The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-08-07
BREEZY SAM JONES.
He Says Church People Should
Have Less Jawbone.

livery addresses by Rev. Sam Jones. the
weil-Rnown Southern Methodist evanpe-
| list.
Thanks for his hearty welcome was
fences. 81 see before me many faces
most familiar" he said. s'I think one. of
tne greatest of pleasures is the renewal
vi pieasan1 acc uaintances and the pleas
ure Oh looking once again into the faces
we nave learned to love and honor.
"hen l last stood before the thousands
gathered at Emory Grove I was in the
9eep waters; But the goodness of God
mas removed those clouds, brethren, and
the sunshine is now bright before me.'
rms reference was to three events.
which caused the unexpected and sad
termination of his sermons last summer
-the serious illness of his wife. the sud-
den death Of his mother in law and the
| performance OF dangerous operation at
the Johns Hopkins Hospital upon his
| married daughter, Mrs. Mays.
| zoo is Love" was the text taken by
Mr. Jones for both sermons, the after
noon one being further development of
| thoughts suggested in the morning.
In speaking OF the love of husband and
VIE MT. Jones dwelt at some length
| upon the question of divorce.
Nothing is so undermining the great
citizenship OF this country" said he.
IMAM the multiplied reasons and null
tlpiied facts of our divorce laws A man
VINO runs after one girl whom he thinks
the finest In this world gets married,
ana then IN few weeks goes to Judge
and says that he cannot longer live with
her because of what he calls incompatn-
| bility OF temper. That man ought to lee
shot. That's what he ought. Every ap
plication for divorce ought to be n capital
otfense,I do believe. You needn't laugh.
III you'll make it capital otfense and ex-
ecute everybody who breaks your law.
| III promise you that in twelve months
there Will he more married happiness
than the world ever knew before.
They tell me thato in South Dakota
tney are issuing marriage licenses with
divorce coupons attached, so that man
who gets one if he don't like his wife can
Just tear Off coupon and try again.
tell you brethren, this question of
nivolce is cutting away the very founda-
items and d!srupting the society of this
country. The most Uncomfortable. I'M
thinkable thing in the world to me is
that my wife or me should ever dream for
moment OF such q thingas a separation.
| Wherever there g divorce Ringing you
| can just gamble that there's a bad egg
there. And nine times out of ten both
eggs are bad. have no respect for either
the divorced woman or the divorced man
unless know the reason why. If were
walking down street with my wife and
she were to say to ME that a man coming
up the street had once been her husba nd
IA Just take to the woods; that's what
ia do. l won't run with that kind.
10 me husband and wife is most holy
blessed relation The old 'hardshell'
baptist who said that man needed n
good wife, good home and good COW
in order to Get to Heaven was a philos
opher profound. The man who hasn't
got them has tremendously poor
chance Of anything better.
I'm the course of my life I have for
twenty-seven years walked with the dear
wife of my bosom like crutch beneath
me. In my lameness and weakness
have ever leaned on her. And hear me.
brother, it's mighty hard for the devil to
get man who's got good wife, and if
the devil does get one like that he won't
| get much.
1.-The only basis for marriage, friends.
is love. It's no commercial matter.
Some have tried it on that line -and
busted. Methodist preachers out-marry
any gang in this world, but have never
forgotten one who mad princess in his
humble little parsonage. l told him what
a gem she was and he said: Il got her
on purpose. had two older brothers
who married for money and profited by
their experience. l never got n nickel
with her, but got the grandest little
woman in the world Just hunfin' pure
gall that's what it is, brother. The bow
who gets that sort of gal is millionaire
| compared with the man who has married
for morey aud get nothing else.
Life in a cottage is blessed compared
with life IN mansion where love is
naught and society demands all. A soci-
ETY. woman can't make anything happy.
She Is the most heartless thing out Of
hell Society will eat the heart out of a
woman just as whiskey eats the blood
children are a nuisance, and husband
is thing to keep away from.
sam Jones has met society women,
and he don't like any Of them, l tell you
They poke at you little, old, cold, stiff
hand that reminds me Of nothing more
than n dead fish's tail. No life; nothing
in il. | can go down to Baltimore, pick
out the society people, dive down into
their lives for The past dozen years and
show you spe"tacles and sights to make
the devil himself hide his black face I'M
der his wing and howl in terror. You
can NIL envy those people il you care to-
You can get in their ihes. but Sam
Jones won't. They are n miserable gang.
10 me there is no better evidence of
Gods approval than handful of children
] might stop to inquire why SO many of
the wives Of this country have no children.
Hear me, brother, there is no worse class
OF criminals than the women who would
rather say pretty polly to parrot or
nurse poodle. They are nine tenths an
imal; that's what they are.
81 know Pm on very delicate ground
here, but the other preachers won't go
into 1t. and Pm obliged to- They may