El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-20
PAGES 9 TO IL.

nall leaned lOTWdTu III Il way very Sci
dom seen in church audiences or any
where else. except among worklngmen
or the people of the street when once
they are thoroughly aroused. What
would Jesus dor Suppose that were
the motto not only of the churches. but
of the business men, the politicians the
newspapers the working1nen. the So
ciety people How long would it take.
under such standard of conduct, to
revolutionize the world2 What was the
trouble with the world2 1t was suffer
ing from selfishness. No one ever lived
who had succeeded in overcoming self
ishness like Jesus If men followed him,
regardless of results. the world would
at once begin to enjoy a new life
Henry Maxwell never knew how
much it meant to hold the respectful
attention of that hall full of diseased
and sinful, humanity The bishop and
: DR. Bruce sitting there. looking on
seeing many faces that represented scorn
of creeds, hatred of the social order,
desperate narrowness and selfshness,
marveled that even so socn, under the
influence of the settlement life, the
softening process had begun to lessen
the bitterness of hearts, many of which
had grown bitter from neglect and in
difference.
And still, in spite of the outward
show of respect of the speaker, no one,
| not even the bishop. had any true con-
| ception of the pent up feeling i'll that
room that night. Among the men who
had heard Of the meeting and had re-
sponded to the invitation were 90 or 80
out of work, who had strolled past the
t1a1nent that of read tho no.
tice of the meeting and had come in
out of curiosity and to escape the chill
east wind. 1t was a bitter night, and
the saloons were full, but in that whole
district of over 80, 900 souls, with the
exception of the saloons, there was not
a door open to the people except the
clean. pure, Christian door of the settle
ment. Where would man without
home or without work or without
friends naturally go unless to a saloon2
1t had been the custom at the settle
ment for free and open discussion to
follow an open meeting of this kind,
and when Henry Maxwell finished and
sat down the bishop, who presided to-
night, rose and made the announcement
that any man in the hall was at liberty
to ask questions, to speak out his feel
i1igs or declare his convictions, always
with the understanding that whoever
took part was to observe the simple
rules that governed parliamentary bod
les and obey the three minute rule,
which, by common consent, would be
enforced ON account of the numbers
present.
Instantly a number of voices from
men who had been at previous meetings
of this kind exclaimed, Consent, con-
sentl'
The bishop sat down, and Immediate
ly man near the middle of the hall
rose and began to speak
81 want to say that what Mr.. Max
well has said tonight comes pretty close
to me- knew Jack Manning, the fell
low he told about, who died at his
house. / worked on next case to his in
printers shop in Philadelphia for two
years. Jack was a good fellow. He lent
me So once when I was in hole, and
l never got chance to pay it back. He
moved to New York, owing to a change
in the management of the Office that
threw him out. and I never saw him
again. When the linotype machine
came in, l was one of the men to go
out, just as he did. I have been out
most of the time since They say in
ventions are good thing. won't al
ways see it myself. but l suppose I'm
prejudiced. A man naturally is when
he loses a steady job because machine
takes his place. About this Christianity
he tells about, it's all right, but never
expect to see any such sacrifice on the
part of church people. So far as my OBJ
servation goes, they're just as selfish
and as greedy for money or worldly
success as anybody. l except the bishop
and DR.. Bruce and few others, but I
never found much difference between
men of the world, as they're called, and
church members when it came to bust
ness and money making. One class is
just as bad as another there
Cries of That SOL "You re rightl''
''Of courser' interrupted the speaker.
and the minute he sat down two men
who were on their feet for several sec
onds before the first speaker was through
began to talk at once.
The bishop called them to order and
indicated which was entitled to the
floor The man who remained standing
began eagerly:
''This is the first time I was ever in
here, and maybe it'll be the last. Fact
is, m about at the end of my string.
I've tramped this city for work until
I'm sick I'm in plenty of company
Say, I'd like to ask a question of the
minister if it's fair. May IT.
That's for Mr.. Maxwell to say,
said the bishop.
by all means,'' replied Mr.. Max
well quickly. ''Of course 1 will not
promise to answer it to the gentleman's
satisfaction.