The semi-weekly messenger., 1907-10-25

''DE ODDER DAY TOOK WANDER"
if dey have changed too. If dey haven't
it's bekase a trust hasn't got hold of
'em.
'In de old fashioned days, when we
built church buildin'-dey called it
meetin' house den-we had to rake and
scrape and build a leetle at a time.
Ebery dollar was honest money. Eb
cry dollar was honestly ARMED. If we
got huff together to build $500 build
in we felt almost ashamed of de eX-
travagance. If we could pay our
preacher $500 a year he was almost
ashamed to take it.
"Up my way dey am jist now build
in what may be called q palace Of de
Lawd. De lot cost $4,000, de buildin'
am to cost $4,000, de organ am to cost
5000, de steam heat aud cushions
and odder liXins will cost as much
more, and Gey am gwine to pay de
minister de same salary annually.
Oar will be a choir Of paid singers,
and dar will be dozens of carriages
roll up to de door on Sundays.
When the Church Is Built.
"When dat palace am finally COM.
pleted and opened, when de or@,!I
peals out. when de choir stands up t.
sing, when de minister stands up IL
preach, what's he gwine to preaCi
about to make men better? Jist t4e
same things dat our preachers preach
ed about in de long ago.
"He viii ask men to be honest.
"ue will ask men to love deir fe!ler
men.
He Will ask men to forgive DER Ell
emies and praise &c Lawd.
He will ask men and women to help
in de betterment of de world and to -
lib yere on airth dat when dey come
to die dey will so up higher.
Oats all he kin do. Can't add an
odder word to it. And if he asked
those things in a $500 meatin' house
would de conscieHceS of men respond
jist as quick aS in dat palace?
But he won't ask it. 1t would he
old fashioned to do SO. 1t wouldn't be
to date 1t might hurt de feelin's OF
some of de congregashun who have
hear de choir sing. He'll take text
and he'll talk, and when he gifts frew
talkin' meeting will be eber and no
body de better ner vasss off.
"In de old fashioned day any man
who hked wisin Ave miles of you was
q naybur and a human bein'. IN dis
modern age de man lisin' on de odi"r
side of de wall dies and is buried, ana
you don't knew his name Ror care to.
Fifty years age asr was a feeli-'
of sympathy fur a Rsa ia misfortune.
fur a widder in black, fuG an orphan
cryin' in its loneliness. Dat feelin' was
too old fashioned, and it has been dou2
away wild. We can't miss our stree
kyar to speak to man who has beeI
run ober and had his bones broke, ana
we figger dat widders and orphans Will
be taken care of at de porehOuSe.
I'm dose old days dar was som,
politics around, but men didn't loo
| ,pon it as they do de politics Of today.
t didn't smirch men. 1t didn't MAKE
| lars and there's and rascals of en-
| len didn't sell their votes, and Office
folders didn't rob de people It was
| .ecided dat de old way wasn't pro
| ressive huff fur de American people.
nd so de present one was invented
le result am dat dere am not ober five
len in high places today in all dis
md dat de people thoroughly trust
I'm my time, when | considered my
elf in de swim, if | Armed So put
way at least so cents agin sickness
old aige. OATS what we preached
each odder-economy and saving
at looked like good policy, bat have
bed to see how foolish it was COM
Jared to de UP to date idea. De thing