The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-03-12

|
sons who have only to enter a room or step
upon platform or into pulpit and you are
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 or
social groups and audiences? Without at
tempting to define this which is indie
Enable, 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 may be cord or rope binding bod
les together, there may be an invisible cord
binding souls. A magnetic man throws it
over others as hunter throws lasso. Mr..
Grady was surchargeu with this influence,
and it was employed for patriotism and
Christianity and elevated purposes.
You may not know why, in the converse
tion which I had with Mr.. Gladstone few
weeks ago, he uttered these memorable
words about Christianity, some of which
were cabled to America. He was speaking
in reply to this remark: I said, "Mr. Glad
stone, we are told in America by some people
that Christianity does very we'll for weak
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 a 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 nay faith in religion" Sir" said he, with
flashing eye and uplifted hand, "talk about
the questions Of the day. there Is but one
question, and that is the Gospel. That can
and will correct everything. Do you have
any of that dreadful agnosti cism in Ameri-
cap Having told him we had he went on
to say: 81 am profoundly thankful that
none of my children or kindred have been
blasted byit. am glad to say that about all
the men at the top in Great Britain are
Christians. Why, sir" he said, II have
been in public position fifty-eght years
and forty-seven years in the Cabinet OF the
British Government. and during those forty
seven years I 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
and surgeons of his country, calling them by
name and rsmarking upon the high qualities
Of 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
the friends of God and believers in the sane
titles of religion, the most eminent OF the
lawyers, the most eminent 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
acquaintanceship I am sorry that you
have fallen into bad company. In an
swer to the question put last spring.
"Can secular journalist be Chris
tian?' I 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 obsdience
or disobediencs of the words Of my text,
"Take thee great roll, and write in it with
a mans 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. Ipraise the pulpit and magnify my
when say that where the pulpit touches ono
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 Oh
editors and reportersis greater. Come, broth
er 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.
erature. Make sin appear disgusting and
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
man'sp pen bea message of light and liberty
and kindness and an awakening OF moral
power. But who is sufficient for these things?
Not one Of you without divine help. But get
that influence and the editors and reporters
can 60 up and take this world for God and
the truth. The mightest 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. 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 and res
cued 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 misrepresentedP' I answer that in the
opportunity the newspaper press Of this
country and 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. My opinion is,
stead of spending so much time end energy
in denouncing the press, had better spend
more time in thanking them for what they
have done for the worlds intelligence and de-
clariag their magnificent opportunity and
urging their employment of it all for benef-
cent and righteous purposes.
Again, remark that 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 oyer, 60 to WASH
ington, or Albany, or Harrisburg. OF At
lanta, to get in city or State or National
Office reward for their services and not get
ting 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
went home to his newspaper. He demon
strated that it is possible to
toll for principles which he thought to oe
right, simply because they were right.
Christian patriotism is too rare commodity
in this country. Surely the Joy of living
under such free institutions as those estab-
lshed 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