The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-02-18

Hearins-New York Corner B,ockaded
I by Orators and Listeners-"If a Man
| Die Shall He Live Again:"-Ask of the
Winds, the Rocks. the Leap Into the
Dark, the Foot-Prints In the Sands of
Time-The Ozone of Kansas Stimulates
Them.
Whether it is due to the circulation of
the air on these fertile prairies or the
| consumption OF the soils abundant pro-
ductions. the fact protrudes conspicuous
| ly that this IS land of mental friction
Men, women and children read, reflect
| ponder and discuss. The churning of the
gray matter is constant and vigorous.
This habit Of reading gives support to
| the book and newspaper publishers. Ev-
cry town OF any considerable size in
| Kansas has its daily papers and its tele-
graphic service, while there is a lack OF
such journalistic enterprise in Joplin,
Fort Smith and cities of that class in
sister states
But we started out to describe scenes
representing mental friction on the
streets Of Wichita. During a political
campaign the discussions from morning
until night bring together crowds of elo-
quent advocates of parties, principles and
candidates, and the police are kept busy
clearing gangways for passing pedestri-
ans. During the winter season the police
generally have rest from these grey
matter churnings, but another subject for
street discussion was sprung few days
ago. and since that there has been
crowd on the New York corner" from
breakfast time until almost "earIy candle
lighting An elderly man with Santa
Claus beard on his face remarked to an
other who stood near him:
IT'S fine day
Yes; very fine overhead, but not many
people are travelling that way" said the
other
That's old, but good said the beard
ed man. And then he continued: LAS a
matter Of fact 1 don't believe anybody
ever did travel that way.
What, Are you a miserable infidel?"
mo; l am an agnostic.''
"Agnostic? What's the difference be-
tween them ="
why, an infidel disbelieves the Mosaic
account of creation and the divinity Of
Christ, yet he may have strong convic-
tons as TO the Fatherhood of God An
agnostic simply Jays all theories, creeds
and beliefs on the shelf and says: 4 don't
know"
BY this time there were six or eight
listeners craning their necks forward to
catch the arguments.
'Well, do know" said the second
speaker.
Know what?"
THAT my Redeemer iiveth."
bah, That's a hallucination."
''It is not, sir; il is reality, and I have
the proofs in ages of time and the testi-
mony of millions. The waves OF doubt,
disbelief and the powers Of darkness
have dashed against the foot Of the Cross
for nearly two thousand years, but it
stands upon rock as immovabie as Gil
braltar."
Hon about the crescent"
ooh. that represents ignorant supersti-
tion and barbarity.''
But the Mohammedans think the
same Of your people"
''Well. we don't care what 49, CIInk.
The wide sweep OF Christianity over the
globe is proof of the genuineness of the
cause of the Cross
"Ah, Did / understand you 70 say
globe? Who told US we were a revolving
planet, and who 50 cruelty punched the
eyes out Of Calico? Why. all the Bib
Zeal authors and Jesus himself thought
the earth was fiat and four-cornered like
a bedspread'
They taught as far as was requisite
for mans mind at the time"
But was It the"
Hold on. there" put in a listener in |
the crowd, which had now grown to cam
paign proportions. Il say hold on one |
moment. old man. Look here. Answer |
me one question"
well. fire away"
Does your disbelief in the Bible bring |
you any consolation? Any hope for fu- |
ture life?"
NO. I cannot say that II does"
''WeH then. for goodness sake, don't |
try to take away the consolation the |
Book brings to others"
But" said the bearded man. Il want |
to get at the truth. That's what 1 am |
after. Ike a yaller hound
Il don't doubt the hound part of il"
put in a tall young man. evidently the
Logical student.
\ Smooth-faced fat man leered az the |
student and said: when did you get in
this gsme?"
The bearded man continued: 81 want |
to get at the truth. l don't care what it
fetches. Ia rather search for truth !
among the strata Of the earth. the foot
prints in the rocks. the trilobites and the
crnoids. the saurian monster skeletons.
the bones of the Neanderthal Man, and
the skull found in rock three hundred
feet beneath the esrth's surface, than 10
take a blind belief. hug il TO my bosom,
close the gates of reason and drift away
on fiowery beds of ease 10 the golden
streets OF the New Jerusalem"
After this burst the bearded man purs-
ID up his lips. and his flashing eyes swept |
the faces of the crowd. as If 10 invite an
1ther thrust
See here. old man." said firm
npei listener who was actually pals !