Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1905-01-12
A FINGERBOARD.

IL is proceeding from the ridiculous
to the sublime to mention the pictur-
esquc John Alexander Dowie. the self
styled "Elijah Third" as Il present day
link with the great John the Baptist
who, as the f%orerunner of Jesus. was
the Prophet Elijah come To Earth
again. The baptizer himsel did
not know that he was Elijah. and he
lisclaimed being so. but Jesus. who
knew more han His messenger, de-
clared To His disciples thai John was
indeed Elijah the second. Johns reti-
cence on the subject contrasts sug-
| gestively with the blatant vociferous-
ness of the self-esteeming head of zion
City on the shore of Lake Michigan.
The entrance of this second John
upon the scene of this series of les
sons need not be confusing. Last
week the author of the gospel. John.
was considered. He WAS n disciple and
Il cousin of Jesus. Curiously enough.
John the Baptist was Il SECOND cousin
of both. 1t will be recalled that his
mother. Elizabeth, is mentioned as the
cousin of Mary, who visited her after
the angel had told of the approaching
birth of Jesus. The birth of John, too.
was deemed important enough in
heaven to warrant the sending of an
angelic to earth. For II was
a high mo unique mission that was
to be his-that of the %forerunner, he.-
aid and preparer of the l~ong-desired
Messiah.
"A Simple Life =" Of Old.
The teachings of THE Simple Life
appear to be in danger of becoming an
intellectual fad with us today; the real
pricipal is in no such danger of being
generally adopted. Here is Il concrete
instance of the simple life" John
the Baptist lived unencumbered and
s~ingle-eyed. He was far from being
n slave to cOnventionalities; indeed, he
was an i%conoclast. Reared in the
wilderness, in the knowledge Of his
Denomination to n great mission. he
entered upon his work a free. rugged,
uncontaminated spirit.
His was an ideal education for Il
strong mar with Il new work to do.
Close to natures heart, living in ut
most simplicity, he learned the great
verities of life. Most important of all,
he learned to be himself. He was an
orlglnal: in nothing did he copy his
time. So with clear and penetrating
vision he looked out upon life. and his
gaze pierced the shams and articles
and vanities. He learned to know the
world by being sequestered from 1t:
there is but little in the common no.
ton that to know life one must
i'hSte WIKI me actlVltleS, surrender
ing ones self to it's treadmill. As q
matter of fact. the philosophers who
have best understood life have beer
rare souls who dwelt apart from it.
No one can measure the power. ply.
steal. intellectual and spiritual, thai
came to John by his extended periot
of secluded preparation. When Go
wants a great man He gives him +;
long and peculiar training. With the
forerunner. us with all of. us, his get
ting ready time was the most import.
ant. Pity the children of today who b,
legions are preparing for life amid tn.
fret and a~rtiticiality of the great cities
knowing nothing of the simple, nat
ural joys of country life which make.
for manhood's strength.
A Man Who Knew His Business.
Snobs have "a phrase about a persons
knowing his place." which has q high,
er meaning. For to be assured of one.
self, of ones work, and of ones capa.
city and limitations. is to possess pow.
er. Know myself" counselled the ole
pagan philosopher, and the advice ha;
reaches unexplored by most of US.
is better to be one self, in mes Owl
a higher place. IF 1 am only qualified
to be a successful coal HEAVIER, it il
no indness in you to encourage me Il
be Il writer of poor poems,'' said
man to his friend the other day. m,
first business. as steward of my OWL
life. is to find out what 1 really am fl
for. where | honestly belong"
Happy are they who, like the fore
runner. have deeply grounded in thei
souls II clear conviction of their mis-
sion. No vain ambitions disturb them
they know their work. and their on
concern-a noble ambitions to do /
well. John understood that he was
second place a His vocation wa
simply thai of n witness. The cente
OF the stage did not belong to him. ex
cept for the brief moment he held it L
announce the coming of the One VIII,
was all-impOrtant. There is a rrea
and timely lesson here on being con
tent with ones work. And no Lawful
work Is d~ishonorable except that whicI
is dishonorably done Every clerk VIII
Is fretting because he is not the prop
rietor' every laborer who shirks hi
work because he is not the boss, ever
homekeeper who is letting the dus
accumulate while h moons over he
dreams OF IL career, has reason to 20 t
school to John the Baptist.
What q Man Thinks Of Himself,
Any editor who has handled bio
graphies written by the subjects them
selves can tell interesting tales q
human vanity. The se~lf-esteeminp q
personalities Is Oo
licious, albeit rather pathetic; for tn
length OF the biography IS usually /
inverse ratio to h Importance of tn
subject. h congressional director
at Washington. is n famous illustra
ton of this. Few fields OF huma
study are more interesting than thi
one OF a persons real opinion of him
self. That the faith and the facts 4
seldom agree is an index to an un
written chapter upon unrealized am
billions.
DR.. Richard 8. Holmes shrewdly d,
clares: The person who can alway
give u clear account Of himself Ia al
most great. The person who is able I
say to those who would hail him a
great. I am not great; I am only
small servant Of one who is great:
have mo- even a name. am only
voice is truly great"
Such a one was John. He knew him