Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / Oct. 11, 1912, edition 1 / Page 2
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j; ll!:2Cos2l!c:!(ofaPikteOMivs Tnra Narrative of Interesting Cases by a Former Operativa of the William J. Bums Detective Atfeacv ' By DAVIO CORNELL , ., (Uupr right bj im IihwiIiiimI mm UurimJ MY FIRST CASE "Getting" the Man Who Hung Jury Up to the day that the manager of the New York office of the Burn De tective Agency handed me an order for )S0 expense money and atarted me up the Hudson river on my first man hunt, I had never done anything In my life that might have been suspect ed of even remotely resembling detec tive work. I probably knew as little about the business as anybody In the country, and I had never had any yearning or fntentlon to become a de tective. But I was 86 years old, out of work, almost broke In New Torkl had a family to support and, most Important of all, I happened to have met the celebrated detective who is the head of the agency by which 1 came to be employed, the largest rep utable private detective agency In the country. That was why I became, and am, a private detective. One morning I found myself at 42d street and Broadway, looking at the newspaper bulletins and wondering how long my money would last and where In the world I should turn for a job. One of the bulletins read: "Detective Burns Nabs More Bri bers." That bulletin did the trick. "He may remember me," I thought, "and ho may know of a job to fit me." I went straight down town to the office of the agency of which the big man is the head and asked If he was In. - "What do yon want of him?" asked the office manager. I was desperate. I said: "I know him, and I want a job." He looked me over, went into an Inner office for a while, and reap peared, bearing an application blank. The office, and everything In It, waa just as It would be in an up-to-date business office. The business of the place might as well have been selling Insurance as hunting criminals. The application blank- had all the conven tional questions of such a paper, and In addition these: "Were you ever connected with any police force, or any detective agency T Are you acquainted with any police officials, or any one em ployed by detective agencies? "Were you ever employed by any railroad? "Do you know anything about the newspaper business? "Have you a large number of ac quaintances, and can you keep your occupation from your friends and ac quaintances?" "Fill that out," said the office man ager. He had not even asked me if I wanted to become a detective, and but for the last questions on the blank I would not have known that he waa considering me as an applicant for such a position. "I've never done any detective work In my life," I said. "Good," he said. "If you had, we wouldn't have you. Fill out the blank." When It was filled out he took It and disappeared again. He was back In three minutes. "All right," he said, sitting down at his desk and picking up some papers, "There's a man up In Peeksville (a small town, on the Hudson river near New York), who hung the Jury in a damage suit. Want you to go up and get him. Here's the dope." He began to read from the papers In his hand. The gist of It was that one Kellner, a New York contractor, had done 1100,000 worth Of work on the water supply system of the town ' of Peeksville. When the time came for him to render his bill he had been .-... approached by one of the town's po litical powers, Bruley by name, and commissioner of public works, who let It be known that if he would make out a bill for $130,000, It would be al lowed in full without protest or ques tion, and that $5,000 of the $30,000 : overcharge would go to him as a re ward for placing certain officials In ' the way of fingering $26,000 of the !V people's money. ' Kellner had refused. When he ren dered his rightful bill for $100,000 the powers In the city hall calmly cut It to $85,000, claiming that portions of the work were poorly done; that parts of he contract had been awarded Illegally, but in reality merely get lng even with- kellner for refusing to assist Jtem, to. some easy graft Kellner promptly, sued. He had a case soi stkongy ind public opinion v was so strongly aroused over the ex posed scandal,- tbst recovery, of his ' $15,000 seenaed a foregone-conclusion. But the wonld-be gratters had manag ed to place the nigger in the. woodpile in the shape of one of their clan .on the Jury. Sloven of the jurymen 'on the first ballof&ad Tpteo for ( full Judgment for Kellner.', Thej- twelfth man had Toted "''. on that, ballot and on the second,' and the Jhird, and on 'every ballot Jtor the next Iwenty lour hours. He had, hung the. jury, and the case was a. mis-trial. The man's name was Harry .Donlin,' a real' r ' estate agent . ' t.C' "That a the man you've got -to get" said the office manager.1 "He did the trick, and he's been spending' money ever since. We've got to have a full CUE SIX ''OSTRICH Ly California Would Have Missed a Big Thing If They Had i t Cei. . i farm at East f tlrds swal- 'y i vSa- "i f 9 lor-.f - - or a I f - tl f 9 confession from him that we can use as evidence, and It's got to be in writ ing and sworn to, or told In the hear ing of at least two people: who gave him the bribe, when, and what for. And we've got to get it In a hurry, too. because the new trial is coming on In less than a month. Have you got any money?" I didn't have enough to be worth mentioning. He drew a pink pad to blm, wrote out an order on the cash ier for $50 and handed it to me. "Get up there right sway," he said. "You can get a train every hour on the even hour. Here are some report forms. Write a full report of your do ings every day and mall it every even ing. Don't forget to make your re port cover all your time." That was how I entered this bus! ness. I had been accustomed to see ing things move with businesslike ex pediency in other offices, but this beat all records. Thirty minutes before I had entered the office Inquiring for the chief. I had not seen the chief, had not been questioned; but here I was handed $50, sent out on what seemed to me like a complicated case of detective work, and being calmly told to get a full confession from a man I knew no more about than about Adam. They are Just trying me out to see how I set" I thought as I took the money order. So I said: "All right When shall I report here again?" We will let you know," was the answer. I caught a three o'clock train on the New York Central and took a seat in the smoking car. Across the aisle lolled s tall, lanky, good-natured young fellow whose ticket stuck in .the seat in front of him, showed that he was going to Peeksville, my destination. On the chance that he' lived in the town, or knew something about it I took out my pipe, stuffed It and be gan to search, ostentatiously, for the matches I pretended not to have. I drew his attention first then said: You don't happen to have an extra match, do you?" "Sure," he said, and began to dig. crossed over and sat down beside him. As I accepted the match and prepared to light my pipe I stuck my ticket In the seat before us, where he could not fall to see It Going to Peeksville, too?" he said, genially. Yes," I said, puffing away. "You going there?" Yep," he said. "I live there. You don't live there, do you?" No," I answered. Thought not," said my friend. "I know everybody there. Peeksville is a mighty nice little place." He looked me over. I was prosperous looking. Say," he said, "if you're thinking of buying a place up there you want to see Donlin by all means. He's the agent for the best real estate bargains in town. I'm a friend of his, and I know he's right." Donlin was the man I was after. I pretended to misunderstand the name. Who? "Donaldson'?" "Donlin," he corrected. "Harry Donlin. I'll introduce you to him if you wish when we get up there." I did my best to get on a friendly basis with my good natured young friend, and by the time we neared our destination I knew that his name was Daley, he knew that mine was Cor nell, and we were getting along so well that when we stepped from the train we walked .straight across the street to have a friendly glass of beer. In the barroom we ran into a short, heavy set man, with a nervous. twitching mouth, and restless eyes. He was one of the most worried look ing men I have ever seen. "Ah, hello, Harry!" bawled Daley. "Say, Harry, I want to introduce you to an old friend of mine from Chicago. Mr. Cornell, like to have you meet Mr. Donlin. Mr. Donlln's an old pal of mine, too." Mr. Donlln's expression relaxed a little when he heard that I was "an old friend of Daley's." It waa obvi ously a relief to him to hear that 1 was known by one of his "pals," and he showed it by greeting me in a hearty manner, and by insisting on buying drinks. I told him that I might be Interested in a house in Peeksville. and he began to, treat me with considerable deference. When I left him for the evening we had made an appointment for ten o'clock next morning to make a tour of Inspection of the desirable houses tor sale In Peeksville.. : '.',:.. We drove through ' the town and looked at half a dosen little houses. I was not particularly Impressed with any of them, or at least pretended not to be. There was one that I told Don lin might do if I decided that the town was to my liking. For the next two days he spent about half of his time and some of his money proving to me that he was s good fellow, and that' the town was full of good fellows. On the second day he was calling me by my first name, and I was reciprocating. He was an easy-going, not over-brilliant Irishman,. who apparently- was afraid .ever to become , entirely sober, and whomever wanted to be without a congenial companion to talk to. He waa plainly living. -under!' a great strain. .'.':. ..- . "..v.-.',.- - i the: Overland Monthly, not one visitor to. 10,000 get out to the real farm, which is several miles hack In the country snd to which tourists are not admitted. Ostrich farming is now be ing carried on successfully in several parts of the southwest but It came near., be'ng nipped in tie bud at tie 8' ".rt . ; . . . " .: T.7 ?n Cawston, the trnt r i to et s t'-.e work, sarU-:i fir "j Af- ti i "t s' h . : ' 1 ' 1 I 3 j if'., t" f-'".' ..'t t l -y . : - .. i x t t i t its On the third day a letter from the office directed me to come in to the New York office that evening. "Go in and see the chief." said the office manager when I reported. The chief was in his private office with my reports on his desk before him.' "Well." he said, without troubling about a greeting, "you're showing con siderable speed for a big fellow. guess you'd better begin . to do the crook stall right away. You're from Chicago. You got into a little trouble out there and you had to leave. You are keeping out of sight of the Chi cago authorities, and you picked out Peeksville as a likely place to hide in. You understand, don't you?" Tm to pose as a crook?" - "Certainly. This man Donlin Is a natural blabber, who'll talk if you get close to him. You have got a good start by pretending to be looking for a house. Now, tomorrow you stall about being afraid of going out so much; keep under cover. Stay in your room a lot Begin to fight shy of the house ' proposition. Let your man know that you're a little afraid of him. Keep away from him. Make him come to you. Then let blm pump it out of you that you're hiding, and that you cleaned up big on a crooked deal in Chicago. We'll have a letter written to you from the Chicago of fice. Lose this letter where your man will find and read it and your stall as a crook will make good. And if he begins to show any inclination to tell you his own secrets, at first tell him you don't went to hear them; that you've got troubles enough of your own. Understand? And the next time you come into the office cover your tracks by going through some building with two entrances before coming here." I went back to Peeksville, and the next day I stayed in my room. I had my meals sent up and sent a boy out for some magazines to read. I went out for a walk at night keeping en tirely to the dark side streets. The clerk eyed me rather strangely as I returned, and I knew that soon Don lin would hear about my strange con duct V ''... 1: The next day I did the same thing. In the evening there was a knock at my door. .'.;.:: . "Who is It?" I demanded, sharply. "Donlin," came the answer. "What's Lthe matter, old man? Feeling slckj" After delaying a moment J opened the door a little, looked out, as if to assure myself that It was Donlin, and let him In. He looked at me curi ously. ;.'.''.. ' :.'. "You aren't sick, are you?" he said. "No," I said. "I just stayed la my room, that's aH,".v . He kept looking at me steadily. "Anything gone wrong?" he said. "Oh, noj I said. "No I Just got tired of showing myself of running around so much." . I had never had any experience in acting before, but let me - say here that such success as I hare 'had as a detective has been due more to the fact that I possess a certain natural talent for playing parts In a way, to win the confidence of the man 1 a after, than anything else. Before Don lin left me that evening he had fully drawn the conclusion that I . was in wanted - at Cape Town, chartered a vessel and put them aboard. Just when the ship was ready to leave the Cape Town city fathers got wind of it and hurriedly fixed up a law for bidding the exportation of ostrlil.es. They wanted to keep the Industry for t, .".wives. ' Can all r-3 j a C " :i cf tv9 r V n U ( ! iii'. : r 1 t I 1 1 t t i 1 ? c some sort of trouble, and that I was in Peeksville for the purpose of keep ing out of sight The last words he said were: ' "Don't worry, old man. We're your friends. The bunch here is right' Two days later the fake letter came to me from the Chicago office. It was mailed' In a plain envelope and professed to come from my brother. It read: " - , ,-. . ; "Dear Dave: . "I have been talking with Mr. Grim mer, and you are mlataken in believ ing that he only wants to hurt you; all that he cares bout Is getting his money back. . I told him that be could take his choice, either go on and stir up a lot of noise and discredit you here forever, and get no money back, or else get his money snd keep quiet He said: 'Give me my money; that's all I rare about I then told him that he waa mistaken when he raid the amount you had got was $38,000. I said that you had got less than $25, 000, and that In moving around the country you had spent $3,000, so all you had was about $22,000. He-dldn't believe It but he Is so greedy for money that he agreed to drop every thing, snd sign a paper clearing you if he gets back $22,000. . "Now, I think that was a pretty fine piece of business on my part, and that It Is the best thing you can do. Even if you go Into court and fight him and show him up for what he is, he is going to show you up, and youll be ruined if he does. If you return $22. 000 you clean up $16,000; which will help some. My advice Is that you do this. At all events let me know at once what you are going to do. "Don't forget to burn this. ' "Your brother, "FRED." Donlin took me buggy riding to look and poor at another house that afternoon. We were chums by ; this time. When I left him I managed to slip the letter, without the envelope, into the seat where I had been sitting without be ing observed. ' I never saw. or heard of that letter again, but Donlin found it and read it and it did its work, as I discovered later. One day just three weeks after I came to PjBeksvllle, he came up to my room slightly more under the In fluence of liquor than usual, and told me that he had quarrelled with his wife. And through that I "got" xay man. I had won his confidence; he trusted me even before his wife, v "That's been my whole trouble all the time." he said. "My wife won't let me alone. First it's one thing she's nagging about then another. I'd never been in any trouble if it hadn't been for her. She's always hollering about me not giving her enough money. Well, here a short time ago I had a chance to put one over, and I did $2,500 worth. And Uw she starts asking me where I got the money I'm giving her and begins to bawl me out I quit 1 just walked out and shell whistle another tune before I go back." - The truth waa that his wife was disgusted over his drinking. "Skip out tor a louple days and et her cool down," I suggested. "I tell you what let's do; let's take a night boat 'up to Albany and hang around there for , a couple of days. . I'm get- $500 apiece for the ostriches. All but six of the birds died on the voyage. These six have all gone the way of their fathers now, but their progeny are numerous and healthy. Tie ostriches iti Cape Colony for age for t' "o't i, eaih blid bavi'g a r"- -3 cf Z J i (f t- "L It is d i t i v f t' ro i t yo-'s v . 'l- t t i . 1!.e C t I ting kind of tired of this place my self. What do you say?'" "I'll go you," he said. "I dont care where I go. ' Damn it A fellow can gat into more trouble when things aren't right at home than ha knows how to handle. If she was the kind of woman you could tell things to" "Don't talk to me about that Harry,' I Interrupted. "I'm the one who knows what that means. To be frank, that'i why I left Chicago because things weren't right st home." , "Yes. but take my case here," he protested. "I" . "I dont want to hear your troubles,1 I said. "I've got all I can do to hold down my own. Let's go down to NeW York on the next train snd hang around there today and go up -the river on the night boat" "Come on," he said. -. Had I given him a chance to talk he might have spouted out his whole story on the train going down to the city. That was sll thst was troubling him; he needed somebody to whom he could tell the story of his crime. But I kept Interrupting snd leading the' conversation away to other sub jects. As soon ss we reached New York I made a pretext of calling up to find at what time the boats left. and called up' the office and told the whole situation. "Well," ssld the minager in a cas ual sort of way, "we ought to get him tonight on the boat I'll reserve stateroom for you on the C W. Morse, of the Hudson Line. Yon just hold your man off until you get him In there, snd then get him to talk. That's all you need to trouble about We'll do the rest You get your boat at 6:80 at One Hundred and Twenty-ninth street snd when you enter your state room take off your hat and wipe your forehead so our men will have a spot Donlin relieved bis soul. on you and know that everything Is an right" . r I came out and told Donlin that I had reserved a stateroom tor us by phone.' I had no idea of how all this was going to work out but I followed directions implicitly. The New York American Leaguers were playing De troit that day, and Donlin being a fan we went to the game. It was my purpose to keep him In a crowd so he would have no temptation to begin his tale of woe until- we got on the boat It seems strange to think of a detective working himself Into a sweat to keep his quarry from mak ing a confession, but that is what I did this afternoon.' After the game we hurried from the ball grounds to the boat yhere, as we entered our room, I removed my hat and wiped my forehead, as per directions. Two young fellows, apparently clerks, had staterooms on either side of ours, but it was not until later that I knew what part they were playing in our programme. ;' I waited until the boat had cast off before I began the line of talk I had decided upon. I began to curse my luck, my supposed former employ er, my alleged brother, my assumed wife, and everybody that ' I could think ot I played the part of a whim perer to a finish. ' "If they'd only stuck by me In the first place," I walled, "I would never have been In -any trouble, and now that I'm in they're throwing me ' ' here. They are sensitive to change apparently, for even now if a pair is moved from one cage to another it will not breed that season. Young birds of both sexes are put in tUe eame enclosure and soon dis ptny pronounced likes and dislikes. Fi; cf t'u!r own accord, each one ' t 'e n'B'e to vho-n to be r ' 1 f r 1 j. WLpn V.'a t :.::-; - i ii j t' e r ' s i 1 i rr r " te 1 i i ft t i i i i : ',:. 11. l s a.; down. Well, there's one satisfaction: I'll take some of 'em with me when I go down." . . ; .ii'.. -"How much did you get out ot ltf demanded Donlin suddenly. . I looked at him and knew he had read the lotter. ., -.' , 1 "I'll come through with about $16, 000," I said. "But I wouldn't go through this worry again for ten times that much,. "Hell," he growled. "And ypu're kicking! What would you say to tak ing a measly little twenty-five hun dred from a dirty bunch of rich crooks and going around with everybody sus pecting you of having done It?" "Say, Cornell," be said, striking, the side of his chair. "You think you've been steered up against it and thrown down, but let me tell you that you don't know what a raw deal la Here now, listen to me. I want to tell you this; you've got to listen., Why, darn It, man, you've got . to listen. Til go craiy If I don't tell somebody." He loosened his collar and went on. "Here a little over a month ago old man Smythe, our mayor, and Bruley, the commissioner of public worki, and the rest of that bunch of high-binders that runs things in Peeks ville, got into a mess. They'd tried to get a contractor named Kellner to help them sting the city for $80,000. He turned on em and wouldn't give 'em a chancel and to get even with him they cut down his charge for work on the waterworks .contract $15,000. Well, he comes out and sues them. He's got a cinch case, see, and the best they can hope for is to pack the Jury and get a disagreement Old Smythe says, 'Donlin, you're drawn on the venire for the Jury that is going to try this case. We want you on there, you understand; we want to have one of our friends on that Jury. We're glad of the chance to have you on because we know you're one of us snd we all want to stick together. We will see thst you get on that Jury don't worry about that and there'll be a little envelope slipped into your pocket as you lesve here, and the worst we want. Is a disagreement Understand?'" "How long ago was this?" "Only a little more than a month ago," tie said. "Juat three days be fore the trial the night of May 2Srd. Well, as I was saying, I went out, and when I got home I felt In my pocket snd there was the envelope with $2,600 In It" '....- Didn't you see them slip the en velope to your I asked. "Sure," he said. "Bruley sUpped it Into my pocket and winked and slap ped me on the shoulder when he did it- Well, they got me accepted for the jury all right Then Bruley comes to me snd says: 'Say, Donlin, don't forget you're one of us now. You've got to deliver the goods.' "Well, I delivered the goods, all right Tho other eleven men wanted to kill me, but I hung out 'No judg ment' I said, .'or I'll stay out until Christmas.' I earned that $2,600 all right we disagreed. And the other day Mrs. Smythe gives a lawn party and never a word about inviting Mrs. Donlin. Ob, yes, I was one ot them all right when they needed me." "Pshaw!" I said. "You hung a Jury tor 'em for .wenty-flve hundred and now they're turn! g cold to you?" "Yes. That's the kind they are." I "Pshaw!" I said. ' "Now let's go snd get something to eat I'm deeper- ately hungry." I haven't given Donlln's complete conversation here, but only the gist j of his confession. But Donlin himself ! had a complete typewritten report of his talk In the stateroom handed to ! him in the hotel in Albany two days later The Chief and the office man ager called on him unexpectedly In his room snd, hsndlng him a carbon copy of his conversation, asked htm It there were any inaccuracies to be cop rected in it : . -' - "I guess, that's about right," said the Chief casually. "We knew sll the time that the reason you hung that jury was to save those fellows, snd we knew you weren't doing it for your health; but we wanted to gel you to tell us all about it yourself, so we got it when you were talking to your friend on ' the boat the other night Now, Donlin, we've got thi goods on you," said Burns ."You've got two chances. One Is to make us put yon in prison for accepting a bribe; the other Is to go with us and help ui to make those crooks, who paid you, pay our client his $16,000 without any more lawsuits. What are you goim to do; go to Jail, or come on out side?"- . ' , ';;'";..X . f .-'" f Donlin was staring at tne report is dased fashion. There it was, every word that he bad said, every question that I had asked,' down In carbon; and we had been in a locked state room while we were talking, and he had been with me ever since. He wsi dumbfounded for a while. . Then w expressed the universal curiosity over detective work. 'He looked up in amazement at the Chief and said: , "Well! How in the devil Old yov ever do it?" - ' - "... But it was not the Chiefs disposi tion to give away the tricks of thi trade. It was not until several dayi later, when Donlln's confession had frightened the politicians at Peeks vtlle into acknowledging Contractor KeUners blU in full, that I knew thai in . each o the str.terooms adjoining ours there had been a stenographet with his ear to a dictagraph all th way up the river, and that Donlin lit erally had made his confession it the hearing of three people. "That was Just a piece of hull headed luck, wasnt it?" I asked Chief Burns.-' ' -:'' v ' "Oh, no," he said. "We had tried five other men on him before you; we were sure to get somebody be woull take to and blab his head off. It was only a question Of time. Most detective work Is." , ' ' kept for breeding purposes out on the main farm'. The latter have a 120- acre alfalfa ranch, whereas only about eight acres are available f .r those at Pasadena. - They breed well. Dot less than 140 chicks being b:.: '.J every year. Oft en there are 14 a to the nest Contrary to f eneral belief, ostrich c s f. - la'atalie. Usually they are t - i ss an omelette, and now and i i at t:,a Fasadena hotels a do? -a or i or people will sit down to ih a fca.U . . Lesson By B. o. SELLERS, Director of Evening Department, The Moody Bible Institute, Chicago.) LESSON FOR OCTOBER 13. ; CLKAN AND UNCLIAN. - LESSON TEXT-Merk 7:Mt ' GOLDEN TEXT "For the Kingdom of God Is not eating and drinking, but right- kuiumi and peace and Joy In the Holy Qboat."-Rora. M:1T B. V. -. . This leseun deals with the last of those four events that marked the orlsls in the life of Jesus st Caperna-. urn. . It occurred just before the third period of his Galilean ministry and his final departure for Jerusalem. Lessons II. and VII. oi the second quarter ot this year showed us Jesus' attitude towards the lew. Here we see his attitude towards rt.bblnlcal tra dition, (l) They are the traditions of men, and not the law of God. (2) They were made a pretext whereby men evaded the commands of the law, - We see before us three general divi sions, I. The accusation, v. 1-5; II. The answer, v. 6-13, and HI The ap plication, T. 14-28. Ceremonial Neglected. The growing hatred of the Phari- . sees led them to make the long Jour ney from Jerusalem that they might observe him and find wherein to ac cuse him. While they were studying him they at the same time revealed their ideal of the kingdom ' of God. They took special notice that the dis ciples ot Jesus ate without the careful observance of the ceremonial cleans ing of their hands. We must not nn-. derstand this to mean so much the removal of actual uncleanness, but rather that the disciples had neglect ed the ceremonial oservanoe of the washing of hands ot which the Phari sees were so punctilious. Mark (v. 8 and 4) adds illumination by calling especial attention to these traditions to which the Jews adhered so tena ciously. Thus we can see that their ideal of man's' relation to God was largely a matter of external ceremony. Purity to them was an outward mat ter, something largely governed by the traditions of men and which they had "received to hold" v. 8. The answer of Jesus reveals a very opposite ideal. He begins by calling the Pharisees hypocrites. A hypocrite is a play , actor, one who hides behind a mask. Then applying the prophecy of Isaiah, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are hiding their true character behind the mask of ceremonial - cleansing. Such play acting is but a poor imi tation of the real heart condition de manded by God (Ps. 51:10). Their hearts were far from God even though with ftheir lips they professed to serve him, "and many like : things , ye do." , The service which is pleas lng to God Is the doing of his will It consists not in the fulfilling of a rit ual, but in the fulfillment of life, e. g., a growing character. As if this an swer were not sufficiently strong for the nature of the case and the evil mentioned, Jesus openly accuses his accusers by charging them with set ting aside the commands of God, as given by his servant Moses, for the traditions which they had accepted from men. Moses had clearly taught what a child's relation to his parent should be, whereas according to the traditions a man was excused from such obligations if he said, "Corban." e. g., "I have dedicated to God that whloh would relieve your need." Thus they prevented a man from serving his parent and set aside the word ot God. We may follow tradition so long as it squares with the word of God, but when it is contrary to the spirit and intent of that word, we must at once break with tradition. Disciples Perplexed. v Jesus takes advantage of this dis cussion and turnirg to the mutitude upon whom the Pharisees would bind such a grievous burden of cermonlal ism and falsehood (Matt 23:4) warns them that it is not so much that which enters into a man that defiles him, but ; rather that which proceeds out of a man, v. 16. It seems quite natural that the disciples, should be perplexed snd should ask Jesus what was meant by -suoh a statement Jesus' answer, v. 18-23, shows us very clearly that these things coming .forth, reveal the , corruption within. Read Matthew 12:24, 35, Gen. 6:6 and James 8:10-12. Real purity is purity of heart, if the heart be not cleansed, what will it avail it we wash the hands? What then, is the application for this pres ent day? Clearly we are taught the danger Ot lip service without a change ot heart The danger of substituting the good tor the best Forms and ceremonies are good and have their place. They are significant They are Important teaching factors, but they must not be substituted for a pure heart We must beware lest we hide behind such a mask, and allow ourselves to play a part The heart -is deceitful (Jer. 17:9)). We must let God Implant a new heart (Ezek. 11:19, 10). ... :"-;;.:;- : '- V There is here also the plain teach ing as to Jesus' estimate of the Pen tateuch and lnferentlally ot the proph ecy of Isaiah. He specifically calls it the "Word of God" Surely we can aocept his estimate as contrasted with the traditions of the elders or the "consensus of modern thought" There is here also a great opportu. nity to emphasize -filial duty. This is a day and a time that needs empha sis Upon the fifth commandment Con sideration of parents' sacrifice, co-operation' with them in the bearing cf burdens, comfort for them in sorrow and adversity, and cheer for t' e n as they Journey down life's pal'v? nr. Ill--til C;n. pect and an !conow.ie ir reverer of t!.U ;;s h-.'f are two C.': tat are cursing tie riwing ge
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 11, 1912, edition 1
2
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