The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-01-30

habitual gravity and culture that 9th
erwise distinguished him-"I am, I'M
happily. shall say Pho, providentially
caught up in the social whirlwind of
the age, and cannot-I cannot let these
questions rest. Woe is me If / preach
not whole gospel! And in order to
preach it must go the entire length
of proclaiming Christ's Golden Rule
and self denying discipleship, knowing
fully that my people will grow restless
under it, knowing that they are not
willing to take up the cross daily in
order to follow their Master. And yet
there is a faithful handful. There are
some who have not bowed the knee to
Mammon. Perhaps more than / have
known. God forgive me if I have been
unjust or erred in my judgment of the
church in this age"
Gordon did not venture to break the
silence that followed When Falmouth
again raised his head, he said, with a
rare smile:
81 envy you, Gordon. l would al
most like to change places with you.
You seem to be doing work that needs
10 be done. You are doing things. /
am writing about them. Some day
He stopped abruptly and then asked:
eff you were in my place, what
course would you take with the mon
eyed business men in this church to
touch them with a sense Of their re-
sponsibility and privilege as stewards
Of Gods wealth.
Gordon answered instantly:
SECT as many of them as possible to
60 down into Bowen street and see
how the other half lives"
Falmouth's eyes cleaned.
al doubt If they will go. I'll try 1t.
I have never been there myself. But
I see your point. Yon think the men
and women Of this city do not know
che facts. You think knowledge Of
the facts would teach them to do some
thing?"
''Not necessarily: But the cultured,
wealthy people in our churches as
rule know absolutely nothing from per-
sonal knowledge of the horrors of city
hfe They never so outside the little
circle of the respectable, comfortable
and In many cases luxurious conditions
into which they were born. am con-
WINGED that if 500 of the best business
men in the churches of this city could
see the things have seen within the
last two weeks, and know the facts
that every resident in Hope House
knows like the alphabet, the present
awful wrongs would not be permitted
In the city. The Christ method was
ditions. He was Il Saviour because he
himself knew the sinner. The weak
ness of the church les in the fact that
1t has dropped out so largely the per
sonal factor and exists too much for
its own religious life in its elaborate
church services, which in so many
cases have no other meaning than
pride, and vainglory of the partici-
pants. But forget myself Gordon
smiled sadly 81 am not fit to criti-
else the church, who for so many
years dishonored her with lip service
and formal worship"
"YOu have as much right to criticise
her as any Christian if you do it in the
right spirit" Falmouth said gently.
Then he added: Let us have prayer
together before you go. We need to
ask forgiveness for many things and
wisdom for everything"
So the two men kneeled while the
minister prayed. 1t was a good, strong,
sturdy prayer that did John Gordon
good. There was no whining, no cant,
no complaining An honest heart plea
for more strength, more liberation,
more faith, more love, more patience,
and Gordon, after a hearty handshake,
went out and back to Hope House,
where he had agreed to meet Falmouth
and the singers little before 3 o'clock.
AT 3 o'clock Bowen street was fully
aware that something unusual was
taking place. A funeral in Bowen
street was as rule an informal affair
In which the immediate neighbors were
alphabetically interested. But this af-
fair of the deformed Louie Caylor
promised unusual developments. Word
had gone around that Tommy Randall
had been temporarily "downed" in
"set to- with one of the gents from
Hope House, but that before the funer-
al was over he would be on top of the
pile. so to speak. and everybody salts
neu. SO Bowen street poured into the
court of No. 81 and choked the narrow
stairways and back yards commanding
a possible view of the funeral party.
When John Gordon, Falmouth and
the quartet turned into the court off
the street. the amazement of the diff
ferent members of the choir had given
way to an expression of disgust min
gled with actual fear
"For PHYS sake, Mr.. Falmouth,
where are you taking us?" exclaimed
the tenor, distinguished looking man,
well known in musical circles as a
growing singer at fashionable recep-
tons. The soprano, young woman OF
some beauty, and the alto, little older.
but a woman of real strength of ex-