The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-07-09
Announcements for the
Churches tomorrow.
"0ur Stricken President" by
the Rev. |. A. SearIes.
SUNDAY SERVICES.

Christian Chapel, Rev. Irving A. Searles
sermon, .'The Great Orator.
evening sermon, 1.-THE Shooting of Presi-
dent Garfield Sunday school at $50
q. m.
First Baptist, Rev. J. B. T. Patterson
Morning sermon, standing; evening ser
mon, peace in God"
Ninth Street Methodist, Rev J. W. Friz-
eel will preach morning and evening.
Trinity Episcopal, Rev. A. B. Allen will
preach at the morning service.
Fifth Avenue Methodist-Rev j. S,
McCord viii preach morning and evening
Central Presbyterian, Rev. DIR. McGaw
Morning and evening services.
THE STRICKEN PRESIDENT.
The following sermon was delivered by
the Rev. Irving A. Searles, pastor of the
Christian Chapel last Sunday evening. Its
interesting nature will be manifest to every
one:
1.-The Lord reigneth Clouds and darkness are
round about him; righteousness and judgment
are the habitation OF his throne."-Ps. 81; l, 3
My reason for selecting this text will ap-
pear as we near the close of these remarks.
When | saw yesterday in the court house
square, the flag at half mast and learned
the cause from those who spoke in sub
dued tones could not bring myself to talk
of anything else tonight than the theme
which I have caused to be announced.
1t was while attending shoo1 in Hiram, o,
that | first saw James A. Garfield. | was
but a mere boy then but the life of that
man was an inspiration to every student
If there was poor boy seeking to make
his way through school he took fresh
courage when he heard how Garfield had
struggled with the same difficulties and
overcome them. When he came to Hiram
he was so poor that he had not only not
enough money to hire his board but he
had not enough to furnish a room to board
himself. An old lady, Mrs. Cunningham,
loaned him the necessary furniture for this
purpose, and in little room young Gar.
field cooked his meals such as they were,
and pursued his studies. Despite all OBJ
sticles he was determined to secure an
education. In after years Garfield said
to the students.of Hiram: Let not poverty
stand in your way. Poverty is uncomfort.
able, as can testify; but nine times out
of ten the best thing that can happen to
yonng man is to be tossed overheard
and be compelled to sink or swim for HIM
self, In all my acquaintance have never
known one 70 be drowned who was worth
saving"
We had lecture every Thursday after
noon in the chapel, and we hailed with de-
light the announcement that Garfield was
to deliver the lecture. / remember one
time when we were assembled in the chap
ell he came before us with child's toy top,
and holding that up before us he compared
it to human life, and from that odd text
he spoke an hour, and every sentence was
full Of manly thought, expressed in Ian
guage chaste and beautiful. The students
loved him. He left this impression on ev
cry one of US /: Il will try and make
something of myself" To shake hands
with him was an inspiration to live for
something worthy.
Would you know mans personal worth
you must go to his home and see what he
is thought of there. Doing the Janitor
work, toiling ON the neighboring farms
during vacations, Mr.. Garfield made his
way through the school and became its
president. Immediately following his
nomination at Chicago, was commence
ment day at Hiram. In Chicago the news
of his nomination was received with cheers
and loud yells of rejoicing. Garfield pro-
ceeded directly to Hiram to attend Com
mencement.
Two thousand people are assembled UNI
der the tent. These are Garfield's old
friends and neighbors They have known
him from boyhood. There is the man for
whom he had sawed wood, there one whose
potatoes young Garfield had dug during
vacation. Garfield comes upon the stand
before that audience. There is no cheering.
Feeling is too deep for that But look at
those people. They are weeping tears of
joy. That is what those who know him
best think of james A. Garfield.
He was popular with all classes. because
he could adapt himself to all classes. AT
Chautaqua Lake was large convention of
United States and Garfield, by invitation,
comes there and delivers,an address. While
there he converses with FrencBman, a
professor of the French language-who
afterwards said that Garfield spoke French |
with an accuracy and fluency rarely to be |
met with in an American. That made him |
popular with the Frenchman. Crossing |
the line over into Pennsylvania he finds a |
crowd of Germans collected about the de- |
pot and he makes them a speech in Ger
man, and that renders him popular with |
those Germans, He could talk with
Webster or a little child and interest the |
one as readily as the other.
Another element of his popularity was |
faculty Of remembering persons
to whom he had once been introduced In |
with a drayman he learns that |
the latters child is sick. Five years after |
he meets that drayman and enquiries con-
corning the health of that child.
He was q man who believed that hard |
work was essential to success. He has
fifteen or twenty large scrap books full of |
clippings from newspapers. Whenever he
met, perhaps in the corner of newspaper, |
q fact which he thought he might ever
have occasion to use in speech, he cut it /
out and laid it away in one of these scrap
books. His associates in Congress say of
him that he could prepare an effective |
speech on a shorter notice than any other
of that body. One secret of this
was honest patient work in collecting and
material for his addresses.
During the vacation of Congress when
he was in Hiram, he always attended
church, and though he would not enter the
pulpit he would stand in front of the pull
pit and talk as few minister's can preach.
There was deep spirituality about the
man.
In Chicago, the Sunday before his NOM
nation, the majority of the politicians
rvarxa of.oa,f flsp hofaIs 1aIoupspn he