The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1901-03-08
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject The Printed word-A Call For a
Warm friendship Between Those
who Make Newspapers and Those
Who Preach the Gospel.

VINO MAKE Newspapers and Those
Who Preach the Gospel.
tcopyrishi lsl.l
WASHINGTON. ID. C.-In this discourse
DIR. Talmage calls for A warm friendship
between those who preach the gospel and
those who make newspapers, the spoken
word and the printed word 10 10 side Nv
side; text, Luke xvi, $. The children OF
this world are in their generation wiser
than the children OF light.
Sacred stupidity and solemn incompe.
tency and sanctihed lazlness are here re
buked by Christ, He says worldlngs are
wider awake for opportunities than are
Christians. Men of the world grab occa.
sions, while Christian people let the most
valuable occasions drift by unmproved
That u the meaning of our Lord when III
says, The children OF this world are I'M
their generation wiser than the children
OF light"
A marked illustration of the truth of
that maxim Is IN the slownCss of the
Christian religion TO take possession of the
secular press. The opportunity is open.
and has been for some time open, but
the ministers OF religion are for the
most part allowing the golden opportunity
20 pass unimproved. That the opportu.
nifty is open | declare from the fact that
all the secular newspapers are glad of any
religious facts or statistics that YOU pre-
sent them. ANY animated and stirring
article relating 10 religious themes they
would gladly print. They thank YOU for
any information IN regard TO churches III
n wrong has been done TO any Christian
church or Christian institution, YOU could
SO INTO any newspaper Office Of the land
and have the real truth stated. Dedica.
uon services, ministerial ordinations and
pastoral installations, cornerstone laying
OF a church, anniversary of a charitable
society will have reasonable space IN any
secular journal If 1t have previous notice
given
If | had some great injustice done me.
there is not an editorial or reportoral
room in the United States into which |
could not 60 and get myself set right, and
that Is true of any wellknown Christian
man.
WHY, then. docs not our glorious Chris.
tianity embrace these mHgnitcrnt oppor.
tunitiesg | have before me a subject of
first and last Importance. How shall we
secure the secular press aS a mighticr re-
enforcement TO religion and the pulpit?
The first thing toward this result is
cessation of indiscriminate hostility against
newspaperdom. You might as well de.
nounce the legal profession because OF the
shysters or the medical profession because
OF the swlndling bargain makers as To
slambang newspapers because there are
recreant editors and unfair reporters and
unclean columns. Gutenberg. the inventor
of the art of printing, was about Co de-
stroy his types and eXtingush the art be.
cause It was suggested TO him that print.
ing might be suborned into the service of
the devil, but afterward he bethought him
self that the right use of the art might
more than overcome the evil use of it.
and so he spared the type and the intelh.
gcnce OF all following ages. But there are
many to-day IN the depressed mood Of
Gutenberg, with uplifted hammer. want.
IL.
not reached his better mood IN which ho
saw the art of printing to be the rising
sun of the worlds illumination.
If, instead of fighting newspapers, we
spend the same length Of time and the
same vehemence in marshaling their help
IN religious directions, we would be as
much wiser as the man who gets consent
of the railroad superintendent 10 fasten a
car TO the end of rall train shows better
sense than he who runs his wheclbarrow
up the track TO meet and drive back the
Chicago limited express
The silliest thing that n man ever does
is TO fight a newspaper, for YOU may have
the floor for utterance perhaps for one day
IN the week, while the newspaper has the
floor every day in the week.
Napoleon, though mighty man, had
many weaknesses, and one ot the weakest
things he ever did was To threaten that il
the English newspapers did not stop their
adverse criticism of himself he would, with
100000 bayonets, cross the channel for
their chastlscmcnt.
Don't fight newspapers. Attack pro.
volies attack. Better wait until the cX.
ctement blows over, and then 90 in and
get justice, for get II you will If you have
patience and common sense and equlpoIsc
of disposition.
1t ought TO be a mighty scdative that
there Is an enormous amount Of common
IN tha tynflh and ~ tytll 40 Ilt
be taken for what you are really worth
and you cannot be pulled up, and you can
not be written down. and II YOU are the
enemy Of good society that fact viii come
out, and If You are the friend Of good So
clety that fact will be established
| know what | am talking about for |
can draw on my own experience. All the
respectable newspapers, as far az ! know.
are my friends now. But many Of you re-
member the time when / was the most
continuously and meany attacked man M
this country. God gave me grace not -
answer back, and / kept silence for ten
years and much grace was required. What
| said was perverted and twisted into just
the opposite of what | did say. There
were millions OF people who believed that
there was a large sofa IN my pulpit. al
though we never had anything but q chair,
and that during the singing by the con.
gregatIOn ] was accustomed 90 lie down
on that sofa and danglc my feet over the
end Living New York correspondent
for ten years misrepresented our church
services. But we waited. and people from
every neighborhood o. Christendom came
there, 10 find the magnitude Of the false
hoods concerning the cb rch and concern
ing myself A reaction set in. and soon
we had Ius,ice. full justice, more than jus
tlce, and as much oycrpraise as once We
had underappTcci and no man that
ever lived was 20 much indebted TO the
newspaper press for opportunity TO preach
the gospel az ] am.
Young men IN the ministry. young men
in all professions and occupations. wait.
You can afford 20 wait. Take rough mis-.
representation az a Turkish towel 10 start
~ your lanyuid circulation or a system
Of massage or Swedish movement, whose
pokes and pulls and twists and thrusts are
sautary treatment
There Is only one person you need %
manage. and that ls yourself. Keep your
dispositions sweet by communion with
Christ. who answered not again, get so-
cety Of genial people and walk out in the
come out al right. And don't JOIN the
crowd Of people IN our day who spend
much of their time damning newspapers.
Again. I'm this effort % secure the sccu
lar press az mighticr reinforcement ~
religion. let us make n the avenue Of re-
liciOus information. II you would secure |
the press as a mIghtler reinforcement Of
religion and the pulpit extend widest and |
highest Christian ooIrtesIes 10 the repre- !
sentatives Of journalism. Give them easy |
chairs and plenty of room when they come |
% report occasions For the most part |
they are gentlemen ot education and re- |
hnefrent. graduates Of colleges, with fam. |
lies % support by their literary craft, |
many Of them weary with the push Of % |
business that D. DrecariOus and fuctuating, /
each one Of them the avenue of attenuation \
20 thousands of readers their impression I