Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-01-02

can be bought at $3.50. per acre. The
wheat in the ground, however, appears
no better than in Juniats, and in the few
years past the yield of clover and wheat
has not been better than here among
the hills Of the Juniata Valley.
The place, until quite recently, has
had four banks, but three of them have
gone of into ways, where they will be
followed by three-fourths of all the
banks in the country within the next
four years. There is a steam printing
establishment in the town, that does
the printing for three papers, the chief
Of which Is the Journal, a German pa
per; the second OF which is the Ma
fionat Educator, an English paper, and
the tbird of which is the Patriot, also
an English paper. A State Normal
School was located At the south end Of
town, about ten years ago, the nucleus
for which was found in the Maxatawny
Seminary, which had been successfully
managed number Of years by Profess
sor Henry Nicks. The chief religious
belief Of the town is German Reformed
and Lutheran, A strong congregation
of each worship in q Union Church,
"Sabbath about" The name of the
German Reformed preacher has already
appeared in this article. Rev. j. j..
kreissman is the name of the Lutheran
preacher. His place of residence is
twenty four miles away, at Beruviile.
There is a second Lutheran church 10
the place, the congregation of which is
served by Rev. A. S. Speaker. The
Methodists have been ihinly sowu in
that community, but keep up an organ
ization. We attended preaching in the
Union church. 1t was German Re
formed day, and Rev. MIR. Hartman de-
livered . German sermon. The sing
ing of the choir was pleasant to the ear,
in both English and German, :be effect
of which was heightened by the accom-
panImsnt of pipe organ. Two incor-
porated Cemeteries adjoin the town,
and the Union church has q burrying
ground attached to the plot of ground
on which the church is built.
THE People
are German they speak the German
language, aud if the business of the
Commonwealth had not compelled its
records to oe kept in English, no other
language texcept in cases where other
languages are studied for accomplish
ment and learning's sake) would ever
have found icdgment there. The
people are industrious, plain in their
manners, and, with few exceptions, are
the hneal descendants of the people
that broke the power of the Roman
Church in Europe, and settled the bal
snce of power through the dreadful
thirty years. war, the effects of which
is still felt in Continental Europe. They
are the descendants of the people that
the effemlnating allurements of Roman
civilation could not overcome They
are the sons and daughters of the men
who prepared the way for the express
sion of free thought, that the Scotch
Irishman aud Puritan so readily took
hold of afterwards, in their island
homes. The revolutions and counter
revolutions in Continental Europe, set
tied certain ideas there, and made the
work of the Puritan and Scotch Irish
man easy, comparatively speaking lfit
had not been for the sturdy blows Of the
German in Continental Europe for free
conscience the Puritan aud Scotch Irish
man would never have been heard Of
The Republic could not have been es-
tablisbed, had it not been for the Ger
man, the Scotch Irishman, and the
Yankee. To day their descendants are
its main pillars.
The strong characteristics, and indl-
viduality that appears so striking In the
German character of long ago, is still
manifest IN the Berks county people.
The weakness of inordinate display has
not seized on them. They buy, and
they sell, and build, and improve, but
no. to that criminal recklessness that
endangers all who are connected there
with, and periodically plunges the coun
try into the deepest financial distress.
A mans pretensions among them
amounts to nothing, if all his actions in
a business, social and religious way
do not correspond. Inconsistency
plunges a man into the deepest con-
tempt among them. They scorn the
man who fails in business and by the
Iechnlcalities Of law cheats his creditors:
and yet they do business, as the appear
ance Of the whole country evidences.
The business man among them must
have the character and individuality to
do right, or he will sink Into contempt
They scorn the drunkard, and yet they
drink, as any one who get, among them
can see. The man who drinks must
have character aud individuality enough
not to get drunk. He loses position IN
the community when he gets drunk.
We saw men drink on Sunday and then
90 to church. g How does that habit
work .' We asked of a citizen, at the
first opportunity. "No wrong comes
from it here" be said "we tolerate
no drunkards; we hold every man indi
vidually responsible for bis act., just as
God holds q man responsible, and the
man who unmaus himself by drink is a
disgraced man. Our people believe ii
is disgrace, sin, to get drunk, and
that is why we have no drunkards. u
He continued: {" We have no sickly
sentiment for the man who humans him.
self by drink; we look upon him as
worse than a beast" Still continuing
he SAID Let me illustrate. You are
from Juniata couuty!" We SAID, "Yes.
Well, some years ago, a Lutheran
preacher came here from your county.
On a certain occasion, while attending
an ecclesiastical body in Philadelphia
he got drunk. His colleagues frou
this district informed on him immedi.
ately, and moved that be be expelled
from the ministry. The ecclesiastical