The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-03-27
WHAT SAM JONES SAYS.
The Noted Evangelist Gives His
Views on Sheldon.
[F'rom the New York Journall

[F'rom the New York JournaL1
1t would be hard to run a church or
home as Jesus would run it, much less
a newspaper, says Sam Jones, the evan
gelist. Mr.. Sheldon has written some
very readable books. These books give
US Christian socialism after the kim
dergarten kind. OF course notoriety
goes further than wisdom. and popular
clamor is louder than the boom of can
mons or the peals of thunder. Some
things when they cease to be new cease
to exist.
Mr.. Sheldon heads the procession in
his line He is the only man living or
dead who ever attempted the feat of
running daily newspaper like Jesus
would run it, or, rather, like he thinks
Jesus would run it. In the first place,
1 do not believe if Jesus were here to-
day he would run a newspaper. Not
that he could not run a newspaper, but
l do not believe he would. have some
acquaintance with our leading religious
editors and their publications which
make up our church organs and furnish
the church with its non-secular or re-
HgiOuS news. There may be some pros
perity with them, but the average
church paper is as poor as a church
mouse.
Supreme efforts have been made by
men of means and ccnSecrated to the
cause to run exclusively prohibition
papers. While we have had enough
prohibition sentiment in this country to
guarantee full support for prohibition
papers, yet it is fact that the senti
ment that didn't vote for prohibition
would not support the papers that ad-
vocated it.
We have perhaps five thousand relig
ious weekly papers circulated in the
United States, with half rates to the
preachers and on credit largely to the
members. and still they are not howl
ing success Nor do they spread much
scriptural holiness over these lands
10 believe that if is ..VViCked''
for Mr.. Sheldon to try to run news
paper as he thinks Jesus would run one,
but when his job is finished and he
looks it over and says he did run it as
Christ would have run it, then believe
he is a sinner.
Already he has announced that he did
not indorse the views of his paper, ex-
cent as to the articles over his own sig
nature. The devil himself could make
the same announcement. if he had been
running the paper. A fellow is intel
lectually lucky or extremely wise if he
can indorse all his own articles, but
when he undertakes the job of indorsing
everything in any newspaper he must
cease to think he is running that paper
as Jesus would run it.
1 am glad Mr. Sheldon made the ex-
pertinent. have not gotten so old my
self that don't like new things. have
sen only two copies of his paper. 1
must confess that I picked up the pa
per the first time with a kind of super
SttlOuS awe, out dlQ not examine II
long until / felt somewhat that one of
our religious weeklies was simply try
| ing the experiment of daily issue.
The truth of the business is that I do
not know a man on earth who can run
himself as Jesus teaches him to run
himself; much less one who is able to
/ Jump into new field for just one week
and such field as the daily newspa-
! per business in the United States.
/ not only do not think any man can do
| it, but I would repudiate a dream that
/ suggested such thing.
That this effort by Mr.. Sheldon will
/ nave any influence in spreading Christi
! anity, or any other valuable doctrine.
we are left to surmise Christianity is a
very difficult thing to spread these
/ days. She has been contracting on US
for the last year or two, from the sta
/ tistical reports of the churches, for they
/ tell US that they have less numerical
strength than a year ago.
If all the preachers in this country
cannot spread Christianity, with all the
churches behind them in their efforts 1
doubt if the Topeka Capital. edited by
! Mr.. Sheldon. can make much Roadway
in spreading that doctrine, or any 9TH
er Of similar character. I do not ques-
tion his sincerity, but the wisdom of his
| methods in the undertaking I simply
| review in this article.