Morris tribune., 1908-07-11

| In our town.
The saloon Of the future must de-
pend on the boys OF today, so we
must not expect that saloon men will
obey the law or keep liquor away
from the boys when their business
depends on getting it 10 them. We of
the churches must make our church
the mems club and boys club. Men
and boys ought to go to church but
they don't. The boys should be in
Sunday school but they are not. You
ask me why and answer it is not all
on occount of the native depravity Of
the boy. zN
There must first be something
about the church and its people that
he likes. It may not be what we
think is the best thing in the church
but we must have something there
that he cares for-something beside
abstract religion or theology. The
average boy don't want to be an
angel. He isn't all bad. He is
simply at different stage of deve-
lopment from ours. The things he
most enjoys are not necessarily bad on
that account. Some of his diver
sions and amusements are bad only
because of the time or place in which
he INDUCES in them. vs.
We expect our church and minister
to influence young men and women for
their good. eve do not want them
to shy at us now because we make
this avowal.) We do not allow the
minister complete freedom to do
this. Does the misister's presence
embarrass the boys if he happens on
to group discussing the latest or the
coming ball game, and is he awkward
if he tries to join in the conversation?
It is not all the fault of the church
members and the congregation, yes,
the parents of the boys. We demand
a certain aloofness of our minister.
If we would let him be interested in
the youthful activities about him, he,
speaking of him as class, would be
immensely benefited, and the better
enabled to do the things. The pictures
of the missionaries in the Virginia
and the Sky Pilet are absolutely true.
You parents who want your boys to
come to chucrh with you and they will
not-Do you go to the game or the
circus with them, or do you each go
clandestinely? Fathers and mothers
too, can you keep score or umpire a
ball game? Are you willing that the
minister should do it? I am Human
nature is not changed in the twink
ling of an eye, and we fail to look
beneath the surface who think so. A
| truly religious nature is matter of
growth. The normal boy Or girl must
be allowed to think of good many
| other things. Don't worry, the SER
mons that will come soon enough if
you keep him clean. s...-
Christ interested himself in the
common things about him and drew
his lessons from the subjects and in
cidents with which his hearers were
most familiar and most interested.
Christ's teaching is now delegated to
us and we want the boys to believe in
us as beings not wholly different from
themselves, even when we try to be
good. Sometimes we preach too
much.
I have urged that the church should
oppose saloons and intemperance,
vice and loafing, for loafing is a. vice,
but to do this effectively we. must
have something in the place of these
harmful Influences. There must be
work for the loafer and club rooms or
gymnasiums for the use of the boys
and young men and the girls.
At once I hear the prote st, we can
not afford it, we are paying more for
our schools than other towns like ours.
We are behind in our church sub
scriptions and have trouble to raise
the minister's salary, we need a new
carpet, new furnace, and cannot af-
ford them. How can we build
gymnasium? >
We could do it without the turning
of hair if we could get together
cut out the small jealousies, overlook
our small personal dislikes and
eliminate the waste,
We support eight saloons, costing
much more than enough to pay the
bill-note and remember we support
them. They do not support US. We
support, not so we'll as we should,
two English speaking, Protestant
churches where two good sermons
are given each Sunday to audiences,
which as rule, one church would ac-
! oou,odoto Nau1t tall Honrraeo %iono1