The Washington herald., 1913-05-11
Today Rev. Dr. Matthew. Is Pastor Of the Largest Resby-
terrain Church IN the World Than 1000
Persons Attend Every Service Held and
Many Are Mem

"At the edge Of town lived DR.. Hiil-
house, Greek and Hebrew scholar. He
was pastor Of the Presbyterian Church
and held services twice a month In Cal
houn for his sixteen members. worked
and studied and Or. HilIhouse taught mo
Languages He sent me word one morn
Ing that he desired me to preach for him
the next Sunday. was nineteen years
old. had never preached. but I was In
the pulpit end ready for business at the
hour appointed. My sermon was about
the rearing of children. And the congre-
CATION listened to me, though must have
been torn to pieces on Monday In the
homes and shops of the village.
AT the death Of DR.. HilIhouse I was
asked to take his place. had been II
censed. but had not been ordained. which
ordeal / passed through at the age of
twenty, going before the Cherokee Pres
bytery of the Southern Church. John
Temple Graves, the orator and editor,
presented himself for examination at the
same time. Close fitting trousers were
In fashion. Graves appeared In skin
tight pantaloons. His hair was parted
in the middle. He was asked two. or
three preliminary questions and answered
by saying that he wasn't entirely sure
whether he ought to preach or do some
thing else
THE examiners looked at his trousers
and his hair and then one Of them said:
This is no place for decision In such
matter. Go to your room, young
man, get on your knees and settle the
case with God. Our duty Is to learn
whether candidate is competent to
preach and not to determine II he ought
to preach Years after, Graves said
he would describe the occurrence of
that morning as an explosion OF an in
terrogation point.
Built o Church with His Wages.
II preached at Calhoun for several
years without a salary, working In
stores and other places and using the
money / earned for a new church build
ing. My next pastorate was at Dalton.
/ doubled the membership there and
was called to Jackson, Tenn. How
was I called, you ask? BY the Holy
Spirit. / never paid any attention to
the earthly processes of the event, but
1 suppose some travelling salesman
heard me at Dalton and spoke favor
ably Of me in Jackson.
II did well in Jackson. 1t was a fine.
big town, and the business center of
Western Tennessee. / started a night
school and gave 600 young people some
of the rudiments of an education meet
them now In different parts of the coun-
try. There was a good hotel in the city,
and travelling statesmen made long jour
neys so as TO stay there on Sundays.
One of them, a Mr.. Craig, had brother
in Seattle. I was offered the First Pres
byterian Church In Seattle by telegraph.
That was in 1902
II read law while In jackson simply
as a mental exercise. I have been ad-
mitted to the bar in the States Of Ten
nessee and Washington. Poor people in
my church come to me for legal .coun-
sci. II workingman Is hurt. shysters
and ambulance chasers are likely to get
most of the settlement money. I take
such cases among my own members, ad-
Indicate them In my study with the op-
posing lawyers, and ask no charge for
my services
Copyright 1913 By James B. Marow)