The Indianapolis journal., 1903-11-16
USE OF COMMON SENSE
THEME TREATED BY DIR. KELLOGG
AT CENTRAL-AVENUE METHODIST.
An Interesting Discourse from n Sc
ries of Evening Sermons on
Kindred Subjects.

The theme treated at the Central-avenue
Methodist Church by DR.. II. w. Kellogg
last night was Common Sense, or the
Cultivation of the Judgment" He said in
part:
1T was the opinion Of Michael Faraday,
England's greatest scientist, that judgment
should be given special attention in the
public education of our youth. That along
with memory, imagination and reasoning
in general this special form of mental ex-
preston should be looked after. He even
went so far as to mark out the course for
such instruction and the publication of this
remains as one of his greatest attempts.
Surely when considering the Importance
of this power in practical life such de-
mand is not unreasonable. While other
forces of the soul are useful and some es-
sential to life in this world this one is alb
solutely indispensable. We depend upon it
for everyday action and without it We are
not sure of the way. 1t Is the intimate
guide whose services we seek at every
step. To be weak or untrustworthy is 10
render life dangerously uncertain.
This action of the mind may be very
simple and 1T may be very complex. 1t
arises from the comparison of two objects
and may extend to the weighing of the per-
picking questions that involve vast range
of evidence. 1t is the exercise of a fac
uIty, and is common all minds. 1t may
be strong or weak, but exists from earliest
dawn of intelligence and is among the
last expressions.
'.As a faculty 1T may be illustrated by
common court scene. THIS is the judge.
A dignifed parsonage, to be sure, impor-
tant, but dependent Incompetent indeed
without the witness. The witness is to give
the information on which the decision is to
be made. The correctness OF the judgment
depends upon the facts presented In other
words the reputation of the judge rests on
his discovery Of truth. This gives rise in
the court to many methods for securing
accurate information. So the judgment de-
pends upon information. A study of it's
power involves every method for the dis
covery of facts. This is interesting, and
any Improvement of the faculty must be-
Hence the use of the senses, their scope
and reliability is involved in the education.
IMPOSE OVERCONFIDENCE
Hence the overconfidence we impose in
the senses, especially the eye and the ear.
leads to many of our fatal errors. These
witnesses must be severely questioned and
cross-questioned before they are to be
credited. and yet We very seldom ever stop
to do this. We take what they tell US or
what we understand them to tell us and
make our judgments from their report The
eye is very uncertain. This we must learn.
Il recall an experience that has affected
my whole life and given me caution. / was
a boy standing on the street witnessing a
quarrel between a colored boy and a busi-
ness man. L was not fifty feet away and
/ saw the two in dispute. The colOred boy
started TO walk away and the merchant
lifted a ballbat and struck him on the
l1a6 Int.
in the trial that followed. The question
was asked me, If the colored boy turned
around The case hung on the answer. Ii
he had turned toward the merchant the
blow might have been in self-defense If he
did not it must have been malicious attack
/ answered that he did not turn around /
honest and told what L saw. a large
number of persons who stood near me at the
time testified that he did turn around The
cut on the head proved that he must have
turned around. l did not see correctly.
Something had attracted my attention for
the instant and L did not see it as it was.
L learned this important lesson that it was
possible for my eye 10 deceive me. | knew
before that others could be mistaken. but
il was hard for me to learn that / could
be mistaken. This deceit is liable to take
place every day. This must be understood
and important matters be not too hasty
In judging. 1t was an honest man who
reported. a few years ago, that he saw
President Mckinley at banquet drink wine.
had seen Mr.. Mckinley at many ban
quets in the old Twenty-second district of
Ohio in the memory of Garfield and Cid
dings. and / knew that he always turned
his glass upside down. L did not believe
the report at the time and was not
prised at the denial of the President. This
mistaken man thought he saw what he did
not The is even less relia bic, and
yet how constantly judgments of far reach
ing consequences are made up on popular
reports. i verify believe that the most dan
gerOus thing to ourselves We are doing is
forming opinions and publishing them on
the strength of mere reports. BY and by,
IL this is practiced. II will lead US to mis-
trust the faculty and we loose confidence
in the Judge Then all is confusion. Two
things must be reckoned with in regard to
facts. First are they trustworthy and are
they all known The absence of one fact
may lead to error, and when the missing
fact appears the judgment must be reversed.
fact is the most potent force in the uni
not one can be left out without serious re-
suits. Hold reserve of judgment until you
know more, even IL you cannot know all tke
facts.
SERIOUS BUSINESS
This forming judgments is serious
business. Human character and the success
and happiness of lives is hanging on it, To
pronounce judgments in carelessness is no
less than criminal. How many a man has
been ruined and his home destroyed through
some careless but honest person telling
what is not true. The most dangerous per-
son in society Is one who may be sincere
and yet who is not careful to cross-exam-
ine the witnesses. There are other elements
that enter into false judgments besides