom nothing can be made. Yet the finest science and the most skilful physicians and the most faithful women are waiting on them. Why have they not been left to perish, as paganism would have left them? Why should this immense trouble be taken with them who can be no gain to any one? There is another Physician present whom no one sees; there is another Hand car ing for the sick which no one feels; there was a Name on the subscription list which was never printed Jesus Christ. Once more let us visit a character istic building of our modern city. It is an orphanage, and at its back door in some quiet street where none can of boxes, to be filled with dainty bon bons when the head is removed. One very novel candy box which gives no suggestion of the goodies within is a miniature well of cardboard pap ered to imitate wood, the top covered in a most realistic manner with rag ged moss, and the tiny oaken bucket hung from a silken cord. The top of the box opens to reveal dozens of tiny candy eggs of every color and flavor, and when closet! a small pompous rooster fastened to the lid keeps guard over the good things within. AN EASTEIt DAY. Stark garden shrubs, still half nsleep, In rising pools stand ankle-deep. The strolling path beneath the gate Has turned a river, stern and strait. The Faster rain drives cold and swift; The dark sky hints no mellow rift, But stretches obstinate and harsh Above a lifeless, leallcss marsh. Oh, joyously one living bit Of all the greyncss, hid in it, Pours forth his resurrection strain Across the rushing Easter rain. His notes the old-time faith repeat: He knows that earth is turning sweet, Is turning warm and fair and kind. Like inirncle who cannot find Within his heart? come to the pane. Listen across the Eastern rain! Fannie B. Damon, Dexter, Me. HE IS RISEN. WW Easter Th. (III.. .!., ...ii.i line, ui lug ucil la prlatlne bul swiy and tweli, Tbtlr iccred joy to tell. ' Wh!t Jattle roe, tremCIIne. btiitu Wltb ftlnteat, softeot. pinkest fluih, And woo tho lark anil thrust To alnf tbelr parent choral aoni, Tbelr notea of eratanr wild, atrong. i from Cairo tin dark prolong. With toai responalr rliluM tnd awing, Bleaaed bells of far St. IxiuU ring, Glad, allrerj tidings bring. Tha wild March Kiclea, of blue aad 'gold, Tha ligbtaome winds of spring unfold, ' Tha story wondrous, old That Jesus, Master, is not dead. Put from hla acented, rock-hewn bad, Ue bath la beauty fled Rick tik hla rentla mother's breast. ftl One more to be In raptura pressed. Scrapblclj t rest. . , . . . , . . -i sick, utri lo waispcr, tow uu riou Excellent woraa ot nope aua cnear, Dispelling gloom and fear. Into the ears of those who weep O'er dear ones lu deep grarea asleep, Where lengthening shadows creep. Are, back to loTlngly repeat Hla gospel lessons grand and sweet Of charity complete. To bid of (in and strife aqreease,' Of Easter happiness and peace A. Ihcusandiold Increase. 1 M KATHLEEN' KAVANAGB I EASTEIl EGGS. Ilumpty Dumpty has country cousins Who come to the city in spring by dozens; They make such a brilliant show in town You'd think that a rainbow had tumbled down Blue and yellow and pink and green, The gayest gowns that ever were seen, Purple and j.',old, and oh! such style. They are all the rage for a little while; But' their visit is short, for no one stay After the Faster holidays. EASTER CLOTHES. Alas, the time Is drawing near, And we won't have A suit, we fear, In which to join The glad parade Of those who'd put Us in the shade By showing oil" The clothes they wear. With studied, sup- Frcilious air. The Faster time Doth wring the heart Of poor folk who Dislike to part With all they have To trim their backs. When each of them Some comfort lacks Some comfort that He needs, you know, And's not put on For empty show. Ye gods, what fools These mortals be, Both great and small, Ami you and me! Appearances We must maintain , At any wst And any pain. That's why we'll sche : And pry around Until some sort Of way is found To deck ourselves In brave attire And be right there To hear the choir Sing Faster hymns In rhythmic iiow, While squinting at The hats below.. Paul Cook, in Birmingham Age-iierald.. see, children of misery in rags, in squalor, marked with wounds, friend less, ill-used, hopeless, are being re ceived. WiUii.'i iliia fi;- .idly place are comfort, healing, teaching, train ing, peace and gladness. From the front door in a public place children are coming out to enter on the du ties of life, healthy, intelligent, self reliant and self-respecting. It is the utilization of the waste products of Sweet the chime the bells are ringing, Sweet the carol angels singing; "Risen is our Lord most glorious, Over sin and death victorious." He is risen tell the story Wafted from His throne of glory; From the bonds of death set free O, grave, where is thy victory? Angels, strike your harps of glory; Waft, ye winds, the joyful story. While with happy voice we sing, Braises to our risen King. Emily Houseman Watson, in Herald. All that springetli from the sod Tendeth upwards unto God, All that comcth from the skies Urging it anon to rise. Welcome, then. Time's thrashing pain, And the furrows where each grain, Like a Samson, blossom-shorn, aits the resurection morn. AN EASTER PRAYER. So many eyes, tear-blinded, scarcely see The gracious hope ami promise of th spring; Though leaf and bud are rich in prophecy. They have no vision of the blossoming. Oh, God of pity! at this Fastertide, May all the sweet, glad promise of the day Steal into troubled hearts, and there abide Home Grant visions unto such as these, we pray. 7 . -v iiiuhu... iiiu.hu, ipani jiii ui Hfffrfwv imj h h i diiii m
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
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April 17, 1908, edition 1
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