The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-12-06
THANKSGIVING SERVICES.
Special Exercises at the Presbyterian
Church.

in the exercises.
Rev. W. l.. Cuninggim announced the |
first hymn and Rev. K. Van Deventer
read the scripture lesson from First |
Chronicles 10: ID and 7-3G, and Mr.. |
Cunningham lead in the first prayer. Alter
singing another hymn Rev. I. NJ. John
son, pastor of the Methodist Protestant |
church. preached most excellent ser |
mon from Psalms, "a: l: THE earth is |
the Lords, and the funess thereof: the |
world, and they that dwell therein" Mr.
johnson said in substance:
Il Thanksgiving is an effort to rem |
der something for that which we have
received An honest man wants to pay |
his debts; he is not satisfied until he |
does
9. 1t helps and enlarges Us to be |
grateful. 1t expands the soul and gets |
us out Of ourselves and makes US feel less
like grumbIing.
3. 1t is mean and narrow not to be
thankful. 1t is mean to reject an oilered
Kindness, but meaner to receive 1t ana
not be grateful. We want people to
thank Us, so does God.
Upon the thought, Z" How to express
gratitude" Mr. Johnson said
q. Not in words but in w0rks God de-
| sires us to use, and not abuse what He
| has given US. He would have US remem-
| Der that the earth is His, and we IRE to
use it for His glory. There ave the Or
phaDs to care iOr-thOse children with
| out father or mother. What better way
! to show our gratitude than by helping
! to care for them? Carrying food and
clothing 20 the poor, visiting the sick,
| Christ considers all this as done unto
! Himself Matthew %: 30.
| 2 By eXerting ourselves against evil.
While we thank God for keeping OH evils,
we must help to keep them oil. There Is
obscene literature, prize fighting, worldly
mindedness, Sabbath dissertation, intern
perance, foreign immigration. All these
are dangers threatening orr country,
and we should exert every power to
Danish them and thereby enhance the
general happiness of the world"
Upon the third part of Mr.. Johnson's
discourse he said: eve have much to
be thankful for. For individual blessings
pure air, plenty OF sunshine, water,
| food, friends, home, shelter. While we
| have plenty to eat and comfortable
homes, there are thousands who are hun
grv and homeless We have eyes and
ears. Go to Raleigh, in the Asylum there,
and you will find those who neither see
nor hear. We have voice, hands, feet,
and IL mind. There are hundreds and
thousands whose minds are gOne-reasOn
is dethrOned. There was Il man who
complained because he had neither shoes
nor money, but when he met another
who had no feet, he became grateful that
he possessed his, though he had no
money with which to buy shoes.
For sectional blessings. There may, and
ought to be, sectional love and thanks
giving, but not sectional hatred and
strife We are rid of strikes and OF the
dangerous foreign element. There Is not
that social unrest that there is in other
parts of our country. Some years ago IL
census OF foreigners and natives showed
that some states have 80 per cent. OF
the foreign element in their populations
while North Carolina has but l per cent.
We talk OF the race problem, but theprO-
portion OF poverty, Ignorance and ruin
in the sums of the large cities, where
hundreds are hudded together in one
building, with no grass or sunshine, is In
a far worse condition than the poorest
: negro of the South.
) Here in North Carolina we have been
free from great storms and dread dis
eases. North Carolina has been especi-
, ally favored. \ gentleman who has
Travelled said he hadn't found finer
climate than that of our State. | love
the old Tar Heel'' State. | can say,
"Ho, for Carolina!' and with equal 10y
f atty and love:
, ''My Country IT'S of Thee,
Land of the brave and free,
OF thee | sing
S and the Star Spangled Banner.'
For national blessings. For bOuntiful
+ crops, and while we regret and lament
| the money panic, it is not half so bad as
, a bread panic We have an enormous
t supply of bread. We have been free from
t war How true it has been with us that
1.-The hands pierced on Calvary hold the
helm of the universe" There have been
no earthquakes and not many storms
] With all the sweeping political changes
e no harm has come, the government goes
on Just the same, which shows its stabili
, ty And what shall | say about tn,
! money pressure? Has it been a blessing
y to us as a nation? Strong says that Oul
Y material development has outstrippeC
. our spiritual progress, and it seems tC
be so. Then we need something to ever
> up. If this is to be done in no other wa,
e than by checking the material progress o
d the country, ought we not to thank Goo
" that it has been checked? 1t is not tn,
amount of wealth or prosperity tina
makes us worldly minded, but TIN
amount of heart set on these things. w
e as a nation have set our heart on riches
I. Two things more | wish to mention ant
k | close: There seems to be an uneuua
e contest between capital and labor. Their
" is discomfort amongst the masses, whicl
1t indicates not a morbid discomfort, but
r laudable desire to better their condition
id 1t is a desire to improve and keep pac
ID with the advanced and new order O
re things. As the intelligence of people il
It bondage increases there will be created
is tension which must find relief either in
" relaxation or a break of the power whc
-e holds the people in bondage. This popu
) lar discomfort tends to bring down king
lie whether money or regal, and make men
1t tends to equalze and place people OF
the same plane: it brings toward eac
It other the two extremes and enables Their
n to find the golden mean. 1t recognize
God us God, man as man, beast as beast
y and does not make Il cOnglOmeratiOn o
o them. so | see in all this unrest a
lie omen Tor good in q final adjustment q
o things. do not think that it portend
to trouble or war. And then finaIl,
there is another thing for which, as
nation, we should be thankful. W
should be thankful that womanhood
through the good women of Kentucky
pr under the direction OF God, have avenge
Il -her adversary. ana her purity has bee
IN maintained. When that scandalOus tria
- was in progress at Washington. the bet
in ter class OF society We're made sick a
" heart. but there was class that dc
e. vOured the newspaper reports Of
IN somewhat as | imagine cannibals devon
H. human flesh. The trial ended and tn
of women of Washington asked Congress
Nv not to allow repetition OF the sickenn
w event by expeling or repeling any men
~ her of that body not having a goo
10 moral character. They We're referred t
or the voters, and when it was known tina
III the corrupt and disgraced Congressman
lr would come before the people for re-non
5 ination, the cry which had been raised i
ne Washington found an echo in Kentucky
a and while the eagle like vulture hovere