Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1904-05-21


from getting into the trouble.
In order To erect mansion Il is
often necessary To tear down and clear
away the walls Of an old family home
stead. But no man has right TO tear
down or destroy anything unless he
can erect Il better in liz place. The
most miscellaneous of all social reform
ers is the destructive iconoclast who
has nothing TO offer us in the place of
The institutions he would tear down.
We know our social system Is imper-
feet. but we would not h ave il mended
by an anarchist, who. like the leaders
of the French revolution of 1913. would
commence by demolish NJ the good
and the evil together. 1t il easy
enough TO he a censorious critic. 1t is
not so easy Il matter 10 'urnish bet
ter for that which you deride. l re-
member many years ago. as IN imag-
NATIVE boy. read that strange. weird,
horrible story called Caesars Col
umn." In fascination ] followed its
author step by step as le deity tore
the beautiful patterns Of modern So
ciety into shrcds. In no 'ror | read on
as lie denounced the social status, not
as the generation of Noah was de-
stroyed 10y this old earth rs water
logged craft. shipping tidal wave after
tidal wave. but as huge column Of
piled up corpscs. But as the years
have passed by and boyish magma
ton has given place to sober thought
the flames and the smoke arising from
the funeral pyre of Caesars column.
embellished with dead bodies. have
grown less and less. he great air.
ships which circled about in the heav-
ems as great fiocks of dc stroying birds
have collapsed. Why: Because | see
as man that, though lgnatius Don
nelly might advocate the destruction
Of society by finding fault with il. yet
with his brain he could not construct
for us better Utopia. Lake Paul.
never ridicule n man. never probe for
his faults. unless at the same time you
can show him how to correct those
faults Never refer 10 a mans malady
or dciormity unless you can tell him Of
"A doctor who can apply II remedy for 1t.
Religion That Helps.
Why We're the crew and the passen-
gers of the .AleNandrian corn ship of
good cheer: Because Plul was II man
of Christian common Sc Use rs well as
of supernatural visions. lie knew that
the only religion that co I'D really help
Il man must be Il religion that could
help him in the present life as well as
fiji him for life beyond the grave. 1t
was not only the promise of safety in
the future that he gave those people.
but the sound common sense counsel
of preparation. by keeping up their
strength for insuring tn II safety.
What are you driving ut anyway
says some one. is Paul mere ny
gienic lecturer" lie is more than
that. but he does not think il beneath
his dignity. after seeing the vision of
God. To tell the crew End the paSsen-
gers of the .Alcxandrian corn ship to
look after their physical necessities.
lie does not think II irrcligious to gath
or the men ana the women of the
doomed ship together and say: Men,
you are going 10 he saved. but God
will never do his part unless we are
ready to do ours. Now. tomorrow we
are going To all get safely TO land, but
there is To he Il big Train upon our
physical resources. Some of us are
now completely tagged out. We have
not had Il good meal for nearly two
weeks. Let the cooks go and prepare
the most nourishing Il nner they can:
then let us 10y turns gather in the cab
ins. old ami young alike. and eat a
good. hearty repast. We need faith
for the soul: We also M, al meat for the
body. Some people think the most
dramatic episode of l'anl's life was
when he stood upon Mars hill and ar
gued with the Greek philosophers: 9th
Agrippa. | think the most impressive
~ dramatic incident WIS when he was
standing upon the rocking heaving
deck of vessel whose hull was grad
ually filling with water and telling the
passengers and the crew to eat and
s''h hAt'i as IOu MOulu
surely save them on the morrow
Care of the BODY.
II is surprising how little some peo
pie care for the body in times of sick
ness. heard my mother say some
years ago: Il was il st down TO see
Elder Nichols. lie vas morbid and
depressed. said 10 i'm. What have
you eaten today. Mr.. NichollsT oh.
he answered. I have Ia ken nothing but
a little tea ana Il or; cker cannot
eat. My said. 'tlis will not do!
Yon must eat or you will never get
strong So | went and cooked him an
egg and made him some good toast
and procured for him little fruit, and
before ! left lie was as bright and
cheerful as man could be. Ii does
seem 10 me that half of our lack of
faith in God comes from physical de-
pietion and not from spiritual weak
ness" Yes. my mo her was right.
The same law that applied TO Elder
Nichols of the Brooklyn tabernacle
applied TO the passengers and crew of
the Mediterranean con ship. When
they SAW raul's faith they believed.