Morning journal and courier., 1893-02-15
APPLAUSE IN MEETING.

It has long been the custom to have ths
 "meetin' house" as quiet as possible during
 religious services. Even our good Metho. dist brethren and sisters now keep the peace in meeting. Formerly they felt at l liberty, when deeply moved by the preach CT, to have groanings that could not and could be uttered, or to gay "Bless the Lord" "Yes, Brother" ''Hsllelujah!" and other things indicative of their feelings. But now, In their meeting houses, ss well as In thoae of other denomina. tions, the preacher and the members of the choir are the only ones expected 10 make a noise. The preacher feels warranted In making a noise becsuse he hes a message from Heaven to deliver, and the members of the choir are paid to
 ''make joyful noise unto the Lord" The noise they make "between times" is not paid for. They make 1t for their own pleasure and the amusement and edifcstion of eaoh other. No account need be taken of the noise made by the sleepy small boy when he slips off his seat after long and N6lu cuoEI tD nOIu iC HCto "aippSA at home for that, and it needn't count in any public consideration of noise in meet ing.
 But the world is rolling round, and ss it rolls changes are always taking place. It may soon be the general custom to add to the noises now permissible in meeting the noise of applanse when the preacher makes telling point or is delivered of a fine period. This kind of noise Is said to be already of frequent occurrence in meeting houses in New York city. In one of the churches there last Sunday the con- gregation broke out into applause by clspping their hands loudly, and the preacher left his pulpit while yet the church was filled with the noise of manual compliment, which ended only when the descons began to pass around the contrib
 ution box.
 The idea is an interesting one, and will
 very likely be popular. There are some things to be said in favor of 1t. It will please the preachers who preach for SD. plauss and 1t will please the people who
 want to applaud. It will have, we should think, decided effect on the construction of sermons. Many preachers will perhaps be influenced by it to preach so as to pro- yoke applause. Applause is plea,ant to all
 who are before the public, and the preach. CTS who get good deal of 1t may really be- lieve that the voice of the people is the voice of God, and they may therefore feel that the more applause they get the better they are fulfilling their mission. Hitherto they haven't known, except by the in- formation given them by "the still, small voice" and such gossip ss they might hear,
 whether they were doing their work we'll or Ill. With the new idea in operation they can certainly form 8 fair judgment of their popularity.
 But there Is decided risk in this sddi- ton to the noises of the meeting house. Suppose the innovators go further and de eide to express disspprovsl ss well as ap- proval. They might make the preacher very uncomfortable. A hiss or two would
 dampen the srdor of any preacher. Per
 hsps after all the old way is the best. | Under 1t the preacher can say what he plessss without the expectation of open | approval or disapproval, and the people | can take 1t easy without the feeling that
 they are in any way expected to show their
 feelings and opinions concerning what
 goes on in the pulpit.