Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-12-17
HON. v. /. BERRY At
!. N. {. A. Meeting

The Y. NJ. O. A. mems meeting
Sunday afternoon, addressed by Hon.
William H. Berry. former State trea-
, snrar, reformer and prominent church
worker, was attended by large and
enthusiastic audience, which filed ev-
cry seat in the, court .house auditor
ium
Although Mr.. Berry is we'll known
in Danville by reputation yet san
dav was the first that many OF our
citizens ever had an opportunity OF
hearing him speak. the address WAS
delivered in Mr.. Berry's Characteristic
vein and was fearless and incisiVe,
combatting' IN al the various
forms in which they neset society to-
day.
The meeting was led by Howard b.
Shultz. After singing 4 couple OF sell
ections the Rev. L. W Walter read a
portion of the sixth chapter Of st.
Matthew. The Orpheus G!ee club rem
dered p selec ION, after which the Rev.
James Wollastou Kirk led in prayer
The sneaker was introduced by Hon.
william I. Greasy.
Mr.. Berry is man slightly beyond
middle life but is still strong and Wig
orous. He is ready and able speak
er, whose views always command re-
speot.
His theme Sunday was, 1.-THE
Brotherhood of Man. Adve-''~g to
the -fattering audience before him lie
said that it is held by some that the
gospel is losing its hold among men.
The heavy preponderance of women
and children at church worship in
fueuces this belief. 1t may be said
that some of the church doctrines do
not appeal very strongly to men; new
ertheless e is abundant evidence
abroad j, the world that the religion
of Jesus Christ has never had such a
firm hold on men as at the present
day.
Among the lower .tders o' creation
the law of the jungle-the survival of
the fttest-is found to prevail. But
the gospel theory is gaining ground.
Another law, that of the brotherhood
OF man, has superveued. I highest
type OF man is not he who accumu-
lates by striking down his fellow man,
but he who renders the greatest ser
vice to his fellows. That this is a
growing sentiment is amply demon
strated by the many associations among
men that have been formed in recent
years for mutual help and advance
ment
1t was formerly taught that the
benefits of Christianity are not to he
expected in this world, teaching Mr..
Berry does not approve Of. He be-
lieves that the Kingdom of God is to
be established on earth-that the bene-
fits of Christian life are to be obtain
ed in this life. God has entered into
a covenant with man that He will see
to 1t that all his physical wants are
supplied and He has faithfully kept
his covenant.
Some accept the law of the brother
hood of man theoretically. Observa-
tion shows us that few people get
the greater part of the blessings that
fall from heaven and the great mass !
of the people get only a small portion. |
What means this unequal distribution?
L II q obalIanoo IN
Mr.. Berry said he believes that our
government IS of divine origin be-
cause it is founded on equ,l rigt Is
and makes each citizen share the re-
sponsibility of it's guidance and per-
manency.
Considering next the individual-the |
citizen-the speaker said that God in. /
tends we shall work out our own sal /
yation. To illustrste-he remarked /
that the Creator, had it been his plan, /
could Just as easily have made men
perfect, adding facetiously that Ic |
even could have made an angel Of
Brother Greasy" who by the wa
was long way off from being an |
angel or He could just as easily have .
made an angel of himself (the speak /
eT who was just as far of from angelic
perfection.
God has given US light to guide us
and we are responsible for what we
are. In the same sense this nation
will be not what God makes it. but
what the individual citizen makes II
No man, he said, can be good citi.
zen so long as he fails to discharpe |
the common duties that devoIve on |
citizenship. 1t is because Of such |
neglect that inequalities exst-the
shameful luck of opportunity that falls
to so many.
This brought the speaker to a con-
sideration OF the evils which beset our
government. He took up the liquor
traffic, after which he paid his respects
to monopoly, which he declared is the |
more insidious and less easily detected |
foe Of the two.
Turning to the bible Mr. Berry pro- /
ceeded to give an example of what
monopoly will do when in the hands