Blue-grass blade., 1895-08-04
MRS. JOSEPHINE K. HENRY.
iliuminates the True lnwardness Of the
Christian Endeavorers.
Editor Blade.

Editor Blade.
have just been reading in my Sun
day newspaper about the big Christian |
Endeavor Convention and the article
has suggested some thoughts. | know |
that most people in this locality think
that it is wrong to have thoughts on the |
Sabbath day, and they have gotten so in
the habit OF keeping the Sabbath with
out thinking, that they have discarded
the habit Of thinking on other days,
Christians are so good and holy that
some of them are crying out against the
sin of reading SUNDAY newspaper,
when the rea fact is there is more to be
learned to teach us the duties OF life III
the Sunday newspaper particularly II its
the Blue Grass Blade, than all the liter
ature the pious devote themselves to on
that day
Some Christians are so religious they
have not smiled III ten years, nor snick-
cred in twenty, and this is the reason
why many BOYS and girls love to get away
from homes that have more religion than
kindness and common sense in them.
Forty thousand Christian Endeavorers
have Just been to Boston on reduced
railroad fares, and they "endeavored" so
hard that every one of them positively
refused to commit the sin of riding to
church on the street cars on Sunday.
If this sort of piety continues to grow
our whole nation will be sinless, and
pointed shoes and balloon sleeves will
90 out of fashion, and nothing will be
the style but sanctification robes.
We suppose if these Christian En-
deavorers had been on an electric train
headed for Zion, they would have tarried
in the woods over Sunday, even in the
absence Of station with a lunch coun
ter. Christian Endeavorers have ways
peculiar to themselves. 1t is a wonder
to me why all the laws of nature are not
suspended on Sunday for their benefit.
This in time may be brought about by
Endeavorefs, for we are convinced that
endeavor can accomplish wonders, but
as yet the sun shines, the grass grows,
the flowers bloom, the birds sing, the
rain falls, the heart beats, the di-
gestive organs do their work, and while
forty thousand Christian. Endeavorers
walk to church, because it is a sin to
ride in the street cars on Sunday, forty
tho usand butchers, bakers, milkmen,
cooks and house-servants are losing
their so uls by keeping steadily at their
wo rk to get these forty thousand Chris
tian Endeavorers in trim to foot it to
the sanctuary, while thousands of
preachers in their broadcloth working
clothes, this being their only working
day., labor hard to instruct the "Endeav-
orers" how to endeavor, while organists,
choirs, ushers, collection-takers, and
sections, work with all their might to
groom the "Endeavorers" for their heav-
enly home.
The sad part of it is that Christians
load up so heavily with religion on Sun
day that the commodity gives out with
the doxology at Sunday night "meetin,' y
and they have to act Just like the rest OF
the poor sinners all the week, and occa-
sionally they carry off the blue ribbon
in the sinner contest, and leave the hea-
then and heretics to look out in despair
of ever being able to compete with
them.
insist that the Endeavorers are not
living up strictly to their principles,
insist that walking is hard work, and to
walk to church on Sunday is to sin
grievously on the Sabbath day. These
Endavorers should inform the Lord,that
as He has forgotten to keep holy the
Sabbath day, they will call halt on an
innate and inanimate nature at one min
ute past twelve o'clock on Saturday
night, and sadly, silently, and sancti-
moniously Endeavor until Monday
morning.
| have been thinking of joining the
Christian Endeavorers, but if l have to
walk to church on Sunday with the
mercury up in the COS and that to hear
a sermon that has cost the preacher more
physical labor than plowman flor the
average sermon-spinner gives no evil
dence of mental industry will abandon
the idea and stay at home and read the
Blade.
may not learn as much about the
"Sword of the Spirit" but / don't like
swords, and 1 am violently opposed to
spirits, especially if they are ardent.
don't object to the spirit of the age, OF
spirits of turpentine or camphor when
needed.
As the Christian Endeavorers object
to going to heaven in street car, per-
haps they prefer chariot of fire.
OF course some of the Endeavorers
do not live in accordance with strict
Endeavor principles as every Monday
newspaper will attest. The crimes and
horrors recorded in the press committed
by Christians and preachers, and the
Catholic Bishops report of the doings
at a Christian Endeavor Convention
should make us rejoice at the fact that
out of population of 10 millions in our
country, but III millions are Christians.
This Christian Endeavor Sunday street
car business is but hint of how civil
and religious liberty would be wrested
from the people il Christians had the
power. If riding on a street car on Sun
day is sin that leads to destruction the
outlook is that the population in the
Christians heaven will be very sparse.
While Christians walk to the sanctu-
ary on Sunday the owls of Superstition
hoot and mourn from the regions of
Tradition. While people ofcommon sense
ride in electric cars, read of the progress
of the world in the Sunday newspaper
and perform all the duties devolving up
on them as the eagles of intelligence re-
joice that the "Age of Reason" has
dawned.
JOSEPHINE X. HENRY.
Sunday, July 2I, '95, Versailles, KY.