Atlanta semi-weekly journal., February 02, 1909, Page 4, Image 4

About Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920

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The Semi-Weekly Journal.
Eetsred at the attests Poatofflce aa Mall Mat
ter ot the S»<o«d Cis**-
JAMES R- GRAY.
Editor and General Manager.
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arvMbt by special leased wires into onrotncr.
ft has a staff of distinguished contributor*,
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TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 2. I*B
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THE REPUBLIC’S HEROIC
CAPTAIN.
All the heroism of the sea has not
perished before the on-coming of *the
age of steam and commercialism and
wireless.
The dosing scenes of the wreck of
the White Star liner Republic were
as thrilling as anything in the
novels of Marryat.
The fidelity with which the wire
less operator, “Jade” Binns, stuck to
bls post has already been discussed
at length, and now Captain Sealby
and his first mate are the toast of
the world.
When all the passengers and the
crew of the Republic had been safely
transferred to the the captain
refused to leave the ship, and the
mate refused to leave hfs captain.
The Republic was In a serious con
dition. but the captain thought she
' ould be able to limp into port and
resolutely stood by her.
She had not proceeded far when
she began to show signs of going
down. Higher and higher rose the
water, until the captain was forced
to climb the mast to its very pin
nacle. A few moments before the
waves dosed over the big liner the
mate leaped into the sea and suc
ceeded in reaching a floating hatch/
The captain clung to the top of
the mast until he was literally swept
into the waves.
For some reason the suction was
not great as the ship went down.gsr
both captain and mat 4 would have
been swept into the fatal whirlpool.
In the last moments the captain fired
signals of distress from his revolver,
the towing hawser was cut, and the
life boats launched to resctie them.
Both men had literally glyen death
the dare, in order to save their
vessel If possible.
The pirates and the galleons of
Spain are gone; the solitude of the
sea Is a thing of the past, in these
days when the wide waters are alive
with vessels. But the old heroism
has not entirely passed away and the
bravery of such men as Inman
Sealby and Mate Williams is a
source of Inspiration
THE KAISER’S VENGEANCE.
The emperor of Germany has taken
a fearful vengeance upon his people
for the freedom with which they re
cently criticised him on account of
that interview he gave out to the
London Telegraph.
It will be recalled that press and
people alike Indulged in remarks
which would have brought down
upon them a life term of imprison
ment during the good old days when
leee majeate was in full force. It
was enough to make old Metternich
turn over tn his grave that the press
of Europe should have spoken so
freely of the Lord's anointed.
Ths kaiser went into his shell. He
e any more dramas or any
more poems or give out any new
cooking recipes. He didn't make
any "blue water'* speeches about the
future of Germany lying on the sea.
He stood apart, wrapped in the soli
tude of his own originality.
He was meditating what form his
resentment would take.
He has finally reached a decision,
and it is that the court circular is to
be abolished!
Was ever such refinement of cru
elty visited upon a great and loyal
people? Henceforth it will be im
possible to know what his imperial
majesty had for breakfast until it
leaks out through the cook. If a
sneeze is heard from the windows of
Pottsdam a whole nation may be
thrown into indefinite suspense as to
whether the kaiser has caught cold or
is merely driving out the cat.
if by any chance Maximilian
Harden should be invited to tea to
discuss the propriety of keeping a
still tongue in a wise head, the
veriest feint of the affair would not
be allowed to penetrate to the out
side world. The strenuous ruler
might ride ninety-eight miles and
leap « nine-barred gate, make a new
draft of the “Earl King" and dash
off an opera or so. and yet there
would be no court circular to inform
an expectant world of all these in
teresting facts.
It is dangerous to try to repress
a kaiser.
Starving for the court circular, his
impulsive subjects now realise that
fact.
INFLUENCE OF THE TAFT SMILE.
Now that Mr. Taft has left us and the round of speeches and
banquets is over, we may take a more deliberate survey of the effects of
his visit and of the attitude he will probably assume towards the south
when he becomes president of tne united States.
Political observers are wondering if the “Taft smile is to melt the
last barrier of whatever kind which have existed between the south and
the rest of the country. That smile is no mere figure of speech. It 18
the outward expression of a genial and kindly temperament and ft hM
already done much towards winning for the distinguished Ohioan the
highest office in tne gitt ot tne people.
He brought it with him to Georgia and his every utterance in
regard to the south was in accordance with that kindly and conciliator
disposition.
in his Atlanta speech he took the ground that a militant
was necessary to keep the Republican party free from stagnation or cor
ruption. He would not desire, if he could, to destroy the Democratic
party.
He also announced his intention of doing everything in his power
to dissipate any sense ot alienism which the south might still feel and
pledged himself to give the south a full share of participation in the
affairs of the government.
This attitude has made a good impiession on our people. It has
aroused considerable discussion as to how far Mr. Taft will succeed in
breaking up the solid south.
The facts seem to be that the south is fully appreciative, but has
not been stampeded by Mr. Tatt’s friendly overtures. It is conceivable
that the last vestige ot sectionalism may pass away under the adminis
tration of Air. Taft, but there is not the slightest danger that the
traditional convictions on fundamental issues will be abandoned. It is
not in obstinacy or resentment that the south has adhered to her inter
pretations of the constitution and of the theory of government laid
down by the fathers of the republic. We believe that a strong centralised
government was one ot the evils against which the framers of the
constitution most resolutely set their face, and that those evils are as
present today as they have ever been. We believe that there should be
a complete separation of the'powers ot the three departments of govern
ment; that the rights of the states, so far as they have not been expressly
delegated to the central government, should be jealously maintained.
We believe that the political equality of the negro, for which he is
intrinsically Incapable, leads to social equality, and that the fourteenth
and fifteenth amendments ot the constitution will constitute a menace
to our peace, prosperity and our highest development so long as they
are unrepeaied. We believe that the growth of the protective tariff,
under which such monster combinations as the steel trust have grown
up, make the theory of protection to infant industries equally grotesque
and disastrous.
These are convictions deliberately formed and firmly maintained,
not in any spirit of sectionalism, but. because the true conception of the
government here in the south has been subject less to alien influences
and the perverting effect of commercial self-interest.
We are not prepared to deny that as the complexities of industry
and commerce develop in the south and we become more and more a
manufacturing people, special interests will look with growing favor on
a protective tariff. "When self the wavering balance snakes, ’tie rarely
right adjusted.” This feeling may grow to very considerable proportions.
At the same time there is no more danger that the people of the
south will alter their opinion on the other questions than that the order
of the seasons will be changed.
But by admitting the south into full participation in the affairs of
the government; by surrounding himself with a due proportion of men
from the south, without regard to anything except their fitness for the
duties they are to discharge, Mr. Taft will bring a new era to our people
for which they have waited long. The section of the country whose
cotton enabled the government to resume specie payment after years of
disaster and which every year draws from Europe through this crop
alone half a billion dollars of foreign gold; the section which has stood
shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the country in peace and war for
more than forty years, strong in its loyalty, without recognition or
reward, is entitled to participate in just measure in the affairs of the
country, not merelj’ in the matter of patronage, but in shaping the
policies to be pursued and in the enjoyment of the dignities of such
participation. \
it is a splendid field which opens before the man who so recently
came among us and apparently formed an affectionate attachment to
our people. It is a sentiment which is heartily reciprocated. Within
the limitations we have described, it will do much towards shaping the
future position of the south and it will be better not merely for our own
people but for our common country.
ECONOMY OF GOOD ROADS.
The Journal cheerfully co-operates in the movement which has been
more or less spasmodical/ for a long time, and fortunately here In
Georgia there has been an awakening on this subject which promises
great reforms for the future.
But it would surprise those who have not given careful study to
the subject to know how heavy a tax bad roads are upon the general
public and primarily upon the farmer.
Austin P. Byrnes has written "A Treatise on Highways" which
furnishes food for thought. He shows that there are about two million
one hundred and fifty-five thousand miles of country highways in the
United States over which the average cost ot hauling is twenty-five cents
per ton mile.
Compared with the roads of France. Germany and England, this
Is out of all reasonable proportion. The cost of hauling a ton mile in
those countries ranges trom seven cents over the excellent national
highways ot France to thirteen cents over the worst roads of England.
A fair average, therefore, would be twelve cents, or less than halt
what it costs to haul a ton mite in this country.
What does this mean to the farmers of the United States?
The corn crop of this country for 1905-6 weighed more than
nineteen million tons, and the haul was nine and four-tenths miles. At
the average rate ot twenty-five cents over our bad roads this would
amount to forty-four million eight hundred and forty-five thousand
dollars.
At the European rate of twelve cents per ton mile, it would have
been but sjightly more than twenty-one millions and a half. In other
words, there was a dead loss to our corn growers of more than twenty
three million three hundred and nineteen thousand dollars.
Farm products during the same fruitful year amounted to nearly
eighty-five and a half billions of pounds. This aoes not include the
products hauled to mills and back, truck products and fruits, nor the
products of forests and mines. The saving on the other tonnage,
however, would amount to fifty-two and a quarter million dollars.
we are further told by Mr. Byrne that engineers have figured out
that if a horse can barely draw a load on a level on steel rails, it would
require one and a half horses to draw the same load on asphalt, three
and a half over the best Belgian block, seven over good cobblestones,
thirteen over bad cobblestones, twenty over an ordinary dirt road and
forty over p sandy road.
There are twenty-three million four hundred thousand horses and
mules in this country, valuta at more than four billion, four hundred
million dollars, it can readily be seen, therefore, that if under an
improved system of public roads the crops could be hauled to market
with one-fourth less the number of horses and mules, the farmers of
the country could at once credit themselves with a cool billion of dollars.
Ail this is without taking account of the saving through the reduction
in repairs of wagons and harness, tor it is estimated that bad roads are
responsible for the purchase of six hundred thousand farm wagons every
year.
Perhaps the most important consideration ot all is yet to come.
And that is the Increase in the value of rural lands In the vicinity of
good roads. It has been estimated that this increase would range from
two to nine dollars per acre. There are eight hundred and forty million
acres of farm lands in this country. Let us say that only one-half of
them would be benefited by improved roads and that these would receive
the benefit of the minimum amount, or two dollars an acre. That would
mean a gain pf eight hundred and forty millions of dollars.
Plain facts and figures like these, astounding in their totals, come
nome to the understanding ot the people and make them realize how
much it is costing them in money, aside trom the vexation and
annoyance, to keep up a system of roads over which it costs twenty-live
cents a ton mile to carry products to market. ,
There are still pther co nsiderations, aa the development of social
life and culture by means of easier communication in the neighborhood
ana tne greater ease with which the children can get to schools. But
the material side alone should be sufficient to arouse us to the necessity
of saving our part of that wanton waste in the cost of transportation
The people of Georgia should take the lesson to heart.
which is going on every year.
THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 2, 1909.
ROOSEVELTS LATEST SfUTOCRACY.
The American people would find it difficult to restrain their
impatience if the president of the united States had a longer tenure in
which to exhibit the insolent and nigh-handed methods which he has
adopted of late, as if in a very spirit of bravado.
His petty despotism and autocracy reached a climax in his seizure
of certain data In possession of the bureau of corporations which, it is
supposed, would throw light on the deal by which the United States
Steel corporation acquired the Tennessee Coal and Iron company with
the approval of the president himself, although the merger was
apparently In direct violation ot the anti-trust act.
Herbert Knox smith, the commissioner of corporations In the
department of commerce and labor, testified in unequivocal terms that
the data he gathered for the president did not come under the head of
’‘confidential," which, according to law, the president could give out or
not as he saw tit. it was simply general information to which congress
is entitled on demand.
Getting wind of the fact that the judiciary committee of the senate,
in its investigation of the merger authorized by the president, would
demand this data, Mr. Roosevelt, with his usual contempt for the legis
lative branch ot the government and defiance of all conventions, boldly
demanded that the commissioner of corporations should bundle up all
this data and send it to him.
This was done, and safely enclosed In well-sealed sacks, it now
lies at the white house, while the president, In substance, cynically asks
of congress, "What are you going to do about It?”
He frankly confesses that he promised immunity to the steel trust
if It wanted to go ahead and consummate the merger of the 'Tennessee
Coal and Iron company, and in order to carry out his promise ot
protection he openly defies the senate judiciary committee and the
senate itself.
The foundations of this republic are so firmly laid that assaults
upon them in the past have only served to awaken an Indulgent smile.
The long-haired anarchist and the political quacks of various kinds
have stirred only a sort ot amused pity. The pillars of the state were
so broad that no man gave himself any concern about the impotent
ravings of this fanatic or that.
But there is no governmental structure on earth which could sustain
the persistent assaults which have been made upon our own by a man
in the exalted station of President Roosevelt without feeling the effects
of his revolutionary conduct. Like a blind Cyclops he has been striking
to right and to left of him, as if he wished to round out a dramatic
administration by something supremely spectacular and audacious.
He has apparently delighted in giving a shock to precedents aud
traditions. He began to using the influence of his position as a campaign
asset, and In the methods he adopted he was no whit superior to the
ward politicians and the party bosses. He indulged in bitter personali
ties toward Mr. Bryan and other leading Democrats and dragged the
chief magistracy into the political gutter.
He sent to congress a message containing the most amazing charges
ever preferred, in modern times, by one branch of government against
another, in which he accused the members of congress with being at
least the beneficiaries ot crime.
Called upon to explain, he was more insolent and more insulting
than before.
He has instituted proceedings against a newspaper for criminal
libel against himself and the government, without warrant ot any known
law and in violation ot many that are well known. The defendant and
witnesses were summoned without being informed as to who lodged the
complaint against them and what law they were alleged to have violated.
After perverting the secret service trom the only function recognized
by law, he attempted to justify his use of this branch by revealing the
fruits of its investigation, and in doing so make a wanton attack upon
the personal integrity ot a member ot the United States senate.
With an assumption of authority dangerous in the extreme, he
promised immunity to one ot the great trusts of the world if It saw fit
to aoquire property in apparent violation of the laws made to restrain
that very thing.
And now that there is reason to believe that the steel trust merger
was a stock-jobbing affair; now that the senate insists upon having the
facts, in order that this cloud of suspicion may be cleared away, he
lays violent (lands upon the government archives, carries them to the
white house, where be keeps them under lock and key, and to all
inquiries, simply says, "How are you going to help yourself.”
Such a rain of blows upon the structure of the republic; such
arbitrary and repeated assumptions of authority on the part of the
executive branch of the government, cannot fail to have its effect.
It is not sublime as a coup d’etat. There is nothing heroic in its
magnitude. It is more like the petty meddling, the stupid obstinacy of
Napoleon the Little.
But the very vermin can pierce, a Dutch dyke and flood a province.
The recklessness of Roosevelt paves the way for someone else with
greater ability and equal daring.
The most ardent of his friends, the most loyal of his partisans, are
beginning to breathe a prayer of thanks that his autocratic rule is
almost over?
THE NEW CUBAN REPUBLIC.
There was a quiet dignity about the inaugural ceremonies in
Havana which augurs well for the stability and permanency of the
republic. * •
On Wednesday night the city was en fete and there was an
abundance of illumination, daaclng and merry-making. There seemed
to be general rejoicing that the Cuban people were coming into their
own, after the two years of discipline under the American occupation.
But the inaugural ceremonies themselves were extremely simple.
Governor Magoon called for President Gomez, escorted him to the old
governor general’s palace, where the oath of office was administered to
the new president by the chief justice of the supreme court, and in a
tew moments the details were over.
Jose Miguel Gomez is a soldier and not a speaker, so he made only
a few brief remarks.
Within an hour after theAe ceremonies the former governor, who
has done so much to bring order out of chaos during the past few years,
accompanied by all the American officers, was on board an American
warship, steaming for the United States.
The American soldiers have been evacuating the island for some
time, and the two battalions ot the Seventeenth regiment, stationed in
Atlanta, have been in their quarters here tor several weeks.
The organization of the Cuban congress took place two weeks ago
and is now ready for business.
it has been remarked that in this process ot organization there
were signs ot friction. The two tactions of the Liberal party cannot
entirely forget their differences, sank them in face of the common
enemy, the Conservatives, and won a victory, but now that they are in
the saddle, discord may break out at any time.
it was remarked as a significant fact that when it became necessary
to elect substitutes lor two representatives who had resigned, the
Mlguelistas, or partisans of the president, united with the Conservatives,
instead of with the Zayista faction ot the Liberal party, and from this it
is inferred that before long there will be a strong coalition between the
Miguellstas and the Conservatives, while the other faction of the Liberal
party, the Zayistas, will become the opposition.
it is also pointed out that of the presiding officers of the two
houses of the general assembly, one is a negro and the other Is an
Italian, which sounds a little out of place in a country where the cry lu
more stirring days was, "Cuba tor Cubans. ”
There is no need to anticipate trouble until it comes, however. The
Cubans may disappoint the pessimistic predictions made of them and
settle down to an orderly administration of their affairs.
The departure of this government from Cuba calls renewed
attention to the fact that we should likewise evacuate the Philippines as
soon as possible. The ten years of occupation of those islands have
made no change in the opinion ot the great body of the people that so
soon as we have succeeded in establishing a stable government there we
should retire from that side of tne world, retaining perhaps only a
coaling station.
At a time when there are mutterings of war with Japan, we would
do well to remember the corollary of the Monroe Doctrine. If we are
to resist foreign expansion in the western hemisphere, we must desist
from it in the eastern hemisphere. It is the only sound and logical
position on which we can plant ourselves.
The Philippine parliament has been giving r good account of itself
and it is the unprejudiced opinion of those who are best qualified to
know that the Filipinos will soon be, if they are not already, qualified
for self-government.
Tfiere should be no unnecessary delay in treating the Filipinos as
we have the Cubans
SOME LESSONS OF THE
■ EARTHQUAKE AT MESSINA
BY BISHOP WARREN A. CANDLER.
Many devout minds are perplexed by
the moral questions suggested by the dis
astrous earthquake at Messina. The;
problem of pain by the hand of Provi
dence is beyond their solution. They
wonder if a good God can be the master
and preserver of a world in which such
disasters occur.
This problem of suffering is as old as
Job. It has arrested the attention and
confused the reasonings of men in all
ages. In undertaking to solve the prob
lem all sorts of theories have been pro-1
posed. Some minds have reached an
atheistic conclusion, affirming that there
Is no God and that such calamities could
not happen if there were a good and pow
erful God the Creator and Preserver of
all things. Some have adopted the doc
trine of dualism, declaring that there are
both a "good and evil Power forever In
conflict with each other, and that In the
unfolding of events the Evil One is
oftimes victorious. Polytheistic concep
tions have also been accepted as the ex
planation of j the mixed conditions of
pleasure and pain in the universe.
Minds which have refused all atheistic,
dualistic, and polytheistic notions con
cerning such things, have seen in these
visitations of Providence the punishment
of the wicked for their sins; This was
the theory of Job’s friends about his sore
and multiplied sorrows. Unable to deny
the goodness or the power of God. they
found in the griefs of the man of Uz
proofs positive of his secret sins, al
though God had said of him that there
was “none like In him in all the earth, a
perfect and upright man who Oared God
and eschewed evil." This ancient heresy,
which the book of Job so thoroughly dis
proves. wil be applied by some to the
case of the men of Calabria and Messina;
they will see in the earthquake a judg
ment from heaven against Calabrian
crimes and Sicilian sins.
Such was the view of some who came
to the Saviour telling Mm of the Gali
laeans whose blood Pilate had mingled
with their saer!flees and of the eighteen
upon whom the tower tn Siloam fell.
The Master did not deny that there was
a moral purpose in those grievous events,
but he showed its purpose was not neces
sarily a punishment of those who had
perished, but rather a call to repentance
to living sinners. *
Ts we start with the assumption that
God’s chief concern should be for human
comfort, and that man’s highest good i*
found In exemption from pain, we will be
forced to adopt some one of the erro
neous views which have been mentioned.
If suffering is the worst evil and comfort
the highest good, the world has certainly
been made by a bad God or a weak God.
or else there is no God at ail. It is quite
certain that there is and always has been
and always will be much suffering among
the children of men.
By earthquakes alone multiplied millions
have been destroyed. No less than 60,000
people perished In the great Lisbon earth
quake In 1756. In 1692 the entire Island of
Sicily was shaken by one of the most
dreadful earthquakes known to history,
and flfty-four cities and towns were ut
terly destroyed. In the same year Jamai
ca was visited on June 7th with a similar
catastrophe of scarcely less proportions.
In the latter part of the 18th century
Calabria suffered the loss of 40,000 of its
people by a great earthquake. It is said
that as many as twelve or thirteen earth
quakes. more or less destructive of hu
man life and property, occur every year,
and it is well known that the surface of
the globe is never entirely free from
earthquake forces qf greater or smaller
power. In some quarter or another of-the
globe tremors are going on all the time.
No part of the world is exempt from
them. They have been less known in
Egypt than anywhere else, but even there
was felt one of considerable power in
1740. Holland, with its loose, alluvial de
posits, has been shaken by them.
It is estimated that above 14.000,000 peo
ple have been killed by earthquakes since
men began to make historic records ot
events. In 7160 John Wesley published a
striking discourse on the "Cause and Cure
of Earthquakes." which may be found in
his works today. It is little that the sai
entists can tell us about these awful
phenomena, and ft Is certain the great
Wesley threw no light on the physical
causes wWoh« produce them.
Reference is made of the earthquakes
of thf past to remind us th«<t the recent
calamity in Stelly and sodthern Italy pre
sents no new problem to reason ter faith,
but raises, only the same old question of
suffering which has engaged the
of the wisest and best men of all former
ages. No advance of thought or progress
of science carries us beyond the reach of
the fundamental facts and problems of
life by which men have always been
confronted. Faith in other days has re
mained unshaken in the presence of these
perplexing questions and appalling facts,
and we in our time are called upon to
solve no new problem.
But perhaps the question of pain in the
world comes home to the heart of our
self-indulgent age more keenly than it
did to any former generation. Oursis a
time of great material prosperity ' and
comfort, when pain is regarded as the
greatest possible and softness, ease
and enjoyment are esteemed as the great
est possible blessings. This spirit in
fects our religion, and we have been for
years indulging a sentimental sort of the
ology which would not endure the
thought that the God of love could be se
vere about anything. The God of this
pulpy theology has been a kind of mag
nified Eli who allowed his wicked sons,
Hophni and Phlnehas. to desecrate the
most sacred things and debauch a nation
without a punishment more sharp than
a mild expostulation. Os course to such
an age and such a theology a visitation
like the recent earthquake comes as a
most perplexing problem. It confounds
and sets at nousdit all sentimental the
ories of an God.
It will be a blessed thing if these
earthquakes of recent years in California,
Martinique and Italy can shock us into
common-?en«e again, and teach us that
God can be severe as well as gentle.
Foolish and shallow men have refused
to believe in the eternal punishment
which is clearly revealed in the Scriptures
because they could not. as they have
said, "see how a loving Father would al
low such pain.” Can they see any more
clearly how a loving Father can allow
the horrible pains and deaths which have
fallen upon the people of Messina? In all
our theories of nature and religion wfe
may as well make room for the thought
that a loving God can be severe. God
does not esteem pain the worst evil nor
painlessness the supreme good.
We can not understand any of the ills
by which mankind is afflicted till we rise
to the height of the moral purpose of
the divine government to which all else
is subordinate. In famine and pestilence,
sickness and sorrow, storms and earth
quakes, God is working out a sublime pur
pose as far above mere ease and painless
ness as righteousness and character are
above animal comfort and brutish satis
faction.
Horace Bushnell says most forcibly,
"Pain is a matter of great consequence
in the fact that it gives a moral look and
capacity for moral Impression to the
world, of which it would otherwise be
totally vacant—a similar impression also
of the benignity of God. If we had the
world only for a garden or a landscape,
if it meant nothing but what it is In pro
duction, or the delectation of the senses—
a place of good feeding and health and
jocund life—it would be God’s pasture,
not His kingdom. Moral ideas would not
even be suggested by it. But the simply
finding pain in it puts us on a wholly
different construction, both of it and of
life. Now there appears to be something
serious on hand? The severity bears a
look of principle and law, and the un
sparing rigors, hedging us about, tell of
a divine purpose and authority that re
spect high reasons and are able to be im
movably faithful in their vindication. In
this manner pain changes the wnole im
port and expression of our moral spnere.
Every pain strikes in, touching the quick
of our remorse, and giving it practical
sanction. We cannot look about upon
such a spectacle of groaning, writhing
members of the world exhibit# and think
of it as being any way reconcilable with
God’s perfect fatherhood, without preced
ing that there is a moral frame about
the picture, that it means eternal govern
ment and responsibility to God.”
The suffering Saviour is the solution of
all suffering among men. The writer of 4
the Epistle to the Hebrews touches the "
very heart of the subject when lie says,
“It became Him, for whom are all things,
and by whom are all things, in bringing
many sons unto glory to make the
Captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings.” If to bring sons unto glory
Christ did not disdain to endure the ago
nies of Gethsemane and Calvary, such
sonship we may be sure is more precious
than painlessness, and cannot be secured
without heartbreaking distress.
We can trust Him .to lay no needless
agonies on the race of man, or upon in- *
dividuals of the race, when we know He
has endured far more for us men in His
own body on the tree. Without that di- *
vine Sufferer hanging in excruciating pain
and unterrifled love in the midst of his
tory 1 know not how we could faoe the
appalling facts of human history; but
when we know that all the processes of
nature and the ongoings of Providence pro
ceed from the CrueiSed One, that at the
heart of the universe is a Sufferer touched
with inflnite compassion for us, we may
rest confident of His love even when we
can not foresee the culmination of His
plans nor discern clearly the way He
takes. The shaking, trembling earth is
rocked by his hands which were pierced
for us, and hence we refuse to f ave mis
givings about His tenderness though the
most untoward events come to pass.
"Therefore will not we fear, though the
earth be removed, and though the moun
tains be carried into the midst of the sea;
though the waters thereof roar and be
troubled, though the mountain shake with
the swelling thereof." (Psalms Ixvi: 2,2).
Love which defled all that pain Hnd death
could do to it can never henceforth be dis
trusted. "He that spared not His own
Son. but delivered Him up for us all, how
shall He not with Him also freely give
us all things’*. (Romans vfl: SY I .
If we stood at the end of earth’s hls
tory and saw now the culmination of the
divine purpose, we should doub.leas dis
cern how even these terrible earthquakes
have been essential parts of a great move
ment of.mercy. We know that all the
forces of nature are servants of a spirit
ual kingdom and that al! of them throb
in response to the spiritual purpose which
they serve. When Jesus died on Calvary
the record is, “the earth did quake and
the rocks rent.” As the end draws near
He forewarns His servants that "there
■hall be famines and pestilences and
earthquakes in divers plaoes”. (Matthew
xxiv; 7). We may not from these words
speculate about “the times and the Rea
sons which the Father hath put •In His
own power” beyond all our scrutiny; but#
we may assuredly gather from them that
all the forces of nature, even its convul- <
slve forces, keep step with tfie movement
of God’s kingdom of grace and tfre sub
servient to it. Ab an earthquake marked
the crucifixion of the Son Os God earth
quakes in divers places will precede His
coronation. £
Standing in human WcaWncss MMti these
mighty, terrible forces in motion ail
around us, we are not affrighted; for our
Lord is Master of them all.’ If they
should hit us they could not really harm
us our hearts being true to Him Nobody
but obstinate and incurable sinners have f
suffered really in the earthquake at Mes
sina ; for the children of God Who have <
died there have on the upheaval been lift
ed into their eternal home. None but sin
ners ever can meet real harm in the uni
verse, and they hurt themselves. For
the rest of men who love and serve God,
all things are theirs. '"The world, life,
death, things present, and things to come
—ail are theirs; for they are Christ’s and
Christ is God‘s”.
DEMOCRACY AND ITS STANDARD
BEARER FOR 1912
Editor of I9»e Journal: Well, the battle is
over and the etnoke cleared away, and Dem
ocracy has again gone down in defeat.
Let us look calujly over the battle field and
see if we can see the cause of defeat and see
how we are to eliminate, if possible, these
ra iru ’he first place, their defat teas been due.
in a large measure, to a large evruption
fund, exacted from the trust* and private par
ties and used illegally against th* Democrat io
party.
In the last campaign, which cast the Re
publican party one million dollars, one hun
dred and sixty thousand ot which wm gm>-
tributed by Charles Taft, a of W.l
--ll«m H. Taft, the presidentW noriiitee of the
RepnbUcen party, this fosd was ■»■<*• hirg«
than was actually necessary for campaign pur
poses and it wa* used fraudulently, malicious
ly end with evil intent te bribe voteri and thus
deprive the American people of their just and
true choice. Publicity was not glv-n to this
fund until after the battle was over.
William H. Taft. Hitchcock and Theodore
Roosevelt. I believe, were fully *ware that
dishonesty was tn election.
Tne president as tnln United State*, enppeard
to be the president by toe people, of the people
and for the people, was a rank Mrtlean. and
his movements plainly show that he is willing
to nse either fair or foul means to perpetuate
this dishonest party in power. k
Again. Democracy does not. and tan sot la
the past, since IMO. with few exception*, got
her presidential timber from soil that pro
(juce* pure and untarnished Jeffersonian
Democracy. Horace Greely, William J. Bryan
and Parker for Horace Greely had
been through every phase of parti e*. Bryan
had been a Populist, and only esjiouaed the
cause of Democracy to further his ends and
plaee hiar in the white bouse. Parker bad been
an obscure judge and a one-sided man on all
questions and little known.
The north and west has no pure Democracy,
they are Democratic from policy, not. principle,
and are intent on greed and graft, and are
looking out for the spoil* and not tor the good
of the grand old Democratic party.
Again the pure*t type oC the Anglo-Saxon F
race are found in the south and its patriotism
for country, state and God far surpasses
that of any other section of this Union.
Again, we must. In IM2. nominate a true
and tried Jeffersonian Democrat upon a plat
form for principle, not policy, a Democrat who
has followed the teachings of Jefferson and
who still in al) sincerity believes in these
principle* as good and sound doctrine.
Again, to eliminate the errors of this old
party Mi.ce U«0 i wouH. point you to ■ man
who has always been a Democrat and a Jeffer- J
sonian one at that, one who has filled a high ■
place in the councils <>f this party st tne |
national capital, and whose decision upon the
question of pensions has saved the government
millions and is still saving them enormous .
sums. If there is not some halt called upon
this subject of pension* this country will have
-to go Into bankruptcy or its people be taxed to
death to pay these pensions.
Again. I would point you to, for the Demo
cratlc standard bearer--Cor 1»12. one who has
filled a high place in the Empire State of the
south and cue aho teas always been ready and
willing to raise his votoo and use his money
lu the aid of the grand old Democratic J*_
I would point you to one whose voice ttpoX
the hustings in the last campaign had more
reason anti good. hard, common horse sense
than the flowing rhetoric of a Hryan. and
who could, in your humb.-e servant’s opinion,
have polled more vote* than the boy orator
of the Platt.
Again. I would point you to one. an honest
son of old Georgia, now governor of the Em
p»re state of the outh. wbo has been tried
in many high place* and weighed in each and
ever'- on- of them and not found wanting. I
would poiut you to the Honorable Hoke Smith
as our standard bearer for 1911 upon a Jeffer
sonian platform. H. B. BAYLOR.
A Sivil Eng.'n-:-r from the Old Dominion and
s Jefferso’ijsr. Democrat.
They can say what they want to against
Roosevelt, but nobody has been able to
prove that he smokes cigarettes.