The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-01-26
Dr.. Maclachlan In Sermon On
The Inside of the Cup"
Declares Author Has Re.
hected Actual Conditions.
CHURCH Is PACKED
TO STANDING ROOM
Let Church Free Itself From
the Incubus of Unrighteous
Wealth. Cries Preacher.
Book Describes Situation
Existing Here.

congregation of over one thou
sand persons crowded and damned Its
way into the Seventh Street Christian
church last night. and heard DR.. H ID. :
c. Maclachlan's sermon. the text OF
which was gathered from Winston
Churchlrs novel, The Inside of the
Cup" Several hundred were turred
from the doors for, by the time the
services began. every seat on the main
door Of the church and every space
in the gallery was occupied.
Some few crowded in and stood
close to the rear seats, while dozens
remained in the vestibule and on the
gallery stairs in their efforts to catch
word which. every now and then,
drifted through the church doors.
Probably because of the fact that
DR.. Maclachlan. in announcing the
sermon. mentioned that he would
speak especially to men. but not. ex-
clusively." the majority of the con-
gregation was composed OF women.
Some children were present also, and
all. men. women and children. fol-
lowed the minister's remarks with the
closest attention.
The sermon last night was the Sec
ond one which DR. Maciachlan has
preached on l. ne lnSluG OIL the NSup.
In The former sermon ne remarked
on the relation of the church to men
of wealth. and intimated that fro
quentIy too much consideration WIS
paid the wishes of wealthy church
members for the good of the church,
and the insurance that the real meg
sage Of God would he delivered.
Goes Deep Into Problems.
He also spoke OF the consideration
given the working men and a number
of the more pertinent problems OF thu
church which he said Winstoa
Churchiil's novel brought to light.
In many respects his sermon of last
night was similar to the one preached
several Sundays ago, but in a num-
Der of others it was entirely different,
and threw new light on several prob
lens and their solutions which face
the church and the minister of today.
The sermon delivered last night be-
fore one of the largest congregations
which ever attended services at the
Seventh-Street Christian church is q
remarkable one. and one which would
lose much If reported in synopsis
form.
The sermon in full follows:
am TO speak 10 you tonight about
q book which is upon every body's lips.
In the short limits of single sermon
tdU3int nope. NOR W III Nbh ift5 tttCHIS,
expect me to do more than indicate
in very general way what seems to
me to- be the problems raised aud the
solutions offered by Mr.. Churchill.
With the literary merits OF the book
I have nothing here to do, save to
say. in passing, that II it is not a
great Ii is at least a good piece of
work. Mr. ChurcNll is not a stylist.
perhaps, but he writes with sympathy
and understanding, and is not so Law
ishly reckless with words some OF
his contemporary writer's of fiction.
The characters in the book, too. ara
far from being the lay figures one
sometimes finds in problem novels
Mrs. Humphrey Ward. Robert Else
mere. for example I confess to a like
ing-literary. OF course--even for Ell
don Parr. His women especially are
excellent--Mrs. Larabee, who with an
elegance SO unobtrusive as to border
on mystery. never failed to agitate
any atmosphere she entered. even that
of prayer Mrs Constable, with whom
church work had become second ma
ture In wellordered life; Mrs. Wall
lis Plimpton. who, lin an evening gown
with string of large pearls resting
on her Arm and glowing neck, appeared
a concrete refutation of the notion OF
re-birth"; Mrs Ferguson, "respiend-
ent and always little warm with her
daugn{er, NAN DAINTY ana apptdlinBs
her eyes uplifted and questioning. and
above all, Kate Marcy. the girl with
the russell hair, who could make the
box talk when she set Ii agoin -
the night-w alker of Dalton street.-the
high priestess of the social system OF
the vestrymen of ST. Johns. We know
them and we love them all--in hooks.
The Moral Questions.
But our business tonight is with the
great moral questions raised by this
book Mr. Churchill did right when
he chose part Of text from the Bible
as the title of his book; for IL is
sermon--a sermon so strong. direct
ard prophetic that II half the pulpits
Of the land had the courage and abil-
ity to preach as he does would
very soon find ourselves living In
batter woEld. The message Of t!ss .hoolk..s.
as I understand 1t. is interpretativa
rather than creative Ii -ts-o nlX-0nA-
of the many signs Of the new day OF
democracy and freedom whose dawn
We are being privileged to witness In
this glorious century-the literary ex-
preston of the new social consclence n
whose priekings have been making all
of us at once glad and uncomfortable
of late. In my imagination 1T is linked
In it's own field to President Wilson'S
new idealism," to Mr.. Ford's auixotic
gift OF 0.oo0.o0a to his employees Tan
act not OF CnaFitF, out OF JustiStl, t0s
the social service commissions OF tho
churches, to the Pujo committee, TO
Lloyd Georges social legislation IN
England: in a word. to all the effnEtAe
that man is putting forth the world
over to inaugurate new day OF human
brotherhood and the spiritual rvaiua-
ton of life.
This book say il the n4outhptneA
OF The age. It Tells us, Tar B6xf1xTs
than We could do, what many Of 6aS
have been trying TO think and sa1 4&1kx
at least q decade past. Mons J0Hr4n4ual
In Afotisrrs play. wAs amazed ~ 6iDs;