The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-03-14
TALKS ABOUT THE TRUSTS
ROBERT c. OGDEN DEFENDS THEM BEFORE CONGREGATION.4L CLUB.

Partner of John wanamakcr Make
 n Strong Address-The Workings O the Big Department Store--E Extra Meet
 Ing of the CIub-A Large Audience and
 Very Interesting Occasion.
 The New Haven Congregational clut
 held an extra meeting at Republican
 hall last evening, which consisted of the
 usual enjoyable exercises. About two
 hundred members besides their lady
 friends were present and supper was
 served at half-past six o'clock. This
 had been provided by the ladies of the
 Howard avenue Congregational church and was of the usual good quality. Dur
 ing its continuance violin solos were rendered by Miss Julia Stanley Gridley and some vocal solos by Miss Sadie M.
 Thompson, while Henry K. Beach off, ciated as accompanist. All the selec-
 tions were rendered with true artistic spirit and were heartily appauded Sup- per over, the members balloted upon the proposition to membership of Henry P. Downes and Herbert c. Keith, both of over, the Rev. J. Lee Mitchell, president of the club, called the meeting to order and introduced as the speaker of the evening Robert c. Ogden, the business associate of John Wanamaker, the world known dry goods merchant
 In introducing MT. Ogden, President J. Lee Mitchell very humorously told of one lady having said to him of MT. Ogden: II wish you would tell that man that l went down to his store and didn't get suited" "Now's your chance, la dies" said MT. Mitchell as he introduced MT. Ogden. who spoke, in part, as fol- lows:
 Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congre- gational Club: I have thought of a number of things since entering this hall tonight; and when called upon to speak had thought I had been through them all; but your president brings to my mind more thoughts. Among the many thoughts which passed through my mind while sitting here was one of man who went out of the Episcopal church and went into the Presbyterian church. Asked why he did so, he said | he wanted to get into church where the last half of the service was not spent in reading the minutes of the last gathering.
 | was never in New Haven before this 1 time but once, and that was forty years ago to funeral, and now I'm here for the second time. I'd like to tell you some of the thoughts that occurred to me as l rode through Connecticut
 | It was my privilege to engage Arte- mus Ward to deliver his first lecture, and of course I remember that lecture very clearly. One story particularly I remember, as 1t had reference to New Haven. It was before the day of the Pullman cars and before the time of your present beautiful station, and MT. Ward described an incident which oc- cured on a train on the New York road. mother and child were among the occupants of one of the coaches, and the display of affection between the two was so beautiful and so affecting that it centered the attention of passengers uPch thVhi. IiilS CobtiHucu uHlll lHe train ran into the New Haven station when the child looked up to it's mother with a blanched face and said in a voice of fear, Mother, is this hell?" Now, this story has been on my mind for forty years, and I never worked it off before, but you have it now.
 Another thought always occurs to me as I ride through Connecticut which I must tell to you. I was once at dinner with MT. Deliver, member of con- gress, and very brilliant man, when he was delivering a speech comparing the agricultural facilities of the differ ent states. When he came to talk of Connecticut he said: "Connecticut-- what is Connecticut but a volcanic up- heaval with little dirt on top? Con- necticut! Barren-so barren that they have to fertlize their graveyards to in- sure resurrection"
 As I ride through Connecticut I al- ways think of my ancestry. My people always resided here from the year 1885 to 1S40-the time when they left the Garden of Eden to move to New Jer- sey. And so in coming to Connecticut I feel that I am but claiming a birth right.
 And yet another thing that I always think of when coming here, and that is that I will have to meet the eXtarordi- | nary intelligence of the New England | people. I was once at dinner with Bsh- | op Potter and a number of other Epis- | copal clergymen, when one of them told | the story of another Episcopal minister | who had accepted a parish in New Ha- ] ven. He was greatly disheartened over what he considered the poor results | which he was accomplishing and the | barren condition of the parish. So he | called upon the bishop and said: Oh, | bishop, I have come to the conclusion that I am in the wrong place and that must go to some place where I will be | more useful" The bishop replied: "Don't let that trouble you, brother; if l they didn't care for you they would let you know very quickly that you were not satisfactory"
 From this anecdote I grow serious 1 and speak of our Protestant faith. These many sects into which We are divided should not be- When we come to realization of the best things in all l we will take these fragments out of each and combine them and thus reach an ideal. It strikes me that there should | be but two forms of Christianity in this