The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-28
EVENING SESSION.
Number of Able Addresses of Much
Interest.


\ very large united congregation of
the First and Second PRESBYTERIAN
churches was present last evening. The
music was of high order. Mr.. w w.
Scranton presided and after the sing
ing of the "Sanctus" made a brief and
happy address in which he said:
| am sure that there is many a man
and many "a woman within the sound of
my voice who will remember that on some
quiet Sunday morning here they nave
vowed to themselves to lead upright. un-
selfish and public spirited lives. In front OI
this pulpit the fathers of some of US have
lain dead in their collins. Here We have
held our children i'm our arms for bap-
tiSm. Here we have received the hands
of our brides.
How tonight the old names crowd
each other in our memory, There is
Manness and Mates ana Hutchinson. and
Harrington and CourScn and Sherro a.
and Doud and Jay and Squire, and the
two PlattS, and the three ScrantOns, and
Albright and Charles Fuller. and James
Archibald and Thomas Dickson and Jon |
Brisbin. and DIR. Mitchell and DR.. Hickok,
and hosts of others, men and won, n.
whose names will be associated with the
congregation forever.
An, ladies and gentlemen, a city set
lis has ever on it the same fierce light
that beats upon a throne. We are SUR
rounded by great cloud of witnesses :,
the living and the dead. Yes, the dead,
For, if the sainted dead become as an
gels. ana if angels are ministering spiri' :
sent to minister unto them that are helfS
of salvation. may We not believe that the
spirits of those who have crossed tho
river are tonght crowding this church to
| the very roof-trec TO see whether their
! successors worthily maintain the trust
which they held and handed down to us
Hon. Alfred Hand made a brilliant
! address valuable from a historical as
wen as a lterery point of view. He
said:
QUARTER OF 4 CENTURY AGO.
\ quarter of "a century ago in this
| pulpit ii was my privilege to say some
! thing in Il brief way of some of the
! individuals who had been active in this
! church. both the living and the dead
/ What was then written was fragment
| of what | shall attempt tonight. The
church of Jesus Christ is, to a larg,
| extent an unknown quantity. an inviS
iblc power, in this world and deriVinl
it's greatest influence because its worl
! is largely unseen. a church of Jesu'
| Christ is seen and known and read o
/
the visible body working out i'm tn,
business of life an abstract ETHEREAL in
visible spiritual life.
| What place has this church had il
this growth for her share Of labor an,
success? What influences have per
mated her membership and Contru
which distinguish her from the Ordin
AIRY growth and progress of churchc
either of this or other denominations
Who were the pioneers of this churC
and the new civilization which Startc
| here and which this church seemed (
control? | answer the three SCrantOnS
the PlattS and their wives, the Hutch
insOn, Mattresses, the harnesses, Full
lers, Douds, Albrights. Dickson'
Among the young We're the Kings
burys, Colonel Hitchcock and a hos
of friends. and from other states tn
Dodgcs and Blairs, and others / wOul
like to name. ] would be false to his
tory ir | did not call attention to III
fact that the majority of them an
the controlling influences which VI
, consciously moulded sentiment an
thought were from the best of Ne
| England states. They found a fp
here of earlier settlers from the san
source who readily cOalesCed with IL
| spirit which aCtuated the new entcl
/, prise. All these were permeated wit
4 more or less of the piOus tendenCi,
e and cosmopolitan liberality which cha
$ acterized the later puritanS and ma,
them such power good over tn
, broad land from east to west.
$ LITTLE TO COMMEND IT.
8 Having seen who and what the
pioneers were, what did they find he
= of territory and people? The site
which Scranton was located had lit
a to commend it to the poets eye or Il
< ! nf 4 =
} located and partly opened, the rOul
: nature of the ground, and the fore
trees and brush left remaining in 4
blocks with ungraded streets even a
, ter the erection of this church gave
uninviting aspect, and as no street "
finished through, it presented a lab
} rinth of confusion that puzzled eve
| Z traveller. 1t was my privilege to VII
Z this town of Harrison i'm the larg
municipality of Slocum Hollow just t
fore the finishing touches had graC
: this temple of worship, and while I
( scaffolding was still up. 1t looked Ii
an effort TO force a town when I
} elements of town were entirely wal
( ing The beauty of the structure,
} capacity, its faith in the future co
2 trasted strongly with the houselC
Z blocks laid out on paper, and with {
< streets which presented no outlet A
, bitiOn and hope, coupled with fai
J can do wonders. The moral cOnditi
of the territory was no more inviti
} than its physical.
; The burdens of these pioneers W,
Z not light, nor their vision of hope I
} dimmed. They We're on new Ventu
2 an experiment under difficulties TIL
Z immediate purpose was to celebrate
|I permanent marriage of anthracite G.
with iron ore so as to produce a mi
Z ketable and permanent product. tt
( started the union in a territory 81
} posed TO be teeming with ore, as II v
2 teeming with coal. But the chemi
process had not yet been a pronount
success. To an extent II had been p
TALLY successful In three instances. 7
entire success Of the venture here
which they had staked their all
pended on n practical new eNperim
< in the smelling furnace here. The Il
3 attempts We're partial failureS-wh
might mean entire failure. 1t was
critical time when Colonel Scran
at midnight walked the floor full
~ anxiety over the pivotal trial On