The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-06-20
Editor Advertise

1 quite awhile and, l reckon, It's very good kind for people who are used tc It. But, to a fellow who. all his life has been accustomed to it. there's noth try religion. Somehow. when we wor. ship in the old house among the trees we enjoy not only the present, but al | the past of our own lives in holy re- ligion doubly sanctiied by the recol- lection of the worship and service O, the dear ones who worship now ir sweeter, grander strains. You know | in the country, we bury our dead neai | to the house where we worship and 1 this, perhaps. gives q refinement to country religion. The sacredness ot the holy place is haiIowed by our bes, thoughts as they gather about the graves of our dead. The organ and the trained voice may be lacking. but Faith and Hope and Love are there and make sweet the songs of praise. The country pastor may be lacking in elo- cution and, even in grammar, but his sermon is from the heart to the heart and. like Goldsmith's brother, he teaches the way to heaven and leads | the way"
 | With us in the country, fashion and formality give way to 'cordiality, and | the poorer and the better off are breth- ren indeed. After service we finger and talk, and go home with each other. Oh! l it may be a poor kind of religion, but 1 I love it and, somehow, in the hereafter, I believe I'll want, occasionally to hear some country congregations sing, with out harps, the songs I heard long ago. Several years ago I attended my old Hardshell neighborhood church. There is something satisfying about good old Hardshell religion that we can get mo- l rtz >1@ sNaA l. L~.. sl I. A I been of my feed" in religion for some time and needed an appetizer and so I went The neighborhood school teach- CT was the very devil for teaching these new fashioned jiggiety religious songs 1 q wish the Educational Department | would issue orders against such). Well, he was on hand and showing off' the rhildrens' singing, before preaching time. I don't know why it Is, but I be- I lieve perseverance in song came with rag time religious music for 1t seems like song" is becoming the main part of service and, it seems too, that as the | service of song" becomes more intol- erable it increases in length. Now, if l the songs were sweet, body might get | an hour or so of good sleep, but these | latter day sacred musicians must have l had an idea that long torment Is the proper prelude to a short sermon. l | don't know how it is with other folks but dozen or two of the jigglety, jag glety songs instead of fitting me for patient hearing of the discourse make me fit for "treasons. stratagems and | spells" for they've taken all the music out of my soul.
 I can't account for it. but it's a fact that the Header" in these songs is ab- solutely4 unacquainted with exhaus- l hon-that is. he has the gift of con | tinuance." and no appreciation of the miserable condition of his defenseless audience.
 It was so on the occasion that l went out to be braced up" It was song after song and no relief I began to think I'd go crazy or, at least, have | to take ground start again in reli. zion. Finally, I approached a deacor and implored him to bring about = 6 change even if 1t involved the justifa.
 ble manslaughter Of the singing lead
 CT" Fortunately it wasn't necessary tc
 go to that length.
 Then I asked the church memberl
 to sing that old song beginning witt l What wondrous love Is this"
 And. in a moment the whole congre.
 gation was thrilled with the grandes sentiment of the universe. The nexi
 verse is:
 When l was sinking down
 I Beneath Gods righteous frown
 Christ laid aside Ills crown
 For my soul"
 Here personal he1plessness, tht
 righteous wrath of omnipotence, tho
 infinite tenderness of glorious resig- nation for the poor wanderer, camt
 home to us as these untrained voices join in praise.
 On through the verses they go, rais- ing all of us nearer and nearer tc heaven. where we are to go, and then assuring us
 wen sing on, we'll sing on"
 May be so, the younger people en. Joy the present day popular music of the churches, but I can't understand how any people (however young) can revel in multitudinous unsentimental jingle. This easiness of satisfaction with torture is one thing makes ms think the ''old times were the good times" and the old days were the best
 You can have no idea how I'm pes tered about the persecution that bris- ties in impeachment and rankles in peonage.
 Envy, like death, 'loves a shining mark" Sometimes we are pregnant l with envy when we fondly think we are guilty of patriotism. I suppose that the obligation to see the laws | executed" or enforced rests upon all alike from Governor to constable. Of course, there is no binding obligation upon the citizen, whether in office or seeking office to observe or keep the | law. I reckon we are born law break CTS. We naturally object to restraint. Any law that initiates against the natural liberty of an officer in holding a nigger to service or buying votes is against the peace and dignity of an l officer. and Is unworthy of observance. | cers imbibe g good deal of old English sentiment. The King can do no wrong" and make a personal applica- tion of 1t. The courts should take q | like view of this matter unless 1t | should somewhere develop that a Pop ulist or Republican has absorbed some of the sentimentI hope the courts will ] see to 1t that PopulistS and Republi- 1 cans shall not trench upon the pre- negatives of Democrats. Why, suppose 1 some candidate went into the common market and bought up a few votes | that were necessary in his business what harm was there. True. the law was broken, but didn't the unpurchas- | able people get. in addition to a littlO | pocket money, a spotless officer? One of the old Populist demands was for more money and a more equitable di- vision. We get the whole thing in l this way. Because it's the Democrat l iC way ShOuld mt partIcularly- oh-