The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-31

ness in a New England trial. After the cross examining lawyer had in vain tried to break down the lads testimony he at last turned and said, Your father has been telling you how to testify, has he not?' Yes" answered Walter, The has" Then, my boy. tell us how your father told you to testify" sWell," said Wal ter. father said that the lawyers would try to tangle me, but If would just talks my time and be careful and tell the truth I could tell the same thing every time." Though that father was not at the time on the witness stand. by his Language of action" the father spoke when the boy spoke. Thus, my brother, by the same law we are responsible for what our de- pendents and representatives do in our name
 How Evil Is Exposed.
 A wicked mans evil actions are again manifested in his unwillingness to pub llcly protest against evil whenever he may see it. Silence itself can sometimes make a man party to a crime, although person. alLS he may in no way be benefited by that crime. For instance, a few weeks ago the three noted Chicago bandits. Van Dine and Niedermeier Roeski, fled to Indiana and lived there . q dugout. While refugees from justice those three men one day entered country store to purchase some food. A country school teacher saw them and recognized them by their pub llshed pictures. Had that school teacher not telegraphed his intelligence to the Chicago police In one sense he would have become a party to their crimes. So, my brother if in public you hear the name of Christ blasphemed, if you see young man. hood, young womanhood, about to be de- graded and utter no protest; if you see an injustice about to be done another and lift no warning voice, then, by your Ian guage of action," you become a party to Satan's infamies. As an honest man, speak when God bids you to speak. As an honest man, keep silent when you please provided no one is to be injured by your far reaching silence.
 A wicked mans evil actions are again manifested in his willingness to take ad- vantage of a helpless brother or sister through a technicality of the law. By that mean that through technicality ne is willing to become a moral criminal. a usurer. a swindler, destroyer, vam- pre, if he can only do it and escape the ''fine tooth comb of the law.
 Actions Rarely Lie.
 There goes an old proverb: At times nothing Is falser than figures and nothing more unjust than exact legal justice" '" So at times we have seen men become thieves, though they could not be arr raigned in the criminal court. We have seen men become liars though by the Language of action' they could not be proved perjurers before any legal tribunal. One day, about a year before Abraham Lincoln was nominated at Chicago, MT. Lord entered the law office of Lincoln &s Herndon and heard a conversation be- tween Honest Abe' and one of his clients. The conversation closed in the following way: ''Yes, we can doubtless gain your case for you. We can set the whole neighborhood at loggerheads. We can distress widowed mother and her six fatherless children and thereby get for you six hundred dollars. to which you seem to have a legal claim, but which rightfuly belongs. 1t appears to me, as much to the woman and her children IS 1t does to you. You must remember that some things legally right are not morally right. We shall not take your case, but will give you little advice, for which we shall charge you nothing. You seem to be a sprightly energetic man. We would ad- wise you to try your hand in making six hundred dollars in some other way 1 cannot express my thought that some things are legally right and not morally right better than by resting 1t with the blunt words of one whose Language of action never intentionally gave utter ance to lie.
 A Message of Hope.
 When some one asked the great Athen- ian orator what were the three most ef- fective essentials for successful public speech, Demosthenes answered. First action: section, action; third, action" Sc let the lesson of the text be translated into your lives. Let your actions. public and private, be of such character that your influence will be one that stimulates ennobles and sprituaizes the lives of others. In secret and in the eyes of men so act and so live that your associates your neghbors. the community and the world will be the better for your having lived By your Christian example you may lead others to become Christians By your gospel handshake you can win souls for Christ. By your welcoming and encouraging eye you can cheer up the op- pressed and the down trodden. By your gesturing finger you can point out the right path wherein the sinner can forsalSe his sin and walk hand in hand with God.
 My fathers life demonstrated the power of the Language of action" because ir his public ministry he never made close affiliations with any one man or class Of men who were trying to tear down the great bulwarks of the gospel After Car dinal Manning was dead these words which he had spoken into the records oi a photograph, were repeated at mass meeting gathered in London, for mem orial of his life: q hope that no word oi mine written or spoken in my life. will be found to have done harm to my fellow men when am dead" If my father wal to come back to life, we would find that his sentiment was his hope while he wal upon this earth. and this sentiment is now his hope while he is in heaven. He always tried to preach safe and a cleansing gospel. His Language of action" was right upon the temperance question, right upon the Sabbath question. right upon Gods word. right upon the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. He mol only preached God with the lip. but he also preached God in his daily life.
 My brother. my sister. always set your influence be cast upon the safe side oi every debatabIe moral question. Let your Language of action" always in Christ s name be message for hope and never a guide leading toward eternal death.