The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-01-15
Sunday School institute Praises His
Honor for Revolving License.
Pledges Support to Executive IT Fur
Their Action Is Taken.
Session Made Interesting With Papers
on a Variety Of Topics.
Fine Banquet and Many Toasts Con-
clude Annual Session.
From Saturdays Daily.

From Saturdays Daily.
With its usual large attendance, uni
versal enthusiasm and complete success
the annual meeting of the Mankato Sun
day School Institute was held yesterday
afternoon and evening in the Centenary
Methodist Episcopal church.
The meeting was opened at 2:3O
o'clock in the afternoon with song serv-
ice, followed with an opening prayer by
Rev. Geo. w. Davis, and the reading of
the minutes of the last regular meet
ing. Rev. F. E. R. Miller delivered an
excellent paper ON the subject, "How
Can the Sunday School Teacher Encour-
age Bible Study at Home" A. G. Gran
followed with a thesis on the most in
teresting topic of the entire afternoon
session, "The Best Methods of Teaching
Temperance in the Sunday School" No
less than twenty persons took part in
the after discussion of the subject mat
ter of this paper. The meaning of the
word temperance was not confined to its
liquor application alone but was taken
to signify moderation in all things. Miss
Ella Davis brought out the point that
in urging the cause of temperance strict
F, regard should be paid to truth and ex-
aggeration not INDUCED in for the sake
of effect. Mrs. w. w. Davis, Jr., read
paper on "Points to Be Emphasized in
the Sunday School LESSON" and a gener-
al discussion of the topic, "The Ideal
Sunday School Program" was led by
S. H. Grannis.
Officers elected for the ensuing year
were as follows: President, DIR. j. w
Andrews; vice president, w. d. Willard
secretary and treasurer, Mrs. Thomas
Hughes; executive committee, Rev. Geo
w. Davis, Rev. E. L. Heermance, Mrs
Geo. NJ. Palmer, Mrs. U. o. Cox and A
j. Smith.
Supper was served in the church base
ment at six o'clock by the ladies of the
church to an assemblage of a hundred
and fifty or more occupying all the
chairs that could be placed around the
tables which were as numerous as the
size of the room would allow. Many
were served at places that had been va.
Gated by those who had finished their
repast.
DR.. Andrews as president of the insti-
tute introduced Rev. Geo. II. Davis as
POSTMASTER of the evening. DIR. Davis
spoke of the Sunday School as compar-
atively modern institution only a little
over hundred years old. 1t was first
organized for the purpose of giving Sec
ular and religious instruction to those
children destitute of opportunities for
/ instruction of the kind at home. 1t had
, always been considered the duty of the
father and mother to attend to the re-
| ligious education of their children. The
home since those days seemed to have
delegated religious instruction of the
children almost entirely to the Sunday
school. The surrender of this function by
the home had been more complete than
it should be. In large majority of
homes religious instruction was unfor-
! tunately entirely ignored.
DR.. Davis now introduced Mrs. B. D..
Smith who responded to the toast "The
Twentieth Century Sunday School" Mrs.
Smith strongly contrasted the gloomy
uncomfortable Sunday schools of cen
fury ago with the bright, attractive, well
equipped Sunday schools of modern
times She dwelt at some length on the
influence of environment on the fate of
Sunday school in the determination of
the influence of the teacher of vastly
greater weight than that of the environ
ment. The teacher should be perfectly
frank and truthful at all times. She
should conceal nothing but open up her
whole soul to her pupils. Temperance
should be taught not with regard to in
toxicating drink alone but temperance
in all things should, and she believed
would, eventually be part of the instruc-
tion of the Sunday school. One great
truth that teacher should impress on
the pupil was the value of time, some
thing that when once lost could never be
regained, and which should be used with
care and economical throughout life. She
believed that more and ample time could
be found by all people for duties of re-
ligion and charity if any considerable
portion of the time wasted on trifes
should be saved.
Howard Hengstler responded to the
toast: "The Boys Ideal Teacher" CIV
ing his ideas of what the teacher must
and should be in order to get the boys
to attend Sunday school and receive in
a proper spirit the instruction there
given.
Prof. J. E. Young closed the program
of the evening by responding to the
toast: abraham as Pioneer" giving
IN interesting and complete sketch of the