The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-07-05
"BAsE BALL CRAZE"
Treated in the NJ. E. Pulpit by
Rev. DR.. Muller
Sunday Evening to an Unusually Large
Audience-The Proper Use and Not
Abuse of the Game Com
mended.

First Methodist Episcopal Church,
preached last night an exceptionally
interesting sermon OH the "Base Bal
Craze, and it's Attendant Evils" before
an immense audience, filling every nook
and corner of the vast audience room.
Following is a synopsis of DR.. Muller's
discourse:
The text, "They that use the world,
as not abusing it," l Cor. VII, 81, he
said, formulated a great truth. The
mistakes of man as to the office and
function of Christianity retard its pro-
gress. 1t seeks to correct not destroy,
to rectify, harmonic, adjust and direct
every power of the body, mind and soul,
In this work tits III harmony with COM
mon sense and the laws of thought and
life. The summary of its teaching is
found IN this precept "They that use
the world, &c" We are to use the
world, its lights and its shadows, smiles
and tears, beauty aud music, wisdom
and wit. Whatever is grand and gay.
beautiful and sublime, disciplinary and
exhllerating we are to use. To get
their highest uses we must not abuse
these things. We are not ospoil the de-
light of drink by drunkenness, the
pleasure of eating by gluttony, the
charm of love by RIGHTEOUSNESS, the
finer forces of the soul by safety.
Whatever a man does to the world
which makes it less useful or delightful
to himself or to others is an abuse,
This principIe applies t. work and
play, to duty and recreations. The
great lesson is to learn to use our being
that pleasure and profit to u whole
nature may be secured. We do not
denouce any pursuit of pleasure that is
the pursuit of progress, any study of
happiness that advances health,Strength
and life. We rejoice in the sports and
manly games that train and discipline
mind and limb. Recreation is there
fore a holy necessity of mans nature.
The legitimacy of pleasure is not 50
much questioned among men or the
Bible as the means employed to pro-
mote it.
Play is as necessary as work, while not
equal in demanding time and thought.
Labor demands relaxation and is pro-
NOTED by play. 1t is the perversion OF
of play that we warned against. 1t is
the dishonOrable facts associated with
forms of amusements and recreation
that are condemned. We are guard
against the abuse of things harmless in
themselves. The great work of youth
is to learn the art of using work and
play that injury may not come by their
abuse. Such a knowledge of life and
its laws that shall enable us to mingle
work, rest and play as to give sound
minds in sound bodies is what we need,
The principle of the text does not
prohibit physical culture. but warns
against its excuses and abuses. True
physical culture is valuable for what it
is to the body and what it enables its
possessor to do. 1t recognizes the fact
that the body has rights no less than
the mind. We welcome whatever
strengthens and beauties the body, and
devel0pes it in agility and endurance.
The gymnasium, base ball, cycling.
crOquet, &C., and all the varied outdoor
sports used to educate physical society
that do not shock reason and wound
the sensibilities and injure morals, we
commend. The benefits of such recrea-
tions rightly used emphasize their com
mendations. One who is the captain
OF a base ball nine-Or a member
of a club-need not be a
clown, a rough, or TOOL.
The captains of the Yale, Princeton,
and Wesleyan College clubs, and their
associates, while athletes and OF supe-
riOr skill, are intellectually and moral
ly the peers of any young men in the
1nrJ nhncn man ORC fIlnU1nn for fha
ministry, and appointed to mission
fields. A young man may be an all
round athlete, and be a Christian gen
tleman. The two are not incompatible.
Physical culture was a part of the
education of youth among the ma
tons of antiquity. The physical supe-
riority of the Grecian soldier was no.
table. The athlete who could fracture
the skull of a steer with a blow of his
fist was not rare in those days. All re-
creations that advance physical culture,
that fit the body to be the friendly in
strument of the mind and spirit, that
increase our capacity for work, keep
the blood pure, brain bright, and tenn
per kindly, are to be encouraged.
The dangers that confront this bodi-
ly culture are found in its pursuit to
the injury of mind, morals aid duty.
To attain physical development by neg
lect of mind, is degrading. Whenever
harm comes to our whole nature by
giving amusements undue prominence,
by giving a passion for games an as
cendancy over duty, a dominancy in
our thoughts, that makes recreations
an inordinate desire and relish, then
we should call a halt on these sports
MANY games are threatened with eX
tinction by the vicious tendencies that
flow from them and seek TO contrO
them. The game of professional base
ball has great vices Overshadowlng 1t
The vicious associations of genera
gambling have gathered about a game
that is in itself harmless and healthful
The practice of betting on contests Of
base ball clubs; of pool selling with it!
pernicious influences, which prevails il
many cities, and from which l am glaC
to be informed Canton is exempt
These vices are working an injury tina
will leave their mark on generations
l have known young men Il
rob their employers and bring dis
grace upon themselves through
yielding to these gambling vices. Tn,
tendency to thriftlessness and indOlenc
are vices that abuse this game. Whel
youth and men will spend their earn
ings, evade obligations to labor, an,
Ultimately settle down into contrme
idleness by an uncontrolled passion fo
this amusement, not only the victim q
such habits is injured, but society. Tn
tendency to decentralization OF the con
mnnity indicates an abuse OF the gam
Sunday games of base ball are destru'
tive of the good order and morality {
tha coumiInitv EXpediency Woul