Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-10-05
PROPOSED BY TALMAGE.
A GRAND CELEBRATION OF THE
BIRTH OF CHRIST.
The Great Preacher Proposes lax
ing the Nineteen Hundredth Ami
versnry OF Christ's Birth a CeleprS-
tion I'm Which All h World
Should Take Part.

sAcNAhSH a.
preached a sermon of unusual interest
to a vast audience, the subject being
"The Nineteen Hundredth Anniversary;
a Proposition concerning It." The text
was taken from Isaiah tx, 6: L us
a child is born"
That is a tremendous hour In the MS
tory of any family when an immortal
spirit is i%ncarnated. Out of a very dark
cloud there descends a very bright
morning. One life spared and another
given. All the bells of gladness ring
over the cradle. l know not why any
one should doubt that of old Il t a
pointed down to the Savior's birth
place, for a star of joy points down TO
even honorable nativity. A new eter-
, nifty dates from that hour, that minute.
Beautiful and appropriate is the custom
Of celebrating the anniversary or such
an event, and clear on into the eighties
and nincties, the recurrence OF that
day of the year in an DID mans hte
causes recognition and more or less
| congratulation. So, also, nations are
accustomed to celebrate the anniversary
of the birth of their great heroes or
deliverers or benefactorS. The I'D or
February and the 4th of July are never
| allowed TO pass in our land without
banquet and Grafton and bell ringing
and cannonade. But all other birth
days are tame compared with tie
Christmas feStivity. which celebrates
the birthday described in my text.
Protestant and Catholic and Greek
churches, with all the power Of music
and garland and procession and doX-
ology, put the words of my text into
national and continental and hemiSpher-
ic chorus: ITO us n child is born. y
On the 25th of December each year
that is the theme in st. Pauls and
st. Peters and st. Marks and st.
Isaac's and all the dedicated cathedrals.
chapels, meeting houses and churches
clear round the world. We shall soon
reach the nineteen hundredth annlyer-
sary of, the happiest event Of all IN
This century is dying. Only seven
more pulsatiOns and its heart will cease
to beat. The fingers of many of you
will write at the head of your letters
and the foot of your important docu-
ments, "19OO.' 1t will be a physical
and moral sensation unlike anything
else you have before experienced. Not
one hand that wrote 1901 at the
induction of this century will have cum
ming left to write 1901" at the Undue
ton Of another. The death of one
century and the birth Of another CEN
fury will be sublime and suggestive
and stupendous beyond all estimate.
To stand by the grave Of the century
and by the cradle of another will be
| an opportunity such as whole genera
tions of the worlds inhabitants lever
experienced. / pray God that there
may be no sickness or casualty to hinder
your arrival at that goal, or to hinder
your taking part in the valedictory of
the departing century and the saluta-
! ton of the new. But as that season viii
be the nineteen hundredth anniversary
of a Sayior's birth, / now nominate that
a great international jubilee or exposi-
ton be opened in this cluster of cities
| by the sea coast on Christmas day,
the 9th of December, 1900, to be con-
| tinued for at least one month into the
year 1901. This century, closing Decem-
| Der 81, 1900, and the new century be-
ginning January /, 1901, will it not be
time for all nations to turn aside
for a few weeks or months from every
thing else and emphasize tile birth of
the greatest being who ever touched
our planet: and could there be a more
appropriate time for such commemora-
ton han this elimination of the cen
turtles which are dated from his nativ-
ity. You know that all history dates
either from before Christ. or after
| Christ, from Il. G.. or A. ID. 1t will
the year of u Lord, 1900. passing into
the year 1901. We have had the cen
tennial at Philadelphia. celebrative of
the n hundredth anniversary of our
nations birth. We have had the mag
niticent cXpositions at New Orleans.
and Atlanta, anu Augusta and st. Louis.
We have the present worlds exposi-
ton at Chicago, celebrative of the four
hundredth anniversary of this CONT
nent's emergence, and there are at least
two other great celebrations promised
for this country, and other countries
will have their historic events to com
memorate, but the one event that has
most to do with the welfare of all ma
tons is thea arrival of Jesus Christ on
this planet, and all the enthusiasm
ever witnessed mt London or Vienna
or Paris or any of our American cities
would be eclipsed by the enthusiasm
that would celebrate the ransom of
all nations, the first step towards the ac-
| cclnDlisbing of it being taken by an in
fantile foot n winters night, about
five miles from Jerusalem, when the
clouds dropped the angelic cantata:
GLORY to God in the highest, and on
| c: nth peace, goodwill TO men"
The three or four questions that
would be asked me concerning this
nomination Of time and place, I pro
coed to answer. What practical use
would come of such international cele-
bration! Answer: The biggest stride
the world ever took toward the n
ization Of all nations. That is n grand
N wonderful c~onyocation. the Relic-
ious Congress at Chicago. Tt will nut
lnteligently before the world the ma
ture of false religions which have been
prutalizing the nations. trampling WON
anhood into the dust. ~enacting tho hor-
rors of infanticide, kindlins funeral
pyres for shrieking victims. aud roll
ing Juggernauts across the mancled
bodies of their worshipers. But no one
supposes that any one win he converted
TO Christ by hearing Confucianism or
Buddhism, or any form of h~eathenism
~eulogiZed. That Is 10 be done after