The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-03-07

urag heavlly. The great final battle be-
tween truth and error, the Armageddon.
think, will not be fought with swords and
shells and guns. but with pens-quill pens,
steel pens, gold pens, fountain pens and
before that the pens must be converted.
The most .divinely honored weapon of the
past has been the pen, and the most di-
vinely honored weapon Of the future will
be the pen--prophet's pen, and evangef-
lists pen and apostles pen, followed by
editors pen and authors pen and report
er's pen. God save the penl The wing
of the Apocalyptic angel will be the
printed page The. printing press will roll
ahead Of Christ's chariot to clear the way.
But" some one might ask, would you
make Sunday newspapers also reinforce
ment~ j have learned to take things as
they are. ] would like TO see the much
scoffed at old Puritan Sabbaths come back
again. do not think the modern Sunday
VIII turn out any better men and women
than were your grandfathers and grand
mothers under the old-fashioned Sunday.
To say nothing of other results, Sunday
newspapers are killing editors. reporters,
compositors. and .pressmen. Every man,
woman and child is entitled to twenty
four hours OF nothing to do II the news-
papers put on another set OF hands, that
does not relieve the editorial and repor-
torial room of its cares and responsible
ties. Our literary men die fast enough
without killing them with Sunday work.
my faith is up until nothing in the way of
religious victory would surprise me All
the newspaper printing presses of the
earth are going to be the Lords. and tele-
graph and telephone and type will yet an
nounce nations born in a dav. The first
book ever printed was the Bible, bv Faust
and his son.in-law, Schoeffer, in l4G0 and
that conservation Of type TO the Holy
scriptures was prophecy OF the great
mission OF printing for the eyanselization
of all the nations. The father of the
American printing press was clergyman,
Rev. Jesse Glover, and that was pro,
phecy OF the religious use that the gospel
ministry in this country were to make of
the types.
The tendency of criticism in the theo-
logical seminaries is to file off from our
young men all the sharp points and make
them too smooth for any kind of execu-
ton. What we want, all of us, is more
point, less humdrum. Ii we say the right
thing IN the right way, the press will be
glad and echo and re-echo it, Sunday
school teachers, reformers, young men
and old men in the ministry, what we all
want If we are to make the printing press
an ally in Christian work is that which
the reporter spoken Of suggested-points.
sharp. points, memorable points But il
the thing be dead when uttered by living
voice it will be a hundredfold more dead
when it is laid out in cold type.
That Providence intends the profession
OF reporters to have mighty share in the
worlds redemption is suggested by the
fact that Paul and Christ took reporter
along with them, and he reported their
addresses and their acts.
Luke was reporter, and he wrote not
only the book OF Luke, but the Acts of
the Apostles, and without that reporters
work we would have known nothing of
the Pentecost, and nothing of Stephens
martyrdom, and nothing of Tabitha's res.
direction, and nothing of the jailing and
unjailing of Paul and Silas, and nothing
OF the shipwreck at Melita.
% Strike out the reporters work from the
Bible, and you kill a large part of the
New Testament. II makes me think that
in the future of the kingdom Of God the
reporters are to bear mighty part.
About twenty-five years ago q represen-
tative of an important New York news
paper took his seat in my Brooklyn church
one Sunday night about five pews from
the front OF the pulpit. He took out pen
cil and reporters pad, resolved to carica-
ture the whole scene. When the music be-
gan, he began, and with his pencil he de-
rided that, and then derided the prayer,
and then derided the reading of the
Scriptures. and then began to deride the
sermon. But, he says, for some reason
his hand began to tremble, and he, rally
ing himself, sharpened his pencil and
started again, but broke down again and
then put pencil and paper in his pocket
and his head down on the front pew and
began to pray. AT the close of the service
he came up and asked for the prayers of
others, and gave his heart to God. And,
though still engaged in newspaper work,
he Is an evangelist and hires a hall at his
own expense and every Sunday afternoon
breaches Jesus Christ to the people.
~ And the men OF that profession are
going to come in a body throughout the
country. | know hundreds of them, and a
more. genial or highly educated class of
men it would be hard to find, and, though
the tendency OF their profession may be
toward skepticism, an organized common
sense gospel invitation would fetch them
to the front of all Christian endeavor.
Men OF the pencil and pen in all depart
ments, you need the help of the Christian
religion In the day when people want to
get their newspapers at two cents, and
are hoping for the time when they can get
any OF them at one cent, and as a conse-
quence the attaches Of the printing press
are by the thousand ground under the cy-
lnders, you want God to take care of you
and your families.
Some of your best work is as much UNI
appreciated as was Millions PARADISE
Lost, for which the author received $25.
and the immortal poem "Hohenlinden" Of
Thomas Campbell when he first offered it
Tor publication, and in the column called
Notices to Correspondents" appeared the
words: TO L. C.-The lines commencing
On Linden when the sun was low are not
up to our standard. Poetry is not L. C.,s
forte"
0 men of the pencil and pen, amid your
unappreeiated work you need encourage
ment, and you have it. Printers of all
Christendom, editors, reporters, compost
tors, pressmen, publishers and readers of
that which is printed, resolve that you
will not write, set up, edit, issue or read
anything that debases body, mind OF soul
In the name of God, by the laying on of
the hands of faith and prayer, ordain the
printing press for Righteousness and liberty
and salvation. All of us with some inhui-
ence that will help in the right direction,
let us put our hands to the work, implor-
ing God to hasten the contamination. In
a ship with hundreds Of passengers ap-
preaching the South American coast the
man on the lookout neglected his work.
and in few minutes the ship would have
been dashed to ruin on the rocks But a
cricket on board the vessel that had made
no sound all the voyage set up a shrili
call at the smell of land, and the captain.
knowing that habit of the insect, stopped
the vessel in time TO avoid an awful wreck.
And so insignificant means may now do
wonders, and the scratch of a pen may
save the shipwreck OF soul
Are you all ready for the signing Of the
contract, the league, the solemn treaty
proposed between journalism and evan
gelism! Let it be Christian marriage
OF the pulpit and the printing press. The
ordination Of the former on my head, tho
pen OF the latter in my hand, it is appro-