The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-04-29
GOVERNOR glenn
IN HATTIESBURG
DISCUSSES HOME MISSIONS AT
BAY STREET CHURCH.
Work of Winning Human Souls Is
Made Paramount to All Other Occu-
pations-Discusses Dangers of
Strong Drink.

A large audience heard former Gov
ernor r. B. Glenn of North Caroline
at the Bay Street Presbyterian church
last night in his address on the in.
portance and necessity of home mis-
sions among the churches. The speak
er made a strong plea for the uplift
Of that part of humanity, which is sc
near us, and yet without so many of
the advantages of education and re
ligion. He said that in the noun
tains of Virginia, North Carolina, Ten
nessee, Georgia and Alabama and in
the plains and river sections of Mis-
ssissippi, Texas and Oklahoma there
was a great field for work on the part
of the Christian churches, and that il
was the duty of the church to send
the gospel to these people.
Governor Glenn was introduced to
the audience by Rev. A. B. Colt, of
Laurel, an old college mate.
In beginning his address, Governor
Glenn said that he did not want to
be understood as putting home mis-
sions above foreign missions; that
one was just as important as the 9TH
er. He painted picture of condi-
tions in Africa and Asia, and said
that the way to reach these benightod
people was from the home field, and
that as we gave to home missions
it was made more possible to send
aid to these teeming millions, who
never heard of God.
He said that the command, go,
ye, and preach the gospel to every
creature" was the message that he
brought, and that this responsibility
rested on all alike.
The speaker made an earnest plea
for better Sunday observance. He
said that he had just come fro ma
state where Sunday was just as any
other day; that the theaters were
open, and that the people were given
over to amusements instead of rest
and worship.
"This is a great nation" said the
speaker, "but while I am not a pessi-
mist, 1 say that there are influences
at work in our country that not only
endanger our greatness, but knock at
the very foundation of our religion"
He named France as an example of
the impossibility of placing a govern
ment on other foundations than the
law of God. He said that France abol
ished Sunday and named every ninth
day as the day of rest, and did away
with churches and made them temples
of reason, and that blood ran red in
the streets of the cities of that coun-
try, and that there would be no order
until the country came back to the
true way of living.
The governor then alluded to the
great danger in our country from
strong drink He said that this evil
was in the low places and the high
places, and that there must be q
stop to these practices, if the nation
was to continue.
The speaker closed his address with
a touching illustration of the value
Of souls. "I know the value Of
life perhaps more than many people,
said he. I'm the position as governor
of my state I have had to decide be-
tween life and death. l have had old
mothers and young wives to fall on
their knees to me, human just as
they, and beg for the lives of their
loved ones, who were condemned to
die for crime. When we see how
precious the lives of our loved ones
are, how much more should We be
concerned for their souls?"
The speaker closed his address
with an appeal to the congregation
to aid in this. great work of the South.
ern Presbyterian church in trying to
send preachers and teachers to these
places where they were so much
needed to save the souls of our fell
low mortals.
Gov. Glenn left this morning for
Eutaw, Ala, where he will speak TO.
night, and from there he will go to
Mobile.