Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1899-12-15

money into the paper on the one condl-
ton. of course, that il be carried on as
il has been begun.
Thank God exclaimed Henry
Maxwell softly Edward Norman was
pale. The rest were looking at Virginia
She had more to say
Dear friends. she went on. and
there was a sadness in her voice that
made an impression on the rest that
deepened when they thought il over
afterward, Il do not want any of You
to credit me with an act of great gen
crosby or philanthropy | have come
TO know lately that the money which !
have called my own is not my own
but God s. If |, as a steward of his, see
some wise way TO invest his money, it
is not an occasion of vainglory or
thanks from any one simply because |
have proved honest in my administra-
tion Of the funds he has asked me to
use for his glory l have been thinking
of this very plan for some time The
fact is, dear friends. that in our COM
ing fight with the whisky power in
Raymond, and it has only Just begun,
we shall need The News to champion
the Christian side. You all know that
all the other papers are for the saloon.
AS long as the saloon exists the work
of rescuing dying souls at the Rectangle
is carried on at n terrible disadvantage.
What can Mr.. Gray do with his gospel
meetings when half his converts are
drinking people. daily tempted and en-
ticed by the saloon on every corner?
The Christian daily we must have. 1t
would be giving mp to the enemy to
have The News fail have great con
fdence in Mr. Norman ability. | have
not seen his plans, but | have the con
fdence that he has in making the paper
succeed if it is carried forward on
large enough scale.
Il cannot believe that Christian in
telligence in journalism will be inferior
10 I'M Christian intelligence, even when
it comes to making the paper pay finan-
cially So that Is my reason for putting
this money God 3 not mine-into this
powerful agent for doing as Jesus
would If we can keep such a paper
going for one year, | shall be willing TO
see that amount of money used in the
experiment Do not thank me. Do not
consider my promise a wonderful thing
What have | done with God money
all these years but crafty my own
selfish, physical, personal desires? What
can do with the rest Of it but try to
make some reparation for what | have
stolen from Gody That is the way
look at it now. believe it is what
Jesus would do.
Over the lecture room swept that I'M
seen yet distinctly felt wave of Divine
presence. No one spoke for awhile
Henry Maxwell. standing there where
the faces lifted their intense gaze into
his. felt what he had already felt be
fore. IA strange setting back ont of the
nincteenth century into the first, when
the disciples had all things in common
and a spirit of fellowship must have
flowed freely between them such as the
First church OF Raymond had never
known How much had his church
membership known Of this fellowship
in daily interests before this little com
pany had begun 10 do as Jesus would
doy 1t was with difficulty that he
thought of his present age and its sur
roundings The same thought was pres
ent with all the rest also There was an
unspoken comradcship such as they had
never known. twas present with them
while Virginia was speaking and dur
ing the silence that followed. If it had
been defined by any one Of them, it
would perhaps have taken some such
shape as this
IF | shall in the course of my obedi-
ence to my promise meet with loss or
trouble in the world, can depend upon
\ the genuine, practical sympathy and
fellowship of any other Christian in this
room who has with me made the pledge
to do all filings by the rule. What
would Jesus doy'
All this the distinct wave Of spiritual
power expressed 1t had the effect that
physical miracle may have had on
the early disciples in giving them a
feeling of confidence in their Lord that
helped them to face loss and martyrdom
with courage and even JOY.
Before they went away this time
there were several condolences like those
of Edward Norman Some of the young
men told of the loss Of places owing to
their honest obedience to their promise
Alexander Powers spoke briefly of the
fact that the commission had promised
TO take action at the earliest date pos
sible
He was already at his old work Of
telegraphy 1t was a significant fact
that since his action in resigning his
rosition neither his wife nor dauuhter
had appeared in public No one but
himself knew the bitterness of that fam
lily estrangement and misunderstanding
of the higher motive. Yet many of the
disciples present in the meeting carried
similar burdens There were things
which they could not talk about Henry
Maxwell, from his knowledge Of his
church people. could almost certainly
know that obedience TO this pledge had
produced in the hearts of families sep.