The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-10-18
eY WILLIAM T. ELLIS)

And that black visitant has eve
since been one of the most On IS
and successful of his emissarles.
ardice has conquered more hves thai'
hos the sword. Sheer, Grass, panic
fright. shameless and wide-eyees !.
only one phase of the effects oi 80 ;
iudecision, a timorous excess oL ~ e
ence. and a dread OF untrleu 49, Nv,
the commoner manifestation VI often
which individuals and nations are 80 -
DESTROYED. They who are AFRAID 10 s.
forward are always with US, hlnoerln a
the noblest possibilities Oh me- =.
in our own land today, as wen d
the history of the Hebrew enlist Oh -
from Egypt. ,,a+riot-
ism as we'll as concerning the chara
ter-eduipment of youth, are pounI ~
in this tragedy of old Israel, nalteu %
the very edge of the Pronllseu L1n
to await the report OF the L 60 ~ tost
or investigators sent aheao Oh ING -
rrba r,oraI of it all is the cost Oh COW
ardice- The Jews took counsel OF lnei a
tears. instead of needing the Dr.
wor-s of Caleb and Joshua; ana SO TIE ~
were kept in the wilderness IoL
Years longer until the crop OF CO" q.
had died off, and a people OF soiiie "
better stuff had been raised up
Two Kinds of Reporting
Tho story is rather solemnizlng Ioi
+ho navsnaper man, for it was upon 'no
basis of the reports or the men o1, 40
and out the facts that the craven Io-Id
cision was made. Even TO-DAY nc ayrs
- 1aDendeut upon the findings Oh nc
noner reporters for it's Judgment %
a,1+s Great and small. A carele99'
t;roorous or unfaithful newspaper
fer NAV cause WORLDWIDE MAJ IA. 4ha
tie did the ten scared spies reaii< CHOW
tremendous result that "ouA0
their panicky tdlngs. IN
hoes of carefully ascertalneu -
rTba+ is as true in war as IN 10 -
social service as in nelShpol 4 - -,
1-arsatfon. Moses chose II leadlns 80
one from each tribe, 10 70 ny di+ions
promised Land to learn collul 100 80
1rbiIa tbe host, which had oeeh
from Egypt for a year and ha1 rt,Sash
cd amid the sweet springs Oh haueS,
care was exercised to secure 1.on
scouts Everything would depend up'--
their word .,- ora an
preached. facts are facts Inc uls-
crenancies are not in history out III
historians. The reporters eyes anu
ears are an essential factor IN every
narrative. Foreign missions are case
- 1oin+ One set of travellers VINO
bova heen IN the east declare that ms
sions are a farce and a failure. An
other set of travellers aver that they /
are the most potent social and poIltlcdi
factor now at work in the non-CAiia
+ian world How shall we decide, e8-
cent we consider the equipment, tenn
Derament and credibility of the VII
nesses. Out of Canaan the twelve mis-
sionaries brought two dlametrlcally
opposite reports. Ten said the lano
could not be possessed; two SAID go up
and conquer it And, as often, the I'LL
nority report was right
With Eye of Terror.
Tho art Of seeing straight is rare. |
Few persons have unimpaired vision |
for comprehending life in its whole.
ness The youths who talk gnDly OF |
a.seeing life confessedly mean seeing |
only the dirty side of life. The pessi- !
mist is a man who needs the attention |
of a spiritual oculist: he is not seeing |
things in their relationship.
Because their own eyes were filled |
with terror, ten of the spies of Moses |
came back scared. Fear had nipped |
their manhood. Courage gone, they |
were as unreasonable as a mob in |
burning building. The fortified cities |
of Canaan looked big to them, and the |
inha bitants seemed giants. That was |
because they had graSshopper minds, |
and entertained contemplate thoughts |
of themselves. Had they been brave |
and big in their own souls. the altitude |
of their difficulties would have APP
peared less
Cowardice is contagious. The fear |
some and faithless words of the terri !
fed ten revealed the heart of the |
crowd as craven to the core. They |
went all to pieces, and began to rave
end rail in a madness of panic. They |
wanted to go back to Egypt. Their |
standard was their own miserable past,
rather than Jehovah's promised future.
They were not forward looking people. |
They longed for death; they cursed
their leaders; and. in short, they had
a first-class attack of hysteria. OF all |
the pitiable sights on earth, the an
gels never see anything worse than
men in the clutch of cowardice. Can
We wonder that even patient God
was ready to spew them out of His
Mouth?
The Heroes Speak.
AS life rule, it is better to follow
optimism than pessimism; to heed the
words of courage rather than those of
fear Every age. and our own day in
particular. is claimant with the two
contending summonses. Let US have
hearts of faith, and dare to go for
ward. What matter if the cautious
and Conservative ones seem in the
majority? Gods best lies ahead. along
the untrodden ways Give ear to the
voice that dares call US thither
He alone is great who. by life he
role. conquers fate"
Two of the twelve young men sent
out by Moses were armed with con-
over the same ground as the other ten.
They had seen the sons of Anak, the
walled cities, the dangers of the land
the JebuSiteS and the Hittites and the
Amorites and the Canaanites, and all
the other affrights. But they had also
seen the grapes of Eschol, the fruitful
fields, the pleasant valleys, and all
the prospects of prosperity. Also they
had carried with them the sense of
God. They thought more about his
greatness than about their own grass
hopperishness.
So their ringing summons was, Let
US go up at once and possess it. for