The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1897-12-01
AReal Blood Remedy.
THE FLYING ROLL" :"
REV. DR.. TALMAGE AND THE RE-
LlGIOUS NEWSPAPERS MISSION.


The "Flying Rcll" zechariah Saw and the
Modern "FIying Eolls"-Journals That
Drop Benedictious Upon the Sation-De-
nominstiopsl Differences.
copyright, 1897. by American Press Asso-
ciation.1
WASHINGTON, Nov. rs in Il previ-
Gus discourse DR.. Talmage, having
shown the opportunities of the secular
press, in this discourse speaks OF the
mission of religious newspapers. His
text is, "Then l turned and lifted up
mine eyes and looked, and behold fly
ing roll (Zechariah Y, y.
In dream the prophet saw some
thing rolled up advancing through the
heavens. 1t contained divine message.
1t moved swiftly, as on wings. 1t had
much to do with the destiny of nations.
But if you will lock up you Will see
many flying rolls. They come with
great speed and have messages for all
the earth. The flying rolls OF this CEN
trry are the newspapers They carry
messages human and divine. They Will
decide the destiny of the hemi>phercS.
There are in the United States about
0,OOOnewspapers. The religious news
paper of which l am the editor was
born 19 years ago, but born again
years ago In this brief time 1t has
grown to about 200, ,000 circulation,
and, by the ordinary rule of calculating
the readers CT Il paper, 1t has about
1000, 900 readers Our country was
blessed with many religious journals,
edited by consecratcd men, while their
contributors We're the ablcst and best Of
all professions and occupations. Some
of those journals for half a century had
been dropping their benedictions upon
the natiCn, and they live on and Will
continue to live OH until there will be
no more use for their mission, the world
itself having become a flying roll on
the tempests Of the last day, going out
of existence There will be no more
use for such agencies when the world
ceases, because i'll the spiritual state we
shall have such velocity that we can
gather for ourselves all the news Of
heaven, or, seeing some world III con-
fiagration, may go ourselves Ill an IN
slant to examine personally the scene
of disaster.
All Regiments In One Army.
Was there room for another religious
journal in this land, already favored
with the highest style Of religious Jour-
nalism? Oh, yes, if undenominational,
plenty of room! Nothing can ever take
the place of the denominational newspa-
per. When the millennium comes in, it
will find as many denominations as there
are now. People according to their
temperaments will always prefer this
or hat form Of church government, this
or that style of worship. You might
as we'll ask us all to live in one
house us to ask Us all to worship i'll one
denomination CT to abolish the reSl-
ments of an army in order to make them
one great host.
Each denomination must have its own
journal, set apart especially TO present
the charities, explain the work and for
ward the interests Of that particular
sect. The death of one dcnominational
journal is calamity 10 all the other de-
nominations. 1 would almost feel that q
great misfortune had happened ne If
The Christian IntelligcncCr of the Re
formed church (my mother church, did
not come to my house every week, for
was brought up on it, and 1t las become
a household necessity. Such Gcnomi-
national journal had better be edited by
some one who, rocked III the cradle Of
that church and ordained at her altarS,
having become venerable III her service,
sits spectaclcd and wise and with heart
full of sacred memories addresses the
living of today. In the most sacred crypt
of our memory stands the statue Of the
religious editors Abel Stevens and
Joshua Leavitt, and the royal family Of
the Primes-IrcnHus and EuScbius-
while others liuScr Oh tie banks of the
Jordan, where they will not have long
to wait for Elijah's chariot. and when
they 60 up, if we still be sitting at oUr
editorial desks, we will cry ont III the
memorable words, My father, my IA
ther, the chariot of Israel and the horse
men thereof.
But, then, there are great movements
in which all denominations wish to join,
and we want mere undeEomlnatlonal
newspapers to marshal and advance and
inspire such movements. Yet such jour
nails have q difficult task, because all
Christian men, if they have behaved
we'll in their denominations, for some
reason preferred the one Of their natural
and spiritual nativity, and even looking
off upon the general field and attempt
ing wider work will he apt to lock at
things through denominational prefer
cnce and TO treat them with Il dcnom-
national twist.
In the issuing Of the religious jour
nal whose sevelth anniversary preach
that difficulty has been met and over
come by the fact that lis publisher Is d
Methodist, and in its editorial rooms
there are q Presbyterian, an Episcopal
liam and ConSresationali>t, and line
of denominational prejudice IL editorial
or rcportorial column would run against
immediate protest. Against John Wcs-
lcy's free grace or Calvin's eternal de-
erees or Bishop McIiyaiGc 5 canonic;,!s
or DR.. Dowling's Baptistery from year S
end to years end not a word is written
or printed. On all these subjects we
Ipt iOnal