Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1912-05-18
DR.. NJ. A. MATTHEWS
THE MODERATOR
Retiring Moderator, In Sermon, De
elared the Church to BE the Living,
Vital Force Of the Age

fourth General Assembly of the Pres
byterian Church in the United States
of America. in session here. went on
the first ballot late yesterday to the
Rev. DR.. Mack Allison Matthews. pas
tor of the First Presbyterian church,
of Seattle, Wash. Out OF total of
sos votes cast. DIR. Matthews received
AIS. 400 being necessary to elect. DR..
Matthews, who was a candidate last
May at the Atlantic City Assembly,
was nominated by the Rev. DIR. David
G. Wylie, pastor of the New York
Scotch Presbyterian church. The 9th
er nominees and the votes cast for
them were: Rev. DIR. James G.. X Nc
Clure, president of the Mccormick
Theological Seminary, Chicago, 1871;
Rev. DR.. Frank w Sneed, of Pittsburg,
Pa. 1871, and Rev. DIR. J. Frank Smith
of Dallas Tex. 9s.
DR.. Matthews was born in Calhoun
Ca, in 1867. He was ordained in 1881
He held pastorate in Dalton, Ga. and
Jackson, Tenn, removing to Washing
ton in 1902 His Seattle congregation
IL caAh w bG tllC tkbi SCDh i AN9RE NNAA'AAN
congregation in the world Or. Mat
thews, who is well-known as the Tall
Pine of the Sierras, is six feet four
inches tall and weighs less than $50
pounds
Election of the moderator overshad-
owed in interest only the sermon of
the retiring moderator. the Rev. John
IN sc hO danIarn1
that the church is the living, vital
force it has been through the ages,
warning that danger lies, not in too
little practical Christianity but in ne
glect of it's spiritual function"
Moderator carson's Sermon
Rev. ]. f. Carson, of Brooklyn, the
retiring moderator, said in part;
THE prophetic call to the church is
a summons to frank and fearless fac
ing of actual conditions. The temper
of criticism is alert in our day and the
church seems to be the special object
of its attack. We are told that it has
lost its hold upon the life of today. ]
would remind you that such things
have been said about the church in
every age. But. despite all the criu-
cism the church abides and today
stands forth with as fire and fair a
front to her work, with as genuine and
generous an enthusiasm for her work
as she ever had
'Yet there are conditions in church
life and work that call Tor serious con
sideration. The tone of religious life
needs strengthening. If what we see
on the surface is true to fact there are
many who keep up the outward sem
blance while the fire has gone out on
the inner altar.
THE prophetic call to the church is
for deeper and more genuine Chris
tian living, for more OF the religious
home-life. with its family altar, its BIZ
BILE and its psalm; for more religious
training of the child in the knowledge
of the Scriptures and in the love OF
God, for more emphasis upon the
church as the center of religious wor-
ship a more faithful attendance upon
the public services of the sanctuary
and upon the meetings for social pray
err"
Consideration of the set reports of
the various boards and committees of
the assembly boards and committees
of the assembly will come later in the
session, though the report of the perm
anent Committee on Temperance was
made public today.
Beer at Army Canteens
The permanent Committee on Tenn
perance presented its report to the
General Assembly yesterday.
The receipts for the year were $33,
$50 and the disbursements, $29543.
More than 1000 temperance meetings
have been held by representatives of
the committee in 2S states and the
equivalent of more than 25,000000
pages of literature has been distribut-
ed in connection with ;he years tenn
perance campaign.
The committee renews its protest
against the project TO restore the sale
of beer at the army canteen and under
the caption, Is This Anarchy? says:
Recently the Presbyterian Temper
ance Committee had Mr.. William Il.
Johnson make a personal investiga-
ton of the Army posts at Fortress
Monroe, in Virginia; Fort Leaven-
worth and Fort Riley in Kansas and
Fort A. ID. Russell, In Wyoming. In ev-
cry one of these places Mr. Johnson
found beer being sold in open defiance
of the law of Congress and the will of
the people. He purchased samples of
the beer and had them analysed by
capable chemists, whose certificates
he holds, giving all details as TO the
percentage of alcohol contained, etc
In every instance the percentage was
larger than the Internal Revenue Blu
reau permits to be sold without the
payment Of the beer tar, and in some
instances it was several times as
large Beer is also openly sold in Fort
Sheridan, near Chicago, and no doubt