The Topeka state journal., 1903-05-30

by IhG BOOK supply COMPANY ~AACu5O-
$50.
THAT Printer of Udelrs" is a book
well worth the reading for the value OF
the story itself. were it pruned Of an
but the plot and its ultimate endlh6
happily for the hero and the heroine
who. of course. were finally married
But besides the story proper there
st interviewer a lesson from everyday
life. In fact the plot Is the shuttle
that carries in the weaving ~
the story the woof which IS
the inhumanitv of some church mem
bers toward the needy. homeless and
une4 npIoyed. In the story it is Udeli
the Job printer. who is not member
Of a church and is therefore looked
upon BY the church members as an
infdel. who cares for the tramp
printer" who is ever afterward termed
THAT printer of udells."
All this may not seem at all sur
prising. and it is not. unless you know
something about the author of the
story. Harold Bell Wright, of Pitts
burg, Kas. Prefxed to the name
should be Reverend" for Mr. Wright
is pastor of a. church in his town.
That the author is of the cloth lends
additional interest for it is seldom that
of even the few of his flock and it is
still rarer for the minister who does sec
these things to call the attention of
the pubdc to them.
In the beginning of the story the hero
Dick F'alkner, is standing by the bed
side of his dying mother in a back
woods cabin in arkansas. not far from
an illicit distillery. The father is
sleeping of a drunken stupor on the
door. The last words Of the dying
mother are. 20 God, take ker o. Dick
Dick amt no ways ter blame fer what
his dad an nanny is-an' I axe ye
fair, o Lord, take ker O him-fer
Jesus salze-amen"
Then Dick Falkner. bereft of the only
one who loved him, leaves home to
battle with the world One thing he
has learned-by seeing the drunken
crueltes Of his father-is the curse of
liquor. Some years afterwards, when
he has learned the printers trade but
has been thrown out of employment by
a strike. he drifts to Boyd City. penni-
less and in quest of work.
"A wealthy church member refuses him
work because he is a tramp printer
and the wealthy man win not listen to
any stories of strikes. He intends ito
show" these strikers
AS a last resort Dick Fa1lzner wan
dered into church. AS the congrega-
tion was passing out he asked the min
lister to aid him in securing work The
minister turned Falkner over to several
members of the congregation, and the
story says.
Are you a Christian?' asked one
good old mother in Israel.
No, stammered poor confused. Dick.
I guess not
DO you drink?'
NO man,
Wen. don't get discouraged; look to
God; he can help you; and Wen all pray
for you Come and hear our Brother
French preach. I am sure You viii find
the light He is the best preacher in
the city. Everybody says so. Good
night
And that was all the help and en-
couragement the starving man received.
Further on in the story one character
asks the question Is Udeu right when
he says that church members, by their
own teaching, prove themselves to be
the biggest frauds in the world2' ."
And the answer Of the minister-au-
thor, speaking through one of his char
acters, is: d" He is, so far as the church
goes, but not as regards Christianity.
This awful neglect and indifference
comes from a lack of Christs teaching.
or rather from a lack Of the appIica-
tion Of Christs teaching and too much
teaching of the church The trouble is
that people follow the church and not
Christ; they become church members
but not Christians "
Rather startling for a minister But
no more startling than his chapter ia
the story Of the heroine who had run
away from home and. when friendless
and alone, was taken in and cared for
by woman of the lowest type who