The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-06-20
Sunday Baseball Scored
By Mr.. Pendleton
Continued From Page Four)

or too Indifferent should chime in and
vote with it, but that professional men
who must have drawn their very vital
capital from books should turn 1t down,
and for Sunday dissertation, is hard to
reconcile. The library will come be-
cause there are enough people to de-
mand 1t. What Of those who aspire
higher than baseball and Sunday con-
certs? One mother said to me: 81
was sorely disappointed at the loss of
library as my children are great
readers and I am unable to furnish
them books" And what of the visitors
who are to come here? Do we not ex-
pect any other class than those who
agree with precinct fifteen? Do we not
want to admit university and college
ideals into our little seaport? Shall
we lock out the vision of all other
things than lumber, baseball, merchan-
disc, etc. There is a possibility at least
that the children of Pensacola may
mount higher, and see q different
vision. Some have done 80. Where
will they see the vision beautiful If not
in books where the famous men and
women of all ages become familiar
companions? Are you able to take
them abroad to feel the thrill of in
tellectual life? How many will be able
to do that?
Last summer was called to neigh
boring town in my state to bury some
victims of an automobile accident.
Four were killed in a collision with a
train. The man at the wlN Ell was the
only survivor, and when he crawled out
from under the car and looked around
to find his wife and child he found
them mangled in death, and trying to
find his wifes body for one farewell
glance he only found locks of hair and
bits of clothing. I was In the house
where that man lay in bandages and
he was wild with the thought, Il muir
dered my family" He had accidentally
sent his family into eternity. ! say
that the man who dooms his family to
intellectual and spiritual night is a
murderer of the best interests Of his
family. I have always thought that
Lot committed as great crime
against his family by taking them into
Sodom as his daughters committed.
Where did they get their morals? 1t
is worse to turn a child loose in an
enlightened age with low and vicious
ideals which will almost surely drag
his life down beneath the chariot
wheels of human destiny than to trans
NIT to him a deadly disease which will
take him to an early grave.
Others might mention other things
needed most as school improvement,
better hospitals and so forth. These
are needed and will come but without
doubt the great commanding need of
Pensacola is men, manly men, men
with high ideals, who keep their ears
to the ground not to hear the rum
bling of popular favor, but the clear
voice of God.
Vox populi is not always vox del.
am speaking now for Jew and Gentle,
for home born and foreign. Religion
puts no new obligation on man. 1t
is lust as much the duty of the mayor
and council, of the editors and law
makers, to hear what God would say,
as 1t is my duty to preach it.
The sanctuary and the Sabbath are
two ancient institutions for all men
| through which they may hear the word
of God. These two stand or fall to-
gether In striking the Sabbath one
strikes the church. II the church is
not needed then let's do away with 1t.
Why keep up thousands of houses at
enormous expense, and men to preach,
| If the chur ches are no longer needed
If some of our lawmakers and others
do not need the church and get on
without spiritual worship, then why
| cannot all?
Who would risk this wholesale de-
parture? A city is judged by its
churches and properly 30. What we
need is growing, vigorous churches.
| Now If one day out of seven be de-
stroyed as rest and worship day. then
what will come? What has made GER
tain cities great? Has Sunday base
| ball done it2 I know a few that are
great because of the Christian charac-
| ter of their citiZenry.
Baseball is an opening wedge. If
baseball on Sunday is proper, then
why not dance hills and fishing and
| gymnasiums, etc? And II some care
nothing for sports, why not chopping
wood or blowing, or loading and I'M
loading trains and vessels, and taking