The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1900-01-25

natured smild.
Then should say you liedr replied
Mr.. Winter sharply.
Philip sat very still. And the two
men eyed each other in silence for q
moment. The minister reached out his
hand and laid it on the others arm,
saying as he did SO: my brother, you
certainly did not come into my house
to accuse me unjustly of wronging
you? l am willing to talk the matter
over in friendly spirit, but will not
listen to personal abuse"
There was something in the tone and
manner of this declaration that sub
dued the mill owner little. He was
an older man than Philip by 20 years,
but man of quick and ungoverned
temper. He had come to see the min
lister while in heat of passion, and
the way Philip received him, the calm
| ness and dignity of his attitude,
| thwarted his purpose. He wanted to
find man ready to quarrel. Instead
| he found man ready to talk reason.
Mr.. Winter replied, after pause, dur
| ing which he controlled himself by a
| great effort:
Il consider that you purposely select
ed me as guilty of conduct unworthy
church member and Christian and
made me the target of your remarks
| yesterday. And | wish to say that such
| preaching will never do in Calvary
! church while / am one of it's men,
| berS."
Gnf - ii, -.
of renting your property to saloon men
and to halls for gambling and other
evil uses" said Philip bluntly. "Are
| you the only member of Calvary
church who lets his property for such
purposes"
1T is not a preachers business to
| pry into the affairs of his church mem
bers! replied Mr.. Winter, growing
more excited again. ''That is what |
| object to-"
"In the first place, Mr.. Winter" said
Philip steadily, 'let us settle the right
| and wrongs of the whole business. Is
| it right for a Christian man, church
member, to rent his property for sa-
looms and vicious resorts where human
| life is ruined?"
"That is not the question"
"What isY Philip asked, with his
eyes wide open to the others face.
Mr.. Winter answered sullenly: "The
| question is whether our business af-
| fairs, those of other men with me, are
| to be dragged into the Sunday church
services and made the occasion of per-
| sonal attacks upon u.s. | for one will
| not sit and listen to any such preach
| ing"
But aside from the matter of pri-
vate business, Mr. Winter, let us settle
whether what you and others are doing
is right. Will you let the other matter
rest a moment and tell me what is the
| duty of a Christian in the use of his
property"
1T is my property, and if l or my
agent choose to rent it to another man
in legal, business way, that is my af-
fair. do not recognize that you have
anything to do with it."
Not if am convinced that you are
doing what is harmful to the COM
munity and the church,
You have no business to NEEDLE in
our private affairsv' replied Mr.. Win
ter angrily. And if you intend to pur-
sue that method of preaching 1 shall
withdraw my support, and most Of the
influential, paying members will follow
my example"
1t was a cowardly threat on the part
of the excited mill owner, and it reused
Philip more than if he had been phys
ell ~, tb
was anything in all the world that stir
| red Philip to his oceanic. depths of
| feeling. it was an animation that he
was in the ministry FOR pay or the sal
| airy, and so must be afraid of losing the
| support of those members who were
| able to pay largely. He clinched his
| fingers around the arms of his study
chair until his nails bent on the hard
wood. His scorn and Indignation burn
ed in his face, although his voice was
| calm enough.
Mr.. Winter, this whole affair is a
matter of the most profound principle
with me. AS long as l live | shall be-
| lieve that Christian man has no more
| right to rent his property for saloon
| than he has to run a saloon himself.
| And as long as | live shall also be-
| lieve that it is a minister's duty to
| preach to his church plainly upon mat
| tiers which bear upon the right and
| wrong of life, no matter what is in
| volved in those matters. Are money
| and houses and lands of such a charac-
| ter that the use of them has no bearing
| on moral questions. and they are there
| fore to be left out of the preaching ma
| terial of the pulpit? Ii is my convic-
| ton that many men of property in this
| age are coming to regard their business
| as separate and removed from God and
| all relation to him. The business men
of today do not regard their property
| as Gods. They always speak of it as
| theirs. And they resent any 'interfer-
ence, as you call it, on the part of the
| pulpit. Nevertheless say il plainly,
regard the renting Of these houses by
| you and other business men in the
church to the whisky men and the cor
| rupters of youth as wholly wrong ana
so wrong that the Christian minister
who would keep silent when he knew
the facts would be guilty of unspeak-
able cowardice and disloyalty to his
Lord. AS to your threat of withdrawal
OF support, sir, do you suppose l would
be in the ministry IL were afraid Of
the rich men in my congregation? 1t
shows that you are not yet acquainted
with me. 1t would not hurt you to
know me betterv
| All the time Philip was talking his
manner was that of dignified indigna-
ton. His anger was never coarse or
vulgar. But when he was reused, as
he was now, he spoke with total dis
regard for all coming consequences.