The Press., 1888-05-10
TEMPERANCE COLUMN.
lconductsd by tho W. 0. T. U.l

outgrown the ancient idea that Gods truth needs temple of stone to dwell in ? Christ, it is said, announced the great truth when he said, "WomAn, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem, wor. ship the Father. God is a spir. it, and they that worship Him must wor. ship Him in spirit and in truth" Yes, it IS most joyfully true that God needs no temple to dwell in, and it is true that if we worship Him at all we will worship Him in tpirit and in truth. But man is not altogether spirit and truth yet, and un. til he is, he must be content to dwell in a material world, in a material body.
 Woman and her work is a very matter. of fact fare, "none tco good for human ma. ture's daily food, though she has been posed either as an angel or as a fragment of human being, and hardly knows to- day what she is. Victor Hugo is about right when he says, "Woman of the nine teenth century is an enigma. but we will never give her up" That's good. Ia the meantime she is fast finding out she is just human, and needs to be only first, human in all that she does, and second, feminine in all that she does.
 The Temperance Temple is to be not only poem and an idea incarnated, but is to be none good for human natures daily food. It is to be a source of income, which, with Gods blessing, will be pnnce- ly. So prayerfully and practically consid- cred has been the situation for i', the city for it, the need of it, that it would seem human wisdom could do no more SO God cannot but bless it. We may depend up. on this consideration, for how magnih. gently has God blessed the other under. takings of this woman, Mrs. Carse Not that l would make a hero of her. for l know how distasteful this would be to her, but I, for one, sat and wondered the other day, during the reports of the eleventh an nual meeting of the Central w. c. TT. U., of which she is president-the reports of the great, practical, self.supporting lodg- ing house for men, at ten cents per lodg- ing; the kindergarten, the nursery, the gospel meetings held nightly, the Anchor age Mission for girls, all these kept on their feet at an expense of six or seven thousand dollars yearly, greatly inspired
 by this woman-at least most of them car rying out her suggestions-show her ex- perience and practical ability. None claim
 that she could do it without other brave, strong woman, and also, "it is the Lord, " for He has greatly blessed the work in car. rying most Christlike daily food, material and spiritual, to hundreds and hundreds of Chicago's needy and bewildered ones.
 thought, how well remember the day
 iu those first years, how she said to me,
 "We are so dreadfully misrepresented in
 the papers, we must have a paper of our
 own" q am glad I said yea and amen. )
 "Preposterous !" was the thought, as 1t slowly worked its way through many
 minds. Finally, this woman saw her way
 clear the idea came forth and had being,
 and is to day an association that yields a
 six per cent. dividend to all its stockhold-
 CTS. So it is with this Temperance Tenn
 pie idea. It IS not too great, nor too ma
 terial, nor too ideal to become being,
 happily blending and healthfully mixing
 things heavenly and things earthly.
 ?. It is sad the extravagant church
 buildings cripple the spiritual life of the
 church, and the Temple will cripple the
 w. c. T. U. Is it because things may be
 too good for the Lord? Isn't this n little
 according to Judas idea of economy The alabaster box might have bean kept shut, and have shut in Mary's love, and the price
 onLy saved for the poor. But this kind
 of loveless giving to the poor or to the Lord, has always in it the "death Of
 things" Love, only, has in it life, and il will ever be true, that whatever love
 builds, whether it be little pile of stones such as Jacob piled up because he had seen angels ascending and descending or whether it be such a temple as God himself planned for the children of Israel , just so love builds it, it is an offering ac,
 ceptable to God and will be profitable tc man. Our fine church buildings are not
 what is crippling the church if they ar, built of anything but love, however, they
 are just like any other dead stone, and too
 true it may be they cripple, but it is foI
 lack of love that they cripple.
 God is rich in material things, and wC , know not how rich His children may be, il l they are but rich enough toward Him. Nc l Mary is going to lack an alabaster box fol B this Temple if she wants one. The wid l ow's mite is a rich offering in His sight % and is an alabaster box of rich ointment . sending forth a sweet-smelling savor oi love. This is all that is really rich, after all, and this is all that is valuable, and [ God can build a temple or anything els, out of it.
 5 This Temple shall be talents put tc usury, yielding yet other talents for all the
 many lines work. It will not only do this [ but will afford focus for the living lov,
 of the hearts of the women of the W. C. T. U., where they may concentrate and t from whom they may radiate their power It must not for one instant feel oul f pride, else the Shekinah will immediately B depart The future generations must in . deed look upon thing of beauty aLd e power 10 be sure, if they look upon tlC t crystallized love of the women of to-day therefore let 1t be rich, and let it be wort } of the great motive but yet let it be re :. membered that God is discerner of the heart alone, and He will not accept of [ single stone that comes through pride o
 self glory. We will be accused of this I perhaps, but let us, like Nehemiah, ris, 2 above any human weakness first, then le a us say to the rest of the people, "Be no t afraid of them remember the Lord whicl r is great and terrible, and fight for youi l brethren, your sons and your daughters :. and your homes.
 e It is such a healthy way of doing things There is nothing cranky" about it. 9 have always had in mind the healthy va. 9 of mixing up things godly, as they are n @ "Shaw's Garden" at St. Louis, Mo. Who @ ever has visited these cannot cry out "WhN r this waste of beauty and ornament2" whel
 they see lifted up in the midst the inscrip
 tion, "On earth peace, aud good will to . ward men," This explains it all ; the re fective mind can't help knowing it is holy ' ground. The strange par. here is, tha n there is seldom trespass upon thegrouuds