The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-05-20
AT The BANQUET BOARD
Sunday School Workers Enjoy Eve
ming Of Feasting and Toasts.
Several Appropriate Addresses Deliy.
cred at the Christian Church.
These Were interpreted With Sweet
Music From the Ladies.
Institute Held During the Afternoon
Proved Great Success.
From Saturdays Daily.

From Saturdays Daily.
F. NJ. Curriers' remarkable fitness for
the position of POSTMASTER was never
thoroughly appreciated by his friends
and acquaintance, until last night when
he officiated at the banquet held by the
Mankato Sunday School Institute in the
basement of the Christian church on
South Second street. When he arose at
the close of the repast and called the
assemblage to order, one of the first
remarks that he made was to express his
fear that he was not qualified for the
duty that he had been chosen to perform.
When he stood up to announce the last
number of the program, one of his last
utterances was to assure the audience
that if he had felt any lack of confidence
or perturbation at the outset, he had got
ten over it entirely now. He told a
story of little boy, who on being ask
ed by his mother what would cure his
propensity for taking doughnuts out of
the cupboard, replied, ''Ma, make the
meals come thicker together" He
thought mis- own embarrassment on such
occasions would be thoroughly cured,
if the banquets would only 'come thick
er together"
1t was with story that Mr.. Currier
made his first 'hit," and this was al
. most at the very outset of his first
speech. A man had lost his first wife,
mourned over her, buried her, and had
caused a most tender sentiment of con-
jugal love to be expressed ON her tomb
stone. Time, however, gradually as
suaged his grief as time is always bound
to do sooner or later, and by and by
he married again. One day he and his
second wife CHANGED to be strolling in
the cemetery, when they came upon the
grave of the first wife, where the tomb
stone read, "The light of my life has
gone out" The second wife objected
to the inscription very seriously. The
husband, not knowing how to accede to
& the feelings of his second wife without
acting Unexpectedly towards the first,
asked the advice of the marble cutter,
who had prepared the tombstone. The
marble cutter promised to arrange mat
tiers satisfactorily to all parties. Not
long afterwards, the husband and Sec
ond wife happened once more to pass by
the grave of the first wife, and noticed
that the inscription on the stone read,
"The light of my life has gone out, but l
have struck another match"
Sunday school work, Mr.. Currier said,
he felt to be much needed factor in the
education of the young. He cited a
statement appearing in a Chicago paper
that one Sunday evening between ten
and eleven o'clock a close observer
counted lois men, who entered saloon
on Madison avenue, Chicago. The lessons
of the Sunday school were powerful
factor to counterfeit such temptations.
The Sunday school makes indelible i'm
pressions on the mind of the child.
Mr.. Currier took an optimistic view of
the progress that the Sunday school has
made and is still making in America. A
hundred years ago most of the young
men of the colleges were infidels or at
least non-church goers. Today so per
cent of the students of the colleges and
universities attend devotional gatherings.
The Sunday school has done great deal,
yet there is much still to be done. Care
must be taken to lead the children of
the foreign elements, that are continual
ly pouring into the country, into the
right way of thinking.
Rev. F. E. R. Miller was introduced
and called upon to respond to the toast,
Jonathan, Type of True Friendship"
The complimentary remarks that the
POSTMASTER made on introducing Mr.
Miller reminded the latter of the days
when he was newspaper reporter. Mr..
Miller had been reporting for some time
on small country newspaper, when he
came to the conclusion that he would
follow the same vocation in a large
city. He obtained from his rural en-
ployer letter of recommendation, which
he presented to the urban editor. The
latter gruffly said, 81 don't care for any
letter of recommendation. I want you
to 60 and show what you can do" Mr..
Miller did not know how far Mr.. Cur
rier's recommendation would 60 in bias
ing the audience in Mr.. Miller's favor.
The audience would probably base its
judgment on what he could do.
What Rev. Miller did do was to relate
in most engaging and inspiring manner
all the incidents of Jonathan's friendship
for David, friendship that triumphed
over every obstacle and which no con-
fict of interests could affect.
In the course of his introduction of
Prof. j. A. Hancock, Mr. Currier in
cindentally gave as his opinion that too
often parents do not stick to actual facts
as they should in teaching their children
the lessons of morality. Parents and
Sunday school teachers should be care
full not to deviate in the slightest de-
gree from the truth. Mr. Currier did not
approve of telling boy that to taste
liquor at all would inevitably do him
great harm. The boy as he grew up