The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1890-03-13

thrilled by their presence, and when they
speak your nature responds and you cannot
help it. What is the peculiar influence with
which such magnetic person takes hold OF
social groups and audiences? Without at
tempting to define this, which IS lnde'
finable, | will say it seems to correspond to
the waves of air set in motion by the voice or
the movements of the body. Just like that
atmospheric vibration is the moral or spirit"
ual vibration which rolls out from the
soul of what we call magnetic person.
As there NAV be a cord OF rope binding bod
les together there may be an invisible cord
binding souls. A magnetic man throws it
over Others as q hunter throws lasso. MIR,
Grady was surcharged with this influence,
and it was employed for patriotism and
Christianity and elevated purposes.
You may not know why, in the CONVERSE
tion which | had with Mr.. Gladstone few
weeks ago, he uttered these memorable
words about Christianity, some of which
We're cabled to America. He was speaking
in reply to this remarG said, MIR. Glac.-
stone, we are told in America by some people
that Christianity does very we'll for weaE-
minded men and children in the infant class.
but it is not fit for stronger minded men;
but when we mention you, OF such large in
tellectuality, as being pronounced friend
of religion we silence their batteries" Then
Mr.. Gladstone stopped on the hillside
where we were exercising and said:
The older grow, the more confirmed l am
in my faith in religion" Sir" said he, with
flashing eye and upliftad hand, talk about
the questions of the day. there is but one
question, and that is the Gospel. That can
and will ,rrect everything. Do you have
any of that dreadful a.nosti cism In Amerl-
ra?' Having told him we had, he went on
to say: II am profoundly thankful that
#, ipIr ham
blasted by it. | am glad to say that about all
the men at the top in Great Britain are
Christians. Why, sir" he said, II have
been IL public position fiftr-sight years,
and forty y-seven years in the Cabinet of the
British Government. and during those forty
seveu years l have been associated with
sixty Of the master minds OF the century,
aud all but five of the sixty were Christians"
He then named thu four leading physicians
and surgeons of his country, calling them by
name and remarking upon the high qualities
os each of them and added: "They are all
thoroughly Christian" My friends, think
It will be quite respectable for a little longer
to be the friends Of religion. William E.
Gladstone. Christian; Henry W. Grady,
Christiau What the greatest Of English
men said of England is true Of America and
Of all Chr;stendon. The men at the top are
the friends of God and believers in tas sane
titles of religion. the most eminent o. 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 wno sit in editorial chairs
And if that does not correspond with your
acauaintauceshio, I am sorry that you
have fallen into bal company. In an
swer to the question put last spring,
''Can. secular journalist be Chris
tieny' ! not only answer in the affirmative,
but assert tIat 50 great are the reS2onsloll-
tiles of that profession, SO lnhnlts ana
eternal the consequences OF their ooedlence
or disooedience of the words OF my text,
Take thee great roll, and write in it with
mans oeD." andso many are the surroun1-
ing tenotations that tae men of no other
profession more deeply need the defenses and
the re-enforcements Of tie grace OF Goo:
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 wnere the pulpit touches one
person the press touches five hundred: Inc
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 reportersis greater. Come, orotn-
er journalists, and get your ordination, not
| by the layin. on of human hands. but 5y 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
| erature. Make sin appear disgusting end
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
mans pen be a message of light and liberty
Aand kindness and an awakening o. moral
| powes.-But who is sufficient fol these things?
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 mightest opportunity in all
the world for usefulness today 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. | pray 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 aad res
c,led 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 misrepresenuedg' ] answer that in the
opportunity the newspaper press o. this
| country and other countries have given me
week By week to preach the Gospel 70 the
! nations, am put under so much obligation
that I 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. My opinion is,
that all reformers and religious teachers, ill.,
stead of spending so much time and energy
in denouncinG the press, had better spend
more time in thanking them for what they
+lo Nc; ;,,t ol1 RI
| claring their magnificent opportunity and
urging their employment of it al! for benefi-
cent and righteous purposes.
Again, / remark tnat Henry W. Grady
stood for Christian patriotism irrespective OF
political spolls. 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 rs the elections are oyer, go to Wash
ingsop, or Albany, or Harrisburg, or AJ.
lanta, to get III city or State or National
oH:ce reward for tneir services, and not get
tinr what they want spend the rest of the
time OF that administration in pouting about
the management of public affairs or curslng
Harrison or Cleveland When the great
political campaigns were over Mr.. Grady
went nome to his newspaper He demon
strated that it is possible to
toll for principles wnich he thought to be
right. simply because they were right
Christian patriotism is too rare commodity
in this country. Surely the joy of living
under Sucn free institutions as those eStab-
liShed here ought to be enough reward for
poitica! fidelity. Among all the great writ
ers that stood at the last Presidential cleo
ton on Democratic ant Republican plat
forms, you cannot recall in your mind ten
who wtre not themselves locking FOR remu.
nerati,. appointments. Aye, you can count
them all on :ho fingers of one hand. The
most iIlustricus specimen of that style