The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-08-12
A SOJOURN AT LESLIE CAMP
A Cloud Covered the Tent OF the congre.
CATION, and the Glory of the Lord
Filled the Tabernacle.

As 1t was our delightful privilege to
spend a week on tho Leslie camp meeting
grounds situated on the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, in Cecil county Md, we
thought perhaps the thousands of Chris
tinn people of Wilmington into whose
homes tho Daily REPUBLICAN Is a welcome
messenger OF good tldings, 1t you'd be an
itom of interest to theIn to learn how
grand a privilege 1t is to wo ship with
the Lord people, the God of Nature in
Natures leafy hamlet. And before saying
what we purpose saying in regard to this
delightful spot and the sacred services just
cl ,sed for this year. we heartily desire to
offor our mite Of praise aud commendation
to the people at large in Cecil county, who
certainly give unmistakable signs of u rare
degree of moral excellence and frmness in
cleAvlng to that which Is good and com.
monde be, and a strong ire ible for ;e in
their made up, far in advance of her sister
counties in surrounding states to which
local option, tho failure Of other people,
has and does shine out as a glorius SUCCESS
in the borders of Cecil county.
Thanks be to Its people, who say to the
rum traffic thus far thou mayest go, but
no farther" Beyond our borders, where
people arc so weak In their moral stamina
(and VIC pity them), rum with all Is
ravages and ruin, may make home hell
and che youth who are expected to take
tho moral and physical places in our land
may be dcluged by the curse but as for us,
we, the people Of Cecil county. have de.
clared and by Gou's help, We will forever
put our senl OF condemnation upon tho
license privilege and tho DEVILS head
quarters on earth, the saloon.
AS an evidence OF the success of Local
Option, where intrepid, bold and morally
coul ageous men arc the power behind 1t,
we give as an instance what we saw and
beheld at leslie Camp meeting.
On the big Sunday" rs we call IT., an
assemblagc Of people numbering anywhere
from five to seven thousand, were on the
grounds, and in all that vast crowd. the
only police protection afforded, land 1t was
not needed was ono single man, and by
the way, he was Onc-arm man, and we
venture the assertion, that ho would have
answered all purposes, If he had been
man with neither legs or arms. What u
lesson for the people of Wilmington. Hero
we nave u large police force, an expensive
ono neces sarly. A police patrol on wheels
to gather up saloon wreckage, Municipal
Court another expensive saloon attach.
ment. Those are come OF the many ex.
penses, leaving out tho great items OF
misery, crime, AMI wretchedness, and
ninty por cent of all police labor and ex.
penso have their origin from the one com.
mon source, the license privileges, the
tho poor house. What do,you think OF it?
Are not Q people brave who put their feet
upon tho neck Of such q monster as tho
saloon and crush to death tho demon
that blights community, weakens their
moral force, sends discord far and near,
fits TIE young for anything but good,
starve women and children, fills prisons
and poor houses, clothes helpless children
with rags and crowns their life with
wretchedness. Are they not deserving OF
praise and their example worthy of imlta.
ton. May God hasten tho day when vii.
mington people will open their eyes to see
where they are drifting and make haste to
make war against the greatest curse
known to the human race and save their
posperity from shame, wretchedness and
all the multiplied evils growing out of the
DEVILS laboratory, the saloon.
But wo started out to tell something
about Leslie Camp Meeting, instead of
drawing u picture so gloomy in its every
feature, rs the saloon always was and al
ways will be; but after all If we shall do
no more than show that local option mover
fails when moral force is behind it, 1t
might be an advantage to somo reader,
who mny be able to SEQ the more pleasing
picture Of local option triumphant which
it Is in Cecil County, Md. And not only
is it a success but leaving the local option
on the pinnacle of SUCCESS, we step out to
narrats another grand SUCCESS Tho local
preachers camp meeting, at Leslie, In
Cecil county. We arrived at tho grounds
in time to attend tho Sunday morning
love feast, which was truly u soul stirring
service, and about the first to greet us was
the pleasant faced and rapidly growing
young preacher of tho local fraternity,
Bro Aionzo Davis Of Wilmington, who
rendered excellent service during his stay
on the grounds. A fine godly man is Bro.
Davis.
The rendering of "Wonderful Peace"
In this service by Brother Wesley Ewing
assisted by choir of trained, sweet melo-
dlous voiced singers, Was only to be com.
pared with the songs the angels sing.
There were preachers who took part in
the preaching from New York, New Jersey
PENNSYLVANIA, Delaware, Maryland, and
Washingt on, d. c. Their sermons were
deep, earnest, instructive and comforting |
assurances from the book of God evldenc.
ing their calling and touch with Divinity. |
All the services on the ground were real
spiritual feaats. Metholists, Baptists.
Presbyterians, all one in Christ Jesus,
made lenominatonalsm n secondary af-
fair, and faces wreathod with smiles and lit
up with the theme Of Salvation made 1t
scene, which tho angels might desire to
witness.
The choir vas one impossible to describe,
Brother Wesley Ewing and Brother S. M. |
Sentlnan, tho leaders, have no equal in
East, the organist, simply makes An organ
talk and sing, while q largo number of
christian people constituted the choir
whose names great many we did not
know and therefore cannot mention, but
would say Of all of them thoy were singers
indeed and made the woods ring with
melody, and our souls to rejoice In the
tho healer Divine" and Saved by Grace"
and "Wonderful Peace" sung with the
spirit and understanding, by this wonder
ful choir, still finds an echo in my soul,
and we want to retain it there until with
them,
"We'n join the everlasting song,
And crown him Lord of all"
Bro. W. Il. Hammond, who is now hay
ing charge Of Eboneezer church, above
Newark, del, was general manager Of the
camp. He is man of real merit and
qualified for the position, and
beloved by everybody, besides being an
able preacher and evangelist giving his
whole life topointing sinners to tho"Lamb
of God" During our weok's visit to this
delightful camp meeting, wo never heard
q profano word uttered on tho grounds,
ttIlu pOilVlCul CullptsBh ID JuSU |
commencing in tho State and county, wo
never heard politics mentioned once. To
sum up Us wo must stop let us say that
week. S visit to Leslie camp meeting has
made Inc botter man We have been in
structed, blessed and comfurted. Its
scenes and many faces are photographed
in my soul, and If should bo permitted to
visit it another year. l will praise God for
tic privilege, and If not permitted l hopo
shall wi h NIL the dear cbristiana nnd |
friends that saw and rejoiced with there
ind camping ground where tents are
never taken down, or separations never
AXE place. Amen and Amen
N, L. J.