The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-02-12
ROBERT E. STEER IN BAYFIELD,.
We'll Known Christian Worker Spoke to
 Val. Men.

Robert F. Speer of New York city
 epoke in Battell chapel yesterday
 morning. his address being a most in.
 teresting and beneficial one, as it was
 especially for the young man.
 On account of MT. Speer's prominence
 as Christian worker, not only in this
 country but in nearly all lands, there
 was a very large congregation at yes
 terday's service. Nearly all students of | the university have heard in some con-
 nectlon of MT. Speer as most interest
 ing speaker and but very few took
 ''cuts," the pews in the chapel being | filled almost uniformally.
 MT. Speer graduated in the class of 'S9 Princeton and ever since his graduation
 has been engaged in Christian work
 among students of all countries. All
 through his college course MT. Speer was actually connected with religious work
 He said that he would speak in behalf
 of ignorance and that such plea was
 not often made, but that in thinking
 over many subjects, he chose that
 one in preference to the others. He
 said that there were so many men who
 were making it point to avoid the plain issue of a manly life and who seemed to care for nothing but evil and vice and that as he was talking mostly to men he would give his ideas as to why he upheld ignorance and plain life
 MT. Speer made reference to Professor James of Harvard, who has extensively studied slovenliness of moral thinking and who has put the Options in three classes, first the living or dead, second avoida ble and necessary, and third mo- mentous and trivial. The speaker dwelt on all three of these classes and in the first showed how there might be inter- est or no interest in the individual and in the second case how the options are unavoidable or necessary.
 Regarding the mornentous or trivial options the speaker said: q will give you an example. Take, for instance, the act of man knew once; who was crossing the water, and one morning when he got up he put tan shoe on one foot and a black one on the other. Now that man deliberated with himself for a long time and could not decide which one he would take off. Such op- portunities though they might not hap pen every day, are very frequently oc- curing and every man comes alone in his decision and whether once or num- Der of times the choice Is one and is therefore necessary.
 "No amount of wrath or influence can make a man avoid either the good or ,vil. Every one has got to face one of hem, the good on one side or the bad ,n the other I believe in the attitude md life of the ignorant I once knew l young man who always had lived in he country and successfully pasesd his .ollege examinations, entering when he | vas about eighteen years of age. He | vent through the first three years of his olege course in quiet and natural | vay and cared nothing for the outside world. He would return home when yer he had the opportunity and seemed erfectly contented to live the peaceful | fe he had always been used to. One ay some of his fellow students said to i'm Here, old man, you've gone 1 trough three years of college life and ,hat have you even seen of the world? 'ome, go down to New York some day nd see little of real life' The fellow t first said no, but finally consented nd went down to New York with one f his classmates. Well, they met Ian who knew the city and from the me they arrived in the city until they fit for home the innocent farmer boy ent on continual round and saw all le evil and vice and sin that were to } seen in the big city. Now the young { an says he would give his two hands ,
 he could tear out the page of sin lat he saw in New York a blemish to f s whole life So it Is all the way N
 The speaker then gave other examples
 the beautiful life of the ignorant and | T i've advice to all students, telling them
 lead different lives and that even now was not too late.