The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-04-06

the factS. One is that the mouVe on
Sheldon's part is to make money or to
make himself talked about. AS matter
of fact he stipulated that he should re-
ceive no profit for himself, and that part
of the profit should be used for some
benevolent object. The aim of the man
is not to make money or he would not
have made the publishers of his books put
the price down, thereby lessening his own
income. A large part of the money he
has earned with his pen has gone to help
the work in Tennesseetown. Like Moody
and Sankey he uses his money to help on
the causes that he is interested in. He
announces that he will not try this expert
ment again, although he has had several
offers to do so, but he thinks that he can
do his best work in the church and on the
platform. He comes of an unselfsh
family and there is every evidence that he
is striving. in his personal life, for the
not self seeking man. anxious for
notoriety, but man who unselhshly gives
himself to doing good to his fellow men.
When he went to Topeka ten years ago
his church had only 81 resident members.
Now it has about 26o There is. of course,
wide difference of opinion as to the
merits of his paper. But we must re-
member that Topeka is not large place:
a little larger than Winona. 1t could not
do what Chicago or New York paper
might in collecting news and in hiring
first class talent. AS a local paper it
might be first class and yet not command
a very wide circulation.
do not think myself that as it was con-
Quoted last week it made enough of the
news element. Sheldon says that he does
not set himself up as model nor does he
suppose that any other Christian man
would do just as he did. even if he was
trying to do as Jesus would do. I
think that we are all agreed that Jesus
would do all he could to make men and
women better, that he would not know
ingly do another an injury; that he would
do all he could to help make this a better
world. We also see that what is right
under one state of circumstances may not
be best at another. Jesus said nothing
directly about the corruption of the
Roman government. But if he were liv-
ing in Chicago today he might denounce
the government of the saloon, by the
saloon, for the saloon. Here was where
Jesus was superior to all other teachers in
that he did not give the world system of
rules, but few simple principles, made
clear in his own personal life. He left
each Christian to apply them to
the problems of his own time.
No two men are exactly alike and no two
are called to do the same work, We
Christians believe that we do not simply
have the gospel record of his life and
teaching but that. in answer to prayer. we
have the help of Gods spirit to assist us
in understanding and applying the teach.
ings of Jesus. The apostles and Christians
of the first century felt that Jesus still di-
rected them although he was out of their
sight. To ask what Jesus would do is to
set before US the best that we know. Let
us see how Sheldon tried to carry out this
principle. He believes that newspaper
ought to help the coming of the kingdom
of God, which is that love and justice
shall reign among men. Will he advertise
the theatre? Or patent medicines? He
said that in the week that he was to run
the paper he had no time to investigate and
so he thought it better to leave them out.
We all know that large part of the patent
medicines are frauds. Honest owners of
patent medicines are willing to put the
formula on the bottles so that competent
persons can judge of their value Most of
the advertised medicines are so full of
alcohol or opium that they make the taker
feel better for time but are in the end
harmful. A Christian man ought to pro-
tect his patrons from being cheated. Of
course, there is limit, hard to define. to
an editors responsibility in the matter.
Mr. Sheldon did not state his reasons. but
1 think they we're probably similar in the
case of the theatre. He would not, of
course, with his views of the saloon ques-
ton allow saloon advertisements. Could
good citizen, Christian citizen. want to
give the saloon more power in this COM
munity or any other? His criticism of
high class magazines that advertise brands
of whiskey, was just. And while one need
not be prudish, and there may be an
honest difference of opinion. is it not true
the corsets and underwear and bath tubs
ornamented with pretty women have gone
quite as far as refined taste allow in ad-
vertising? Sheldon wanted his advertisers
to tell the truth and advertise nothing
harmful. This is just to honest men and
to those that read the ads.
The local papers in this city are, in my
opinion, usually clean. But they do &C.
casionally pay some tribute to the saloon
power. 1t is matter about which there