The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1911-02-03
TRIBUTE TO AN ORATOR.
Complimentary Words for Rev, Fred
eric T. Shannon.

The News takes pleasure in re-
producing from the Brooklyn Eagle
the following tribute to the oratory
of one born and reared among our
people:
Editor The Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
In the published accounts of the
trustees annual dinner held in Ply
mouth Church on Thursday of last
week one of the happiest events
of the evening was overlooked. ow-
ing to the present interest in the
matter of subways not even the
scholarly address of Professor Ray
mond ON the Panama Canal was al
lowed to infringe upon space Civ
en- to Mr.. McAdoo's brilliant docu-
ment, But the speech which will
probably linger longest in the mem
ory of those present was the twen-
ty minutes address of the Rev,
Frederick F. Shannon pastor Of
Grace Methodist Church, on the
Park Slope. ! have been for some
years familiar with this young cler-
gyman's sermons through The
Eagles sermons pages. Even in
their printed form they have a pow
er of vision, a beauty of diction
rarely equaled. But. like most of
those at the Plymouth dinner !
had never heard the man himself
1t was almost IL p NJ. whenDr.
Hills introduced Mr.. Shannon. The
people had already sat for five hour
most of them we're weary and many
of them had a considerable home
ward journey yet to make. Natural
ly, under the circumstances, they
would have been willing to forego
the pleasure of listening to most
after-dinner speakers at that hour
But the young minister had moi
been on his feet minute before
all sense of weariness was forgotten
those who had started home block
ed the doorways and the entire au
dience was fused in unbroken atten
ton.
Soon the attention found expires
sion in bursts of laughter as the
speaker illustrated his thought b!
an unhackneyed story. Having es
tablished perfect relations with hi
audience, he said: Though | wai
Graded among the far-away hills o
eastern Kentucky, from childhood
Plymouth Church has been to me ;
kind of Westminster Abbey-ant
yet not a place in which the grea
dead slept, but where the might!
living wrought and taught" Al
! these words, voiced in tones of beau
f, ty and pathos, were spoken we wht
ere used to fine sayings in Ply
mouth Church, knew that we wer,
listening to a declaration equal Il
the finest Then came a story, La
dies and gentlemen, feel like al
unmusical goose among singing
swans. (RQars of laughter.l But
even thus, there is consolation il
the thought that the goose's fool
ishness is always offset by tn,
swans melody. (Laughter.) Whel
the great Archbishop Taft hande,
over an unkind vituperatiNe lette
TO his private secretary for an
swer he said: Tell him he is
donkey, but do SO kindly So, MT
| Toasmaster, my own 'denkeninity
may abound here tonight. but tina
will only give scope for your mag
nanimity to abound more exceed
ingly prolonged laughter an,
applause.)
Then the speaker launched int,
a history of Plymouth Church, it
worldwide fame, its patriotism, it
commanding force in the country
religions, intellectual and civic life
II do not need TO say to you," h,
declared, that Plymouth is uniqu,
among the Christian societies o
the world. This is commonplace,
you have heard many times. Blu
1t is a commonplace, / think, whicl
glows with a golden .significanc,
when one pauses TO consider 1t.
origin and vitality For example
we go to st. Peters because we
want to see Michael Angelo dress.
ed up in stone. We go to st.
Paul's to see Sir Christopher Wren
In similar garb. But nobody eV-
er came to Plymouth merely to en-
Joy an architectural holiday" AS
this last sentence fell from the or
ator's lips peal on peal of laugh
ter rolled from one end of the build
ing to the other.
have barely limited few say
ings and those imperfectly reproduc-
ed, of one of the wittiest. most ell
oQuent addresses have ever heard,
and delivered, too. under. the most
trying circumstances. The speak