St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-06-10
THE GREAT DISASTER
Rev. DR.. Burrell Speaks at
Length Of the Johnstown
Catastrophe.
The Bright Light in This
Cloud the Manifestation
of Sympathy.
Rev. Maxon Discusses the
Theme "IS Modern Thought
Unbelieving p
A Gay Gathering Of Elks at
Lake Minnetonka Yes
terday.

minister church yesterday from "Who
slew all thesew II. Kings, X, 8. He
said: "Jehu had received orders to ex-
terminate the house of Ahab. He sent
messengers to each of the royal villages
with instructions to kill and spare not.
In due time seventy baskets were
placed in line before his gate, each
basket containing princes head. He
came forth, and, bebolding the CHASTITY
spectacle, he cried out in we'll feigned
horror, ''Who hath slain all these? Not
l. though l did conspire against my
master and kill him. Not We. for We
are all righteous. The Lord hath
done it!''
The dead are lying in thousands UNI
buried or in shallow graves along the
Conemaugh valley. Who slew them
all? Who is responsible for this terri
BILE disaster?
God? We are not asked to vindicate
Him. We may be assured that nothing
tranSpireS in all the universe without
His knowledge. IA God without do
minion," said Sir Isaac Newton, sis no
better than fate" He is sovereign.
There can, therefore, be no such thing
as insensate law. All law centers in
the great Lawgiver. And there can be
no accident. Not a sparrow fall
eth to the earth without Him.
On the other hand, man is a
free agent and, as such, is responsible
for all the evil on earth. If loft to him
self he would involve himself and the
whole human race in speedy ruin. But
himself. 'He maketh the wrath of man
to praise him;'' that is, overrules his
evil for good; land the remainder of
wrath he restraints" Were it not for
this restraint we should have an I'M
ceasing succession of Conemaugh dis
aSters in the natural and spiritual
world. AS it is we walk unframed in
the midst of numberless dangers, up
held and protected by the retaining
hand of Father, whose other name is
Love.
The builders of the dam are charged
with the responsibility of this dis
aster. Doubtless they were to blame,
but they intended no harm. They laid
stone upon stone. hemming in the n.y.
draulic monster, little dreaming that it
would break loose one day as Bengal
tiger breaks leathern leash. God
gave man dominion over all Great
ures, beasts of the field and
mighty forces of nature. We
harness the steam and the lightning;
but if we do our work carelessly they
rend their bond and the dead lie along
their path. We build dams and barriers
to restrain the monsters OF evil; let us
take heed that we do it well. License"
is an ill-built dam against the liquor
but rope of sand to restrain the inn
ho CTR
France a helpless bond slave. Let us
build our dykes and barriers strong, for
a grave responsibility rests upon us.
The guards are said to have been
greatly to blame for not giving sufficient
warning. There were forty employees
on guard at the reservoir on that fatal
Friday morning. At 1880 one of their
number was sent down to adm onish the
people of danger. but his word was
feebly spoken. At II o'clock another
was sent. but he did his work so
leisurely that none believed him. At
$50 the bells rang and the
whistles blew: but it was too
late. the crystal flood of death overlook
the people. A minister of the gospel is
on guard. Thus saith the Lord, II
have set thee on the walls of Zion; cry
aloud and spare not" If he believes
that sin is followed by death and that
the impenitent are doomed to eternal
shame and suffering, how dare he hold
his peace? Ii he believes that Jesus
died for sinners and that there is no
other way of escape than by believing
in Him, how can he forbear to cry
''Look unto Him all We ends of the
earth and be We saved'? Failing to do
this he must be found guilty of the
blood of lost souls.
The victims themselves we're to blame
for their own ruin. They knew their
danger, had known it for months and
years. They were warned repeatedly.
On that very Friday an unknown man
rode through the valley at full speed,
calling aloud Escape for your lives!
To the hills! To the hillsw And
standing in their doorways and
leaning out of their windows they
heard him and thought him crazy
fanatic. In like manner we trif1e with
spiritual warnings and admonitiOns.
To-day, if We will, hear his voice; harden
not your hearts. Turn We, turn ye; for
why will We die?
The bright light in this dark cloud of
disaster is the manifestation of sympa-
thy which is witnessed on every side.
This is striking demonstration of the
power of the Gospel of Christ. Such
disaster in ante-Christian times would
have called forth no such practical
benefcence as our 1000 barrels of flour.
1t is the mighty work of Christ on earth
for eighteen centuries that has made
such charity possible. We believe in
the universal brotherhood because we
believe in the divine Elder Brother who
taught us that there is one God and
Rather of rs all