The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-03-17
aTHosE LAY sERMoNs.n

the last OF InS Howe Lay sermons
running Numbers Five and Six in this
issue. It was Mr.. Howe's original desire
to put these sermons into five, but the
editor of the Journal told him they were
SO long that he thought it would be
better to divide them into six We have
now decided to run Five and Six in to-
days paper and go out of the Sermon
business with this issue of the paper
There has been a tremendous demand.
Mr.. Howe did not treat the matter as
we expected it would be treated, and as
the Journal announced in the first issue,
with Sermon" Number One
It was thought that Mr.. Howe would
go more completely into the newspaper
side of the matter; theitshe would show,
far more than he has. Ne-ze fact that the
press is the great moral agency of the
world; that its power slies far beyond
that of the pulpit, for the reason that
the press reaches thousands where the
preacher reaches scores.
In the last four of Mr.. Howe's SER
mons he has gone into this subject more
than he did in the firAtwo. 1t is the
opinion of this paper lat Mr.. Howe
should have re-arrangR4 the "sermons'ss
and put Number Thres -or part of it,
as Number One and made other changes
in the arrangements.
Mr. Howe realizes this to a certain
extent himself. He says in a letter re-
ceiVed from him today: 'I wrote every
line of the sermons in three or four
days. was compelled to rush. have
concluded to revise and re-ararnge the
sermons" before making a reprint of
them. 1 find that some of the state
ments sound harsher than I intended"
In another letter Mr.. Howe says that
he had really no time to arrange them;
in fact he says that in hissintroductory
note.
The State Journal believes that Mr..
Howe should have cut out at least half
of what he said.
A stronger presentation of the case
from a newspaper standpoint would
have brought the newspaper end of it
more strongly to the front and left out
many of the paragraphs on religion.
great many of the paragraphs on
church matters are right, should have
been written, and are absolutely un-
answerable; many of the other para
graphs are answerable. But they
should be answered by a strong man.
Mr. Howe is brainy. No ordinary man
can cope with him. The editor of the
State Journal could not stand a debate
with him for an hour for the reason
that he has not Howe's ability, his
command of English, or his knowledge
of history; neither is the editor of this
paper sufficiently orthodox, in fact, he
is not orthodox at all. He believes,
however in a Supreme Ruler of the
Universe. He believes that Mr.. Howe
might adopt all the rules known to the
successful conduct of a daily newspaper
| and yet if he or some other executive
did not take charge, his paper would
not run; it would be a failure. This
universe is run on a system marvellous,
simple and exact; finer, infinitely more
complete in its management, than that
of any railroad system in the world or
any great manufacturing or financial
| or commercial institution. We say in
finitely greater, because an infinite
mind must control this world and this
universe, the same as a mortal mind
| controls the workings of the "Atchison
Globe" and the million and one in
| dustries in this country. Mr.. Howe'S
argument that there is no Immortality,
using as his symbol the life of a tree,
the tree dying and continued only as
the seeds grow and produce other trees
is no argument to our mind against the
VI l1lG SOdA5 ia 1e@CS ~ 40
| quite the contrary. We die as a tree
dies, but we will live surely as the tree
lives in another form. This illustra-
ton is not very clear; we have not time
| to make it so.
It is now o'clock and we have just
commenced this article. We have been
too busy to write Some great man can
answer Mr.. Howe and answer him con-
clusively as to certain things covering
Goo, Christ and the immortality of man,
but as we said above it must be some
great man. Bishop Ninde might do it,
there are many who might do it. Bishop
| Ninde himself said a few days ago
when the writer was in New York, in
substance, that the church was cow
ardly; it ignored the problems of the
day. He said it needed a stirring up.
Mr.. Howe has given the church such
| a stirring up as. it has not "enjoyed' in
many years, not to say a generation
| The State Journal believes that out of
this discussion a great deal of good will
ultimately come. The truth will take
care of itself in the end. We need not
fear the truth. It is falsehood which
can temporarily obstruct the right.
| When the editor of this paper came to
Topeka nearly fifteen years ago, an op-
position sheet abused him day after
day, week after week. month after
month, and year after year. Some times
to the extent of two or three columns;
practically this whole slush was false
and we knew it would have no effect
in the end on the State Journal or its
| owner
No notice was taken of these columns
! of abuse. The paper finally tired; it
] nla-rad Olrf- NJ 4S0 000 in fr-xyin fn
drive the editor of this paper out of busi-
ness. Several of the managers of that
paper today consider themselves our good
friends and we count them as SUCH They
| have been forgiven; they have not asked
US to forgive them, but they have come
around and made themselves pleasant.
and we can understand sign language
some times.
The church must recognize that Mr.
HOVE has HURLED At its haaa in,