Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-03-01

Christians. Why, sir,s he said. II have
been in public position fifty-eight years,
and forty-seven years in the Cabinet of the
J British Government. and during those forty
/ seven years l have been associated with
sixty of the master minds of the century,
and all but five of the sixty were Christians"
/ He then named the four leading physicians
4 and surgeons of his country calling them by
name and remarking upon the high qualities
IF each of them and added: They are all
( thoroughly Christian My friends, think
it will be quite respectable for little longer
to be the friends of religion. William E.
Gladstone. Christian; Henry W Grady, a
Christian. What the greatest of English
men said OF England is true of America and
of all Chrstendon The men at the TOD are
the friends of God and believers in the sane
titles of religion. the most eminent of the
lawyers the most emiAent of the doctors,
the most eminent of the merchants, and
there are no better men in all our land than
some of those wac sit in editorial chairs.
And if that does not correspond with your
acquaintanceship, l am sorry that you
have fallen into bad company. In an-
swer to the question put last spring,
Can e secular journalist be a Chris
tam l not only answer in the affirmative,
but assert that SO great are the responsible
tiles of that profession, SO infinite and
eternal the consequences of their obediencs
Or aisobedience of the words of my text,
Take thee great roll, and write in it witG
man pen," and SO many are the surround
ing temptations that the men of no other
profession more deeply need the defenses and
the re-enforcements OF the grace of God
And then look at the opportunities of jour
nalism. praise the pulpit and magnify my
office, but state fact which you all know
when say that where the pulpit touches one
person the press touches five hundred. The
vast majority of people do not go to church.
but all intelligent people read the newspa-
pers. While, therefore, the responsibility of
the ministers is great, the responsibility OF
editors and reporters is greater. Come, broth
CT journalists, and get your ordination not
by the laying on of human hands, but by the
laying on of the hands of the Almighty. To you
is committed the precious reputation Of men
and the more precious reputation of women.
Spread before our children an elevated lit
efature. Make SIN appear disgusting and
virtue admirable Believe good rather
than evil While YOU show UP the
hypocrisies of the church, show up the stu
pendous hypocrisies outside the church. Be
not as some of you are, the mere echoes of
public opinion; make public opinion. Let
the great roll on which you write with a
mans pen be- message of light and liberty
and kindness and an awakening of moral
power. But who is sufficient for these things9
Not one of you without divine help. But get
that Influence and the editors and reporters
can 90 up and take this world for God and
the truth. The mlghtest opportunity in all
the world for usefulness to-day is open be-
fore editors and reporters and publishers,
whether of knowledge on foot, as IN the book,
or knowledge on the wing, as in the news
paper l play God, men OF the newspaper
press, whether you hear or read this sermon.
that you may rise up to your full opportunity
and that you may be divinely helped and res
eued and blessed.
Some one might say to me. "How can you
talk thus of the newspaper press, when you
yourself have sometimes been unfairly treated
and misrepresented" l answer that in the
opportunity the newspaper press of this
country nd other countries have given me
week by week to preach the Gospel to the
nations. | am put under SO much obligation
that | defy all editors and reporters the
world over to write anything that shall call
forth from me one word of bitter retort from
now till the day of my death. Ny opinion is,
that all refornIers aud religious teachers, in
stead of spending so much time and energy
in denouncing the press, had better spend
more time in thanking them for what they
have done for the worlds intelligence and de-
claring their magnificent opportunity and
urging their employment Of it all for benef-
cent and righteous purposes.
Again, | remark tnat Henry w. Grady
stood for Christian patriotism irrespective of
political spoils. He declined all official re-
ward He could have been Governor of
Georgia, but refused it. He could have been
Senator of the United States, but declined it.
He remained plain Mr. Grady. Nearly all
the other orators of the political arena as
soon as the elections are over, go to w ash
ington, Or Albany, OF Harrisburg, or AT
lanta, to get i'll city or State or National
dice reward for thelr services, and not get
ing what they want spend the rest OF the
time of that administration in pouting about
the management of public affairs or cursing
Harrison or Cleveland. When the great
political campaigns wera over Nh. Grady
went home to his newspaper He demon
strated that it is possible to
toll for principles watch ne Thought to De
right, simply because they were right
Christian patriotism is too rare a commodity
in this country. Surely the joy of living
under such free institutions as those eStap-
lished here ought TO be enough reward for
political fidelity. Among all the great writ
ers that stood at the last Presidential cleo
ton on Democratic and Republican plat
forms you cannot recall in your mind ten
who were not themselves looking for r.nu-
nerative appointments. Aye, You can count
them all on the fingers of one hand. The
most illustrious specimen of that st. e Of
man for the last ten years was Henry W.
Grady.
Again. Mr. Grady stood for the new south
and was just what want to meet three
other men, one to speak for the new north,
another for the new east and another for the
new west. TIE bravest speech made for the
last quarter of a century was that made by
Mr.. Grady at the New England dinner in
New Y ork about two or three years ago. /
sat with him that evening and know some
thing of his anxietes, for he was to tread on
dangerous ground and might by one mis-
spoken word have antagonlzed forever both
sections. His speech was a victory that
thrilled all of us who heard him and all who
read him. That speech, great for wisdom,
great for kindness, great for pacification,
great for bravery, will go down to the gene
rations with Webster's speech at Bunker
Hill, William Wirts speech at the arraign-
ment of Aaron Burr, Edmund Burke's
speech on Warren Hastings, Robert Emmet's
speech for his own vindication.
Who will in conspicuous action represent
the new north as he did the new south? Who
snail come forth for tle new east and who
for the new wests Let old political issues be
buried, let old grudges die Let new theories
be launched With the coming in of new
nation at the gates of Castle Garden every
year. and the wheat bin and corn crib of our
land enlarged with every harvest, and vast
multitude of our population still plunged in
illiteracy to be educated, and moral ques-
tions abroad involving the very existence of
our Republic, let the old political platforms
that are worm-eaten be dropped and plat
forms that Shall be made of two planks the
one the Ten Commandments and the other the
Sermon on the Mount. lifted for all of us to
stand on. But there is lot of old politi-
clans grumbling all around the sky who don't
want a new south, new north, new east or
a new west. They have some old war
speeches that they prepared in 1851, that in
all our autumnal elections they feel called
upon to infiict upon the country. They growl
louder and louder in proportion as they are
pushed back further and further and the
Henry w. Gradys come to the front But
the mandate, l think, has gone forth from
the throne of God that a new American ma
ton shall take the place of the old, and the
new has been baptized for God and liberty
and justice and peace and morality and re-
igion.
And now our much lamented friend has
gone to give account Suddealy the faeile
and potent pen is laid down and the eloquent
tongue is silent What2 Is there no safe
guard against fatal disease? The impersona-
ton of stout health was Mr. Grady What
ompactness of musclel What rudy conf
plexionl What flashing eyei Standing with
MIN in a groupof twenty or thirty persons at
Piedmont, he looked the healthiest as his
spirits were tee blithest. Shall we never feel
again the hearty grasp OF his hand or be
magnetized with his eloquence? Men of the
great roll, men of the pen, men of wit, men
Of power, if our friend had to go when the
call came, 50 must you when your call
cores. When God asks you what have Won
done with your pen or your eloquence or your
wealth or your social position, will you be able
to give satisfactory answer? What have we
been writing all these years. If mirth, has
1t been innocent mirth, or that which tears
and stings and lacerates2 From our pen
have there come forth productions healthy
or poisonous? In the last great day when
the warrior must give account of what he
has with 81,