The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1900-08-04
ON WHAT TO READ.
Talmage, the Noted Divine, Gives
Some Timely Suggestions.
1be Greatest blessing of IA Nation Is
an Elevated Litcraiurc; Its
Greatest Curse, an Im-
pure Literature.
ICSpyright, 1900, by Louis Klopsch.l :
Waghluutnn July %

DR.. TalmagC, who has been spending
n few days in St. Petersburg, sends
The following report of discourse
which will be helpful 10 those who
have Nh appetite for literature and
Womb like some rlreS to guide them
in the selection Of books and news pa
pcrs: Text, Acts 1919: MANY of
them also which used curious arts
brought their books together ana
burned them before all men. and they
counted The price of them and found it
$4,000 pieces of silver"
Paul had been stirring up EphcSuS
with some lively sermons about the
sins of that place. Among the more I'M
poriant results was the fact that the
citiuns brought out their bad books
and in a public place made bonfire
OF them. see the people coming out
with Vhcir arms full of Ephesian lit
craturr and tossing ii into the flames.
hear an economist who is standing by
saving: stop this waste. Here are
SI.JG0 worth Of books. Do YOU propose
to burn them allup? lfyou don't want
TO read them yourselves, sell them and
lei somebody else read them" NO.
said the people; "if these books are
not good for us, they are not good for
anybody else. and we shall stand and
watch until the last leaf has burned
to ashes. They have done us world
of harm, and they shall never do Others
harm" Hear the flames crackle and
roar!
Well. my friends. one of the wants OF
the cities is a great bonfire OF bad
books and newspapers. We have
enough fuel TO make n blaze 200 feet
high. Many of the publishing houses
would do Well to throw into the blaze
their entire stock of goods. Bring
forth The insuiferable trash and put il
into The fire and let it be known in the
presence of God and angels and men
that you are going to rid your homes
OF the overlapping and underlying
curse of profigatc literature.
The printing press is the mightiest
agency on earth for good and for evil
Thr minister of the Gospel. standing
In IA pulpit, has responsible position.
but do not think it is as responsible
As the position of an editor or "A pub
fisher. Al what distant point of time.
II what far-Out cycle Of eternity. will
cease the influence Of Henry j. Ray
mDnd, or IA Horace Greeley, or a James
Gordon Bennett. or u Watson Webb,
or an Erastus Brooks. or n Thomas
Einsrlla? Take the overwhelming sta.
,isticS OF the circulation of the daily
and weekly newspapers and then
cipher if you can how far up and how
far down and how far out reach the
Influences Of the American printing
PR ~.
What is TO he the issue Of allthis? !
h, 'icrr The Lord intends the printing
pr; - TO he the chief means for the
ND"lG's rescue and evangeliZation. and
I think that the great last battle of
III, world will not be fought with
sw orhs and guns. but with types and
presses. n purified and Gospel litera-
turc triumphing over. trampling down
lnh crushing out forever that which
/. riCprayed. The only way to overcome
unclean literature Is by scattering
lbTUad that which j. healthful. May
,;u! speed the cylinders Of an honest,
Intelligent. aggressive. Christian print
ing press.
I have 10 tell you that the greatest
blessing that ever came 10 the nations
IL hat OF an elevated literature. and the
Irratrst scOurgr has been that Of un-
rlcAn literature This last has its vic
Tins in All occupations and depart
mrnts. II has helped TO fiji insane
Isyinms and penitentiaries and aims
hnusrs and dcns Of shame The bodies
~ this infection lie in the hospitals and
N The graves. while their souls are be-
ing tossed over into lost eternity. an
avalanche of horror and despair! The
London plague was nothing It, That
counted It's victims by thousands. but
this modern pest has already shovelcd
It's millions into the charnrl house of
'hr morally dead. The longest rail
train that ever ran over the tracks was
not long enough or large enough TO
carry the beastliness and the put rcfac-
ton which have been gathered up
in bad books and newspapers in the
last ID years.
Now, it is amid such circumstances
thai put question Of overmastering
importance TO you and your families.
What books and newspapers shall we
read? You see group them together.
a newspaper is only a book in swiftcr
and more portable. shape. and the same
rales which illapply 10 book reading
vttlapply.to newspaper reading. What
shall we read? Shall our minds be the
receptacle Of everything that an au-
thor has a mind To write? Shall there
br no distinction between the tree of
life and the tree of death? Shall we
stOop down and drink out Of the
trough which the wickedncss Of men
has filed with pollution and shame?
Shall WE mire in mpurity and chase
fantastic will-o'the-wisps across the
swamps, when we might walk in the
blooming gardens Of God? Oh, no!
For the sake of our present and ever
lasting welfare we must make an intel
Iigrnt and Christian choice.
Standing as we do. chin deep in fc-
fitioos literature, the question that
young people are asking is: ''Shall we
read noyels?'' Ireply: There are nov
els that are pure. good. Christian, ele-
waiting 10 the heart and ennobling TO
n r. n.