The Christian Sun
m
W Atkinson.
IN ESSENTIALS—UNITY. IN NON-ESSENTIALS—LIBERTY. IN ALL THINGS—CHARITY.
$1.50 The Year.
Established 1844.
ELON COLLEGE, N. C., JANUARY 31, 1906.
Volume LVIII. No. 5.
The Official Organ of the Southern
Christian Convention.
CARDINAL PRINCIPLES
1. The Lord Jesus is the only Head
of the Church.
2. The name Christian, to the exclu
sion of all party and sectarian names.
8. The Holy Bible, or the Scriptures
of the Old and New Testaments, suffi
cient rule of faith and practice.
4. Christian character, or vital piety,
the only test of fellowship or church
membership.
5. The right of private judgment, and
the liberty of conscience, the privilege
and duty of all.
EDITORIAL COMMENT.
The Gospel of Good Roads.
As is known of all men. one of
the greatest hindrances to the de
velopment of our southern country
has been our deplorable public
roads. Bad roads have hung,
and in all too many instances(
do yet hang, as a mill-stone about
our neck to drag us into a sea of
mud and slush. We have pulled
and tugged and slashed through
merciless mud, all tie time crying
poverty, poverty, taxes already too
high, no more taxes for roads, and
such like: as if good roads were not
the highest economy at almost any
price and bad roads were not a
costly, expensive nuisance under all
conditions. Put this dewu as a
truism of taxation: That people
and community pay the highest and
dearest road tax who have the
poorest roads. That rule will
stand any test. J t is a strange
freak of silly economy that makes
a man kick as high as a tree when
be pays five dollars into his county
treasury for a road tax, but frets
the jnortal patience out of himself,
lays unnecessary strain upon his
conscience, and spends' a day with
a much, belabored team trying to
carry what he should have carried
in half day, and vu'th pleasure,
without once considering
last experience, and not
came at the higher price.
Bad roads are costly to pocket
book, to patience, to conscience and
to proper speech and conduct.
In many communities people can
not with any degree of safety and
agreeableness go to their church on
the Sabbath, during several winter
months, for no other reason on
earth than that bad roads intervene.
that this
the first,
For this reason, if for no .other,
there is a gospel of good roads.
We had started to say this: and
we believe in it lies the secret of
most of our bad roads: Many of
those employed to put, and keep, in
proper shape our public roads know
as much about building a good
road as a Jole of Jolo knows about
building airships. It is a sickly
shame how some counties and dis- J
tricts waste their needed money in
the hands of incompetent and
worthless road superintendents. To1
build a good house requires the j
service of an architect. To build a
good road you must have a road
architect—a highway engineer—or
he will dig you a hole instead of
build yon a highway.
There is this need among us:
good, honest, intelligent, skilled
highway engineers. Until they
come and we get the benefit of
their skill and ability we are going
to remain in the mud. A clod
hopper may knock clods, and e' en
dig a ditch; but he will never con
struct a substantial public highway.
There is a gospel of good roads and
for the sake of common decency
and long suffering and much abused
humanity we can, all of us, afford
to preach this gospel somewhat.
Our plea is for better roads, and
to that end, better and more efficient
road builders.
Congress Next.
The spirit of investigation is cer
tainly in the air. Last year Tom
Lawson said that certain corpora
tions and moneyed men in high
station were thieves, cut-throat rob
bers of the people and his “Fren
z ed Finance,” brought some of the
boldest accusations against men of
means ever seen in the print of our
day. Investigation of the big in
surance companies of N. Y. began
with we know what frightful and
odious disclosures.
This investigation has given the
public au insight, and possibly
also, whetted the appetite.
At any rate another great maga
zine, The Cosmopolitan, announces
that it has employed a most force
ful contemporary writer, and one
who is in possession of bundles of
evidence of a most damaging na
ture, to turn the search-lights on
the United States Senate. It is
claimed that there is “treason/’
“corruption,” and “graft” in the
Senate such as the public has not
yet heard or dreamed of. In a
foreword The Cosmopolitan says “A
searching and unsparing spot-light,
will be turned upon each qf the in
iquitous figures that walk the Sen
ate stage at the national Capitol.
This convincing story of revelation,
to be told in several chapters, and
to run well through the magazine
year, has been called ‘The Treason
of the Senate/ for the reason that
that is a fit and logical title for this
terrible arraignment of those who,
sitting in the seats of the mighty at
Washington, have betrayed the
public to that cruel and vicious
Spirit of Mammon which has come
to dominate the nation.
“The truth told in the courts and
in public print about the senators
now under indictment, as well ag,
the facts collected against many of
their corrupt colleagues, proves
beyond doubt that these
men of the toga, selected
by their state legislatures to repre
sent the people, are really the re
tainers of the money power.
“Obstructive though it has been
toward nearly all corrective legisla
tion aimed at the further usurpation
of power by the lawless plutocrats,
the Senate has always cheerfully
voted money for the building of
warships, for coast-defense works
and heavy armament for the pro
tection of the people of the nation
against foreign aggression. But
the question now arises: Who is
to proteot us from the Senate? This
question comes with peculiar force
while five senators are under in
dictment, others are publicly
! charged with betraying their trusts,
and at least one has been permitted
to draw a regular salary from the
government while under conviction
for flagrant violation of the federal
laws.”
Whether The Cosmopolitan will
“make good,” in its claim to lay
bare the “treason, corruption and
graft,” of the Senate remains to be
seen, but evidences make even the
most optimistic fear that many
public officials are not clean
handed.
The spirit of investigation is in
the air: As long as truth is ad
hered to and carefully portrayed,
there is no danger, but much good
to be accomplished. For the only
way to correct an evil is to find the
evil and learn its nature.
Events of a Great Career.
Gen. Joseph Wheeler, whose
death occurred in New York, Jan.
25, 1906, was born in Augusta,
Ga., Sept. 10, 1836, graduated
from West Point 1859. Served
as lieutenant of a cavalry school at
Carlisle, ; Pa., till April, 1861, re
signed and took a commission in
the Confederate Army—colonel of
the 19th Alabama Infantry. Pro
motion after promotion came and
at the age of 29 when the war
closed he was commander of the
entire Confederate cavalry forces.
In May/ 1898, President McKin
ley appointed him major general of
volunteer-^- in the United .States
Army and was assigned to service
at Santiago, and was cavalry officer
in command at San Juan.
Ill all General Wheeler was in
800 fights and in command in 200
battles. Was wounded three times,
and had sixteen horses shot under
him, and many others wounded.
Thirty-two of his staff officers were
killed in battle. Never in all his
life did he command ‘'Go For
ward/' but in a high toned, squeaky
voice cried, “Come on.”
Was in Congress from 1881 to
1899 and was re-elected again but
resigned. . From Aug. 1899 to
Jan. 1900 he commanded a brigade
in the Philippines. Was commis
sioned Brigadier General iu U. 8.
Army June 1900. Was the au
thor ot many books—histories of
campaigns, wars, etc. Was a con
sistent Christian gentleman, mem
ber of the Episcopal church. Was
buried in the Arlington cemetery
Jan. 30, 1906,with military honors.
Covington Letter.
*** In a letter from one of the
studenes at Elon College, received
recently, hje says: “The college is
conducted in a manner that means
a better life for the students.” This
ought to be a word of great en
couragement to our people to give
all possible aid to President Moffitt
and the npble men and women as
sociated with him in the work of
training our youug people, and it
will no doubt be a stimulus to the
President and the teachers to work
but the harder to maintain the very
best possible standards for the life
and work of the young people com
!
milted to their care. I know of
few such opportunities for influen
cing the next generation of laborers
in the world’s great work, as comes
to the leaching force in our colleges
Let us keep steadily in view that
jour help is in God, and seek to so
do all this work as to lead ihe
young to glorify God in their daily
service—a mission angels might
covet, aud be no worse for the de
sire.
*%* We had a bit of a visit
last week from Dr. Staley, of Suf
folk. He had been in Dayton at
tending the meeting of the Board
of Trustees of the C. P. A , and
when his work was done, he spent a
few hours in a visit to Mrs. Mary
Rush, the widow of the much be
loved and lamented, Rev. H. Y.
Rush, of West Milton, O. From
there he came to Covington, and
spent just one hour with us, aud
then .departed for Oberlin, Ohio,
to visit some of his former parish
ioners. We enjoyed his stay,
though it was brief. I have
learned through another source
that the Christian Publishing As
sociation had a fine year’s work,
clearing nearly five thousand dol
lars, and this iu the face of mov
ing and setting up anew for work.
*** I had a letter teday from
Rev. R. H. Holland, E. Va. Con
ference, now in his eighty-seventh
year. Though feeble, he still
writes a hand that would put many
of us younger men to blush. He
speaks of his deep interest in the
work, and his desire for its pros
perity. Also only receutly, I had
a letter from J. W, Wellons, H.
C. and Va. Conference, who is now
in his eighty-secoud year. The
fervent spirit his letter breathes
would indicate a man or fatty, but
of course, the heart may keep
young, even though the outer man
perish day by day, for the inner
life is continually renewed from on
high. Bro. Wellons gives a good
word for the college, but he is in
terested in all the work of the
church. He says the work of the
dormitory is resting a bit just now,
waiting for good weather, when it
is hoped it will be speedily com
pleted. The work on the orphan
age goes onward. It does me good
to hear of these encouraging fea
tures in our work South.
The capitalist emphasizes
money; the business man, business;
the educator, education; the scien
tist, science; the mathematician,
figures; now why may not, why
ought not, the Christian above ev
erything else to emphasize spiritual
ity. This is the need of the
church today. Never mind as to
how we may reach this eud, al
though that is most important, but
let me press this one thought, Have
you iu a deep personal experience
come to know God iutimately,
have you come to have close fel
lowship with Him, have you in
this way learned how to come
close to Him in prayer, have you !
got power to bring from Him an
swers to your prayers and sweet
rest for your heart? Yo« do not
like my way of seeking to find so
much of the blessed life—well,
never mind, as to my way, has
your way been effective to the end
in view? If so, regardless of the
way, I give you a brother’s heart
and hand? What is your answer?
J. Pressley Barrett.
'“'Digging-Bible Gold.
NUMBER TWO.
To get at the real meaning of
any sentence is of the highest im
portance to the reader, as otherwise
he is not edified to the extent of
his opportunity. Nowhere is this
more important than in the study
of God’s Word. Take this sen
tence: ‘‘And when thou prayest,
thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
are—Matt. 6:5.”
To get the true meaning of that
text we must know what is meant
by “as the hypocrites are.”
In the days of Jesus the stage
actors were called “hypocrites”—
persons who acted a thing not
meaning it, only desiring to en
gage the attention and win the ap
plause of men. From this fact we
get our word hypocrite, which, true
to its origin, has come to mean a
person in morals or religion who
acts a thing to be seen of men, anti
not in heart meaning it.
On this account Jesus said: “Be
not as the hypocrites when we
pray”—do not be actors when ye
pray, not meaning it from your
heart. Do not pray simply to be
seen of men, rather than heard of
God.
I beiive it will do us'all good to
examine ourselves as to this injunc
tion of Jesus to his disciples, an to
not praying to be seen of men. It
is not an easy thing to do, anil I
doubt that many of us are innocent
of this wrong in our public prayers
-it is so hard to keep our eyes and
hearts fixed on Jesus wlieu we are
praying in public. Let us more
than ever watch to see that we do
not in our public prayers be as the
actors are—keeping an eye on
what men will say of our prayer.
1 his cannot well be done till we
get much in earnest, somewhat as
indicated in our study of Luke
11:8.
All private prayer should be
made under directions _ r 1 by
Jesus, or as nearly so as c.rjum
stances will permit. Do you re
call what he said in regard to this
matter? See Matt 6:6.
Gold Digger.
It is not a question of whethe
the prayer meeting or Sunday
school can live without you. But,
can you live without them?
You may be a good moral man
without being a Chrislian, but you
cannot be a Christian without being
a good moral man.
Russian accounts now show that
her recent trial at arms with Japan
cost her the inconceivable sum of a
billion and fifty millions dol’ars,
not iucluding her losses of territory
and internal disturbances. But the
cost of war is always beyond com
putation.
---» ■ -
Viscount Aoki comes as the
first Ambassador from Japan to the
United States and Hon. Luke EL
Wright, of Tenn., goes, by appoint
ment of President Roosevelt, a»;
America’s first Ambassador to Ja
pan. So Japan formally comes,
upon the arena as a first rate;
Power.
[