The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-06-01
ONLY the Fit Should Teach.

Editor Dawson News: Like teacher,
like people" is not only Biblical and applied
to the Old Testament, but is Christian, and
applies to the New. No man nor woman
whose thoughts and life are not pure mas
any business as a teacher of children, for the
belief of the teacher projects itself upon
the pupil whether he will or not, for unless
the pupil honors the teacher he is untaught
in the essential things that make for life
bUt1din6 Two instances as illustrations:
In the years from 1890 to 1860, the
demarkation between the ImmersiOn{sts and
the affusionists, as to baptism, ragged Also
the line between Calviuism ana Armlnlan-
ism No preacher thought he was DONG
himself or his church justice unless at every
appointment these themes were stressed.
My grandfather Rfves was graduate OF the
Friends College, he himself being Friend.
LOvick Pierce was one of the foremost
Methodists of his day, preacher for -
years-1802 to 1877. The Friends do not
believe in either baptism or the Lord S
supper, holding that the proper translation
of the command of the Master is Go teach;
he that believeth being baptized is saved; he
that believeth not is damned" Basing it on
John the Baptist saying: Il indeed baptize
Won with water but he that cOmeth after
me shall baptize with the Holy Spirit
Now, Pierce learned his Greek and He
brew while pastor of the Hancock circuit
from grandfather using the Friends text
books of the Old and New Testament scrip
lures. From the date of the expiration OF
his passionate in Hancock until his death ne
never preached a sermon on the mode OF
baptism, but in all his sermons stressed Uhe
need Of a spiritual birth. In a school 81
which | knew when a boy, which had been
cursed with ineffective broken-dOwn preach
ers as teachers for several years, teacher
was chosen whose private life, hid from most
folks was impure His teaching ability was
prominent. His religious leanlngs were or
the predominant denomination on the board
of trustees. His life, Outwardly moral con-
forming to the standard of the evangelical
tone of the misunderstanding in the
Sunday school His election was opposed
by only one man, who told me his reason
years after, just before his translation. This
opponent was an old school teacher who had
taken pains to inquire of men who knew OF
the elected ones moral life. The moral tone
of that neighborhood has been lowered ever
since this election. The sins that dominated
his life-violatiOn of the seventh command
ment and drunkenness-noW dominate, L
am told, the life of his pupils-tAe majority
of the males-as they come to manhood
estate and in his own family the same facts,
am told are true Now, where was this?
will not say, only this much I have lived
in four counties in Georgia, in one in Ala
bama and have relatives in half a dozen
or more states, commencing at Maryland and
reaching to New York on the east and Ken
lucky on the west. 1t occurred in one OF
these places. That it occurred | will Vouch.
Where it occurred had best, like the name
of the man who when he was damned asked
Lazarus for water remain unknown. The
giving of it would add nothing to the force
of the illustration; the Withholding OF it
does not weaken its applicatiOn-that school,
boards should look to the moral life of
teachers as much as to their teaching abil-
ity, for it takes both to train citizens to
complete manhood and womanhood, and
that the teachers morals, willingly or I'M
willingly, are impaired with his literary in
struction to the moral fiber of the pupil
! Cuthbert, Ga. ANDREW +. RIVES.