Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1899-11-17
point; the trader, the merchant, the
p%rospector, the cattle man, each has

point; the trader, the merchant, the
prospector, the cattle man, each has
Ibis own view.
Now as n whose main object and
desire is to seek to devote his slife and
talents to the One from whom he holds
them on trust; knowing that to Him,
and not to his fellow men will he be
called upon to give account for the use
or misuse of the same; it is from the
religious point of view / now write.
1t SO happened, that the very first
objects to which my attention was
drawn before I hadbeen half an hour
in Hot Springs, was the remarkable
number of places of worship for SO
small a community. Had it not been,
that l have long known that outward
religious show and apparent zeal were
nowadays quite consistent with alack
of reality and of real spiritual life,
might have been led to conclude that
here a sacred spot, atany rate. lam
writing as a friend, but I do not under
stand any more than did Shakespeare,
or IL greater than he, Solomon, friend
! ship which consists of only saying pleas
ant things. "Who to a friend his faults
can plainly show" zShakespear. "Faith-
full arc the wounds of a friend."- Sol.
ONION.
My time in these parts has been
| Spnnt in tho nnn,,trr nv,p,p %ho
ranches, the %cattlemen, the cowboys,
and why, may ask, dol hearfrequently
on all sides the complaint as to the
almost utter neglect in religious mat
tiers of the surrounding districts?
a famous bishop, and one much be-
loved among the poor, once pertinently
remarked, that, "If people did not
come to the churches, it was the duty
of the churches to go to the people,"
Are we Christians become such slaves
to system, to mere routine, that it is
necessary at all costs that Sunday
after Sunday services should be held
in partly filed places of worship attend
ed mostly by n sex only?
Is it necessary, or right from a christ
ian point of view, that this c%oncentra-
ton of religious effort should be con
fined to the partially filed town church
es, the members of which consist larg-
ly of one sex only:
But it may be urged on the other
hand that these are IL difficult class to
reach, to get hold of. 1t has usually
been a characteristic of the Anglo
Saxon race that difficulties but stimu-
late eNertion. a skillful angler knows
how to vary his bait according to the
requirements of the case, and it is use
less to approchthese people with other
wise than a stern, robust christianity,
which molds itself to their daily lives
and surroundings.
1t is ridiculous to expect the usual
formula of religious routine from people
engaged in hard pursuits from early
morn till late at night, that you might
from jewellers in town. t DOE S
COP REQUIRE IT; it was to a nation on
gagged in pastoral pursuits that the
prophet Micah says-"What doth the
Lord require of thee, but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humb-
ly with thy God?" What says the
divine Master? "God is a spirit: and
they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth" John iv:2l.
These are divine principles which
hold good to-day.
That these men have many sterling
qualities, and are a particularly frank,
open hearted good natured community,
| have alre Idly had ample opportuni-
ties of Judging. They have, too. a keen
scent for anything in the way of shams
or affectations; active, shrewd, hard
headed, quick to see a point, they
would welcome, l know. the ministry
of II man who would speak to them as
man to man.
And shall these men rise up in the
great day that is at hand, and pointing
up to the ministry. say of it-"No man
cared for my SOUL? The Bible, tile
gospel was intended for tall sorts and
conditions of men,, if not, then it is a
failure, Il fraud!
The late Mr.. Spurgeon in one of his
pithy remarks said that st. Paul's
grand doctrine-"I am made all things
to all men, that might by all mean
save some," was usually interpreted
"That might by all means save a sum.
Bitter words OF biting sarcasm, how
> true to-day in England l require III
one to tell me; but surely in this high
= ly favored country, the home of sucl
men who have moved the world "a
{ Sankey and Moody, p. p. Bliss, G. NJ
Sheldon and many other such sterl
champions of the truth, one has
1 right to expect a higher standard thar
this.
!, Is il n mockery. the boast slammed