Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-10-11
THE U MEN.
ASSOCIATED EFFORTS IN THEIR
BEHALF.
Major-General Howard and Major
Hardie Address an Immense
Union Service.

| CulOn ScTblCC.
Major-General o. o. Howard spent sun
day in Sacramento, in accordance with pre-
| vious announcement, and delivered three
addresses during the day and evening. In
| the morning he attended service at the
| Congregational Church, and at its close
spoke to the Sunday-school and children of
the Orphan Asylum, in the lecture-room of
| the church. The room was crowded, and
| his words were listened to with eager at
t%ention, and with pleasing and marked eff
feet. AT 1890 P. NJ. a meeting for men only
was held under the auspices of the Young
Mems Christian Association, in the Sixth
street NJ. E. Church. Major Hardie, of Ala
bama, first delivered an earnest n stirring
| gospel address. and was followed by Cen
| eral Howard in the same lire, both produc-
| ing strong impressions. An after meeting
was held, in which many Young men took
part, some for the first time.
In the evening the usual services at the
| various city churches were omitted, and all
Joined in a union service, under the aus
pices of the Y. NJ. G. a, at the Congrega-
tional Church. 1t was one OF the largest
audiences that ever assembled in the city,
the aisles and gallery and all available
space being seated with chairs and persons
standing, and many being unable TO even
gain admittance. There were upon the
platform G. NJ. Campbell, President of the
| Association, presiding General Howard,
Major Hardie, of Alabama, Rev. E. r. Ollie,
Rev. w. c.. Merrill, and Moore Hesketh,
General Secretary. To the right and in
front was a large number of the members
| of the Sumner and Warren Posts, g.. A. R.,
wearing their uniforms and badges, and
elsewhere in the audience were members
| of Fair Oaks Post. Slightly to the rear of
the Grand Army men, General George
! Stoneman sat, and was q thoroughly inter
| ested listener to the address of his old
comrade in arms, from whom he had re-
ceived a visit at his residence on Saturday
evening. 1t was a noticeable episode of the
evening, that upon the platform were two
speakers, both soldiers, who q quarter of a
century ago were arrayed in arms against
| each other, but who were now jointly bat
Ting against a common foe.
The services opened with a voluntary by
the quartet choir of the church, which was
followed by invocation by Rev. Mr.. Merrill.
After one verse of "AIl Hail the Power of
| Jesus Name" sang by the audience, Rev.
Il. R. Ollie read the 10Th Psalm, COM
mencing, THE heavens declare the glory
of God, and the armament showeth His
handiwork." c. NJ. Campbell, President of
the Association, then introduced General
| Howard, whom he stated had kindly con-
scented to address the people of Sacramento
in the interests of the Y. NJ. c. A. work.
GENERAL HowARD's
General Howard spoke as follows:
The Executive Committee of the Young Mems
Christian Association, whose headquarters are
in New York, learning that / proposed to visit
| Germany during the Summer of 1884, kindly
gave me the credentials of q delegate to their
International Convention. 1t was to assemble
in the month of August, at Berlin. l was on
hand in time, and spent with the delegates from
the different civilized nations, a most profitable
and delightful season OF seven days. The Pres
| ident, Herr Won Behrensdortf, Chamberlain to
| Emperor William, presided with ease and dig
| nifty over the large Convention, giving his open
ing address, with equal facility, in three differ
ent languages, the German, French and Eng
| lish. We were specially blessed in having with
us that honored man and charming Christian
gentleman, who was the founder OF the first
Young Mems Christian Association, which he
when a young man, with a few coadJutoTs,
started in London less than forty years ago. He
| appeared full of interest and energy, much like
our own William E.. Dodge, ST., of New York,
who has so lately left us and gone to his reward.
l had attended several of our International
gatherings in this country, as those held at
Washington, at Detroit, at Lowell, and at Port
land, Ne. No Christian assemblies could have
excellfd them in the working powerthey seemed
to represent in the energetic measures they
adopted and Certainly none IN the spiritual
| impress they left behind them upon the COM
| munity where they for a few days sojourned
and labored for the salvation of young men.
In these respects, the Berlin Conference was
hardly abreast Of the others. But it was a most
remarkable body of earnest Christian souls,
speaking various tongues, yet with a perfect
unity of the Spirit, praying God 10 lead them,
while they sought 10 lay broadly n deeply
the best foundations for awakening anew the
zeal and energy of members of all churches,
| with special view to extending the helping
hand of Christian love to young men.
The German and French delegates were espe-
| cially persistent in questioning the English and
American Secretaries concerning their methods
of procedure. How do you raise so much
money? How do you build SO many capital
| structures? What about your gymnas um and
| other provisions for amusement? Tel us con-
corning your literary arrangements, your lee
/ lures, your libraries, your evening classes.
What is that grand organization called the
" railroad work. in which even railway Off
cials take an interest, and TO when the mana
gers make large contributions? And, again,
how is it with the Bible classes: who teach
them? Is there not serious danger of introduce
ing heresy here? Do describe the evangeliZ1ng
process, the meetings for prayer and conference,
the neighborhood meetings. the visiting COM
mittees sent to the streets, the jails and aims
houses?
Is there not danger of laymen, in their blind
zeal, getting up too much steam for the engine ?
viii not the Y. NJ. C. A. work, forgetting the
Church division lines, take away all the best
workers from the churches, and so the churches
suffer q great loss?
How shall we answer objections like these,
coming from faithful pastors. Several times was
our quick-witted and well-intormed Secretary,
MI. Morse. of New York, made to stand on the
platform aud be bombarded with such queries
as these, oil asked kindly and answered most
readily and happily. l assure you this did me
great good. 1t taught me to appreciate better
than l had ever done before the wonderful de-
velopment of these Christian Associations, the
grand problems they were sowing for humanity,
aud the remarkable catholicity of spirit they
were fostering and everywhere diiflsing. They
like the steam transportation and telegraph
lines, have already girdled the world. They,
like the skirmish line to q grand army, have
searched out the hedges, the pitfalls, the hooks
and corners Of the variegated field OF operations.
They prepare the way by their weekday open
rooms and open houses for the-Sabbath-day ad-
vance. Their warm welcome is at the steam
boat landing, the railway station and the mar
ket gathering. To the traveller and to the
stranger they say Come with us and we will
do thee good They introduce the newcomer
to the pastor. to the Bible-class, to the Society
of Christian Endeavor. and often to a respectable
social life.
But why does not the Church of Christ do all
this? OF, in other words, why do not the
churches, like the synagogues of the Jews, take
care of their own?
The best answer lean make to this is, Yankee
like. TO ask another question. What makes VI
the Church OF Christ? My answer, to which al
ought to assent, is that Christ's church is made
up of all the believers in Christ both living and
dead. And the churches are different organi
cations of believers with enough differences
like the distinguishing badges of divisions and
corps in an army, to make them known auG
recognized along their line of useful work.
The Y. NJ. {. A. bands proceed from these or
CARNATIONS. They go and they come. They
keep the fences between them fun of open bar:
and gateways, but never, never are these Skin
mishers disloyal to their own brigades or diyi
sions. Where is the single church that can ruI
along 500 miles of railroad, gather the youns
men into assemblies, give them proper amuse
ment, books to read and preach the simple Cos
pei to them2 Where IS the combination o
churches that has weekday and Sunday ma
chinery equal to this. or equal to the religion
wants of colleges and universities which intel
lectualism is everywhere developing, wiihOu
God and without Bible truths?
These Y. NJ. C. a. bodies are ready armed ant
equipped for this business; they are the pho
neers of the ehurches-nay, my friends, thel
are part and parcel of the churches themselves
they are the churches at work. LOOK at thu
home mission struggle, then at the grand foTeigI
mission fields. Glorious you say, Souls saved
women rescued from bondage, youth redeemed
and built up in character, in spite OF the pre-
vailing scientific doubling and literary inn
deity, which, like the snow mountains, ar
often high and lifted up. but, handsome as the,
may be. cold and frigid against the best inter
ests of society. Yes. aS in the days OF tn