The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1906-01-19
THOUGHTS FROM
REV. WILLIAM RAIDER.

Rev. William Raider OF San FRANCISCO
ish contributing some fine articles to the
bulletin nowadays. His last article is
entitled Weakness Is Still Greater Than
Drawn" 1t is very interesting and
should be read by everyone who likes to
study from cause to effect. Mr.. RAIDER
says:
1t was said of old that meekness was
the sort of thing that would inherit the
earth. The fellow who strikes back, gets
cessful. Muscle, not meekness. would
appear to win. The bulldog. not the
lamb; Jack London, not Maeterlinck,
would seem to signify the ruling virtues
that meekness is blessed, and that it
shall inherit the EARTH the average
man of force, who stops long enough in
the rough and tumble of life to reply
answers with an emphatic denial. But
this forceful muscular fellow, who is so
strong and self-sufficient. is wrong.
Weakness is stronger than muscle, just
as a sunbeam is stronger than a crow
bar. The sun is very gentle. but IL
sweels the root. and open the petals of
the rose. In meekness is power. 1t is
ones strength working through repose
and calmness. Mere animalism is weak
ness. Weakness is the virtue through
when one s highest nature utters itself.
1t is not to be concluded that this quail
we must believe that we aret strong II
VIZ use the faculties of our highher ma
ture.
III meekness is thought of as a negative,
~dawdling virtue, made of pulp. and tex-
IDLE, and easily shaped. a mere sentiment,
then it is misunderstood. Weakness is
virtue under control. The meek man may
not knock you down. but he stands by
and sees you destroy yourself by the
fires of your own anger. The man who
loses his tempe Is not destined to in
herit the earth. The winning virtues are
gentleness. patience. long-suffering. meek
ness. The Sermon on the Mount does
not say, Blessed are the harsh men. for
they shall inherit the earth. nor blessed
ar t~heimpatient. and the angry, and the
strong, but blessed are the meek. Her
cules will never own the world. He may
succeed in capturing a few guns and a
little land. but Hercules. and Theseus.
and samson and Goliath will be dis
appointed when the final division Is made.
The thunder that crashes through the
The dew that noiselessly falls-a kiss
upon the ~earth-ah. that it is that lays
hold OF life. and possesses nature.
But by inheritance of the earth / do
not mean the control of lands, and seas,
and forces. We do not win a country
when we own the land. There are two
problems of ownership in our country.
The one is, Who shall wi the largest
number of acres. the greatest number Of
gold mines, oil wells and railroads? This
is the problem of material America. The
other question is, Who shall at last
possess the moral force. the higher en-
ergies, the virtues of government, and
the social forces, not only OF America.
but che world? Shall we look to the SOL
der for such conquest? He is the police
man Of the nation. who patrols the bor-
der line with a big stick, and whose bat
tleships are the eyes of the government,
looking fer h~ighwaymen. Shall we change
this beautitude, and read 1t in this way:
Blessed is the man with the big stick.
for he shall inherit the earth. When
the prophecy was made the world was
not very meek. 1t was filled with
naughty soldiers proud rich men.
1t was filled with the eagles of prey.
Strange indeed that such a word shSdll