The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-22
PRESENTED BY HARRISON.
THE EI.PRESTDENTMAK Es 4 sPEEOH
AT THE GENERIE ASSEMBLY.

ne Hands q Gnvei TO tho Presiding On1cer ana
Comments on tho Woods or which 10 Is
rIRdc-Hcnted Debate over tho Future Of
tho Presbyterian nuiIdinE in New Y6fls.
wNoNAP PARK, Eagle Lake, Ind. May 21.-The
feature OF to.dny's meeting OF tho ProsbytoriAn
General Assembly was tho presentation Of a
Ravcl TO Moderator Jackson from tho Synod Of
Indiana, the presentation speech being made By
Gen. Harrison. The speech was ono Of tho hap.
piost TINT tho cx.Prcsidtnt Inns mado recently,
and cries OF Go oni Go onl" greeted him tronA
all parts OF tho Assembly hall on several op
cdsions when tho audience supposed he was
about TO resume his seat. He was Introduced BY
the President OF tho Winona Association, and
when tho applause srJsided he said: -"
"Tho true and somewhat blue PresbytoriAns
Of Indiana have put in my hands q gavcl to Be
presented TO you, Mr.. Moderator. It 10 to b
used for the purpose OF keeping the Assembly IN
order. You were told by tho retiring Moderator
when no handed you tho gavel that you would
have no use for 1t. We hope You may not but
we desire that you may DO equipped for all emers
ecncics. The gentleman from Tcxns needed only
a revolver once, but no needed It badly then. In
this country in which this Assembly Is meeting
you breathe tho exhilnrating air. and IL may bo
that tho emergency will come. .
w have here a gavol constructed wholly Of
hard wood. There Is in 1t a piece OF poplar, and
! was In doubt as 10 It's classification. I cons
suited DIR. Gray. who knows all about trecs, but
who has never been freed himself, and no told
me 1t could be classified MS hard wood. Wood
easily converted Into pulp would not tipify the
Presbyterian Church. 1t has Como through many
hardships. and It's fibre Is strong and true.
This gavel IS composed Of oak, poplar, black
walnut, beech, and maple. The oak, we may
say, stands for tho Cnlyinistio ribs Of the
Church, that strong framework which has ens
abled 1t to crossth stormy soas. Perhaps the
poplar, q tree stately and magnificent, may
stand for the symmetrical and orderly Presby,
terrain government which has become q model
for civil government the world over. The blach
walnut is a tree the timber of which no ono ever
paints; no ono wants to hide It or cover 10
up. It's beautiful lines, its hne shades Of color
stand for the polish, the love for education, the
individuality of the Church. The beech. the
beautiful tree which droops its shcltcring armu
till they can almost drink the dew from the seed,
may represent the sholtcring,, folding love Of
the Church for the lambs OF God.
And tho maple, the sugur ma pile, which 70 In
this gaEel, through the veins Of which thert
courses sweetness. may stand for our retiring
Moderator. the Rev. nr. Withrow, and doubtlest
for you. Mr.. Moderator. 1t is well for each and
all to remember, however. that to get the sweeps
ness out of the maple it has to be boiled down."
The General then explained that the handlu
vas taken from timber In the first Presbyterian
Tinoennes. in 1906; Tho pieeo Of oak from, It'd
first house erected for n theological seminary al
Hanover in 1880. The institution was afterward
mother Of Of the SMceotormick X FRe shta; aiq se MHh IN:
merly stood in tho campus OF Wabash College,
The other two pieces represented tho old First
Presby terrain Church Of Indianapolis and the old
Second Church, in which Henry Ward BeecheI
preached FOR seven or etRht years. y.
1T is quite proper. said Gen. Harrison, " that
the gavel from thcso' logs should be presented
to one to whose life has been so much associated
with pioneer work"
Tho Presbyterian Church. he said. should
now set forth on a career for the advancement
OF the mission work. II did not require an eI.
FOUNDER OF tho word to understand that a church
which is afirc and aglow should be Il growing
church at home. when we go TO orr comforE =.
able pews we may be doing very well, he said,
but our hearts are not SGT on fire." 49,
Tho Moderator announced tho chairmen Of
committces. The first order OF the morning WINS
the report Of the Committee of Eleven on the
Presbyterian building in Now York. DIR. With
the meetings OF the committee and said that
there was no pending offer from any one to buy
the property, and added that the application Of
the money derived from tbs Stuart estate to-:
illegal. The report made this recommendation;
THAT the disposition OF the properties in cues.
ton shall now he left 10 the boards of home and
foreign missions agents OF our Church."
A heated discussion followed the submission
Of the report, and was protracten through tho
afternoon and night sessions. Mr.. McipGgall, q
lawyer of Cincinnati, led the oppositi1H, and de.
clared that funds had been used in
the erection OF a ssyscraper ON Firth avenue
and that there was no prospcct'ot the building
ever giving an adequate return on the money IN.
vested In IL. Others contcndcdt that hard tineS
had caused shrinknge in values, and IT. was i,n&
politio to order tho sale OF tho building at thi1
time.