The Green Forest tribune., 1901-10-19
AN EDITORIAL SERMON.
Power of Religious Faith Dis-
 cussed By Kansas City Star.

Power of Religious Faith Dis
 cussed By Kansas City Star.
 The following article is from the editorial columns of the Kan sas City Star and is the expres- sion of some of the grandest thoughts that has ever appeared in newspaper:
 There is ample reason for the belief that no incident in the life of William Mckinley will be so clearly and faithfully remember ed as his hopeful composure in the hour of dissolution. The i'm penetrable mystery of death makes it theme of insistent con- temptation in every rational and sober mind. The supreme prob lem of the age is: eff a man die shall he live az ain?'' The affairs of time may seem to ab- sorb the thought and the atten- ton of men and women, but they do not shut out or quiet the inn portunate speculations regarding eternity, which are busy and un- tiring under all of the seeming carelessne ess of men and women as to their spiritual destiny.
 The pledge of life eternal is wholly the gift of faith. There is no evidence as such a heritage aside from the belief of it's exist ence of the soul. The great cloud of witnesses who, in leaving the world, have claimed their firm expectation of passing on to higher plane of activity, have added much to the sum of human assurance in the reality of fu- ture state. The testimony of President Mckinley on this tran scendent subject was singularly clear and strong. There was, in his calm heroism and in his com- plete submission to the will of Providence, not the semblance of either doubt or fear. His sub- lime exercise of faith at a time when all earthly help was swept away made the most profound impression on the waiting and watching world. It is not too much to say that it brought new strength to many hearts whose desire to believe is stronger than their power to lay hold of the consultations of religion.
 It is only natural that all of the incidents pertaining to the close of President McKinley's life should be reverentially magnified in the eyes of the world. To all of the people of Christendom they possessed tremendous im- portance and conveyed a special signifance. If his discrimination held good while he was in the flush of his power to much greater degree was it's force felt when the stricken president, shorn of all his earthly glory, came down to the brink of the grave. It was a marvel to thous- ands to see this man who had been so honored and lifted up lowing meekly to the will of God and trusting implicitly in His mercy.
 It was, after all, only the way in which countless millions of souls have been led, since the message of immortality came into the world through Christ. The source of comfort and help which President Mckinley realized in the extremity of extreme need has been the stay and support of an innumerable company of be- lievers who have passed over the shadowy stream which divides time from eternity. There was not in the character of President Mckinley one other ingredient which contributed so much to his influence with his fellow men and to his great success as his firm religious faith. It gave to him a sweetness and trust in his own purposes that were irresistible. It