The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-07-14
PLAN REALLY
CAME FROM
THE BIBLE
Lord Commanded Moses to
Distribute Land by Lot.
LEVITES GOT TONNSITES
Minister Defends the Drawing
by Biblical Citations,

been excited incidentally here by the
remarks of q Kansas minister showing
that the drawing now taking place has
divine precedent behind il.
The fourteenth chapter Of Joshua reads
in part as follows:
And these are the countries which the
children of Israel inherited in the land OF
Canaan which Eleazar, the priest, and
Joshua. the son of Nun, and the heads Of
the fathers of the tribes Of the chill
dren of Israel distributed for inheritance
to them.
by LOT was their inheritance, as the
Lord commanded by the hand of Moses,
for the nine tribes and for the half
tribe.
Tor Moses had given the inheritance to
the two tribes and the half tribe on the
other side of Jordan, but unto the Levites
he gave none Inheritance among them.
For the children of Joseph were two
tribes, Manasseh and Ephriam; there
fore they gave no part unto the Levites in
the land, save cities to dwell in, with
their suburbs for their cattle and their
substance.
AS the Lord commanded Noses so the
children Of Israel did. and they divided
the land"
The parallel in this is considered re-
markable The government would have
followed the Mosaic plan precisely if
( the modern Levites who are going into
/ the townsites had been also given pas
| ture reserves for suburbs.
The chapter is not without its men
ton of a mountain, and the superstitious
who believe that gold is hidden in the
-
their guess should prove correct, claim
the following incident in the same chap
ter as a prophesy:
Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, came to
Joshua and said:
Forty years old was I when Moses,
the servant of the Lord, sent me from
Kadesh- Barnea to espy out the land
saying further that when he brought
back report to Noses Noses sware on that
day saying: Surely the land wherein
thy feet have trodden shall be thine in
herltance and thy childrens forever" He
showed to Joshua that he was as strong
as ever and was as worthy. and put his
request thus: Now therefore give me
this mountain whereof the Lord spake in
that day, for thou heardest in that day
how the Anakims were there and that
the cities were great and fenced; if so |
be the Lord win be with me and then !
shall be able to drive them out, as the |
Lord said
In this way Caleb asked for Hebron /
and it was given to him The name of !
Hebron was "Kirjath-arba, which Arba |
was a great man among the Anakims."
It is singular in this connection that the |
first men in the Kiowa country "sp-ing /
it out were the prospectors. And it
was their ceaseless agitation which |
brought the opening about. It remains
TO be seen whether the Wichita noun
tains are as rich as that acquired by
Caleb
All this has been called out by an article
from the pen Of the Reverend c. II.
Strong D. D., OF Sterling, Kansas He
writes:
The proclamation which was pub
lished in Mondays papers settles the
question as TO the method of distrib-
uting the new land opened for settlement
1t shall be by lot.
This was the method by which the
land Of Canaan was distributed to the
tribes and families of Israel. And We
shall divide the land by lot for an inheri-
lance among your families To the more
shall ye give the more Inheritance. and to
the fewer We shall give the lesser in
heritance. Every mans Inheritance shall
he in the place where his lot falleth'
Numbers 1854. Read Numbers 27:52-59;
also Joshua 1872.
The distribution Of government land
by lot IS not gambling. Nor is II at dis
cord with the purest morality or deepest
piety. The lot IS cast into the lap, but
the whole disposing thereof IS the Lords
Proverbs 1888.
Gambling Is to play a game OF chance
for money or some ether valuable posses
sion. The immortality in gambling. how
ever. is not the element Of chance in the
game The winner Of the same receives
the valuable possession Of the other par
" without giving an. compensation. The
immortality is in the spirit manifested by
1oth parties in the g8me. Each is willing
and desires TO deprive the other Of a
possession without rendering an
equivalent in value. This is the spirit Of
the robber. This is the intoxicating spir-
St on the stock exchange and IN the
SO far a. where human transactions /
are concerned there is an element OF
chance in many of our most honorable
enterprises. immortality Is not an IN
herent quality IN an element CT chance.
immortality IS a quality connected with
the spirit Of an intelligent moral being.
For the government 70 distribute land
In her possession and under her control
By lot 70 certain class Of her citizens {
Is an entirely different matter. Each elti-
zen IN me class designated has an equal Z
righs- To win does not deprive any
citizen Of anything which belongs 10 him
To lose Is not 70 lose a personal posses
sion.
The citizens right to any portion 81 s
his land does not rest Upon the speed ~ Z
3 horse. or on his physical ability 20 &
reach certain locality first II does nos
-est on bis pun with the manager az
aud office. or uroa BIS financial a1ll,y e. ,
e7rry on a contest - law or upon
1.ssnarioss spirit. Thr rgft IS derived
rsr Pie goEaerrm 1 e1nnseteI
pft
When shere j. aanier
-e4ats ana q smsii number - portions
20 - divided. some vsl DE- disarrci rtes Is
1ut no one wisi b. r--6nreE
IN The opensns q oklzhoH.a some years