The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-07-02

) word champion" of its good old
: meaning. Nowadays the ordinary
newspaper reader thinks of a cham
: pion as mercenary bruiser, who
ranks well up among the profiteers.
When there is real fighting to be done,
the pugilist plays the Stacker: he is a
champion" for revenue only. He
would not know a noble cause if he
saw it.
Still the fine word champion may
not be stolen from it's rightful use by
the sordid slugger of the prize ring,
who has capitalized his british in
tsensibility to pain. 1t is word, with
memories of the chivalry of the
centuries. H. who fights for a good
cause. and against odds, must ever re-
. main beloved of man and God.
OF all the heroes of the Old Tesla
ment, David is easily first among the
champions. His battle with Goliath is
Il one of the familiar stories that every
child knows. Today it is the assigned
theme of the Sunday School Lesson.
There is enoush of the eternal youth
in all of us to make US enjoy the tale
of the combat between the giant and
the shepherd boy, when the brave
young champion of his nation won a
the faith of Israel in the eyes of the
heather.
An Old Tale of Combat.
Just to refresh our memories, let us
: read the story aneY. as given in the
revised version:
"And he took his staff in his
hand, and chose him five smooth
stones out of the brook, and put
them in the shepherds bag which
he had. even in his wallet; and
his sling was in his hand; ana he
drew near to the Philistine
And the Philistine came on and
drew near unto David: and the
man that bare the shield went be-
fore him. And when the Philis-
tine looked about. and saw David,
he disdained him; for he was but
a youth and rudy, and withal of
fair countenance. And the Phil
istine said unto David, Am 1 a dog
Il that thou contest to me with
slaves? And the Philistine cursed
David by his gods. And the Phil
istine said to David, Come to me-
and 1 will give thy flesh unto the
birds of the heavens, and TO the
beasts of the field. Then said
David to the Philistine. Thou
contest to me witEark sword. and
with spear, and Tyith a javelin:
but 1 come - thee in the name of
Jehovah of AG@<s. the God of the
armies OF Israel, whom thou hast
defied- This day will Jehovah de-
liver thee into my hand; and I will
smite thee. and take thy head from
off thee; and I will give the dead
bodies of the host of the Philistines
this day unto the birds of the
heavens. and to the wild beasts of
the earth; that all the earth may
know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may
know that Jehovah saveth not with
sword and spear: for the battle is
Jehovah's, and He will give you
into our hand. And it came to
pass. when the Philstine arose,
and came and drew nigh to meet
! David, that David fastened, and
!. ran toward the army to meet the
Philistine. And David put his hand
in his bag, and took thence stone,
and slang it. and snote the Philis-
tine in his forehead; and the stone
sank into his forehead, and he fell
upon his face TO the earth.''
Finding Something to Fight For.
Lying on the surface of the old tale
lies the summons to youth to select a
worthy cause, preferably a weak and
| unpopular one, and then to fight for
it to the limit. The knightliest life
of all, the one yielding the deepest
satisfaetions, is that of championing
a noble object. That way comes
growth and idealism and courage and
unselfishness. The worker for some
great end outside of himself draws
the sting from life. For it is not the
wiekedness of people that stirS one to
pity as one travels about, but the pitt
full smallness and barrenness of their
lives. They have no great ends for
the attainment of which they live and
labor and fight
Only a few minutes ago, after I had
begun work on this : Lesson. 1 was
called aside by chance acquaintance,
a man who lodges in the house where
1 am spending the night, to see his
prize possession. His room was pa
thetically barren. But the central
place of honor on his bureau was oc-
eupied by a huge ball of tin-foil, care
fully made, and weighing at least
! twenty pounds. That is how much
tobacco I have chewed in seven
years." he exclaimed triumphantly.
His great feat, the thing that set him
apart from his fellows, was this
trophy of the proves of his jaws, the
wrapping from his chewing tobacco.
His pride was greater than that of
any of the heroes of the war whom
| I have met!
Does the reader smile3 Neverthe-
less, that ambition is representative
of the Srnailness and soul-dwarfing
pettiness of the life interests and pur-
suits of millions of men and women,
who have never learned to fling out
their lives sublimely in some glorious
enprise, some hazard. some inter
est, some service. some engrossing
championship of cause. The great
ness of everybedy's life is measured
by the magnitude of the thing to
| which it is devoted. There are thou
sands of men who turn first of all,
l as they pick up the daily newspaper.
to the sporting page, needless of what
may be the news of the day. David
cries to US across the centuries to let
our major interests be those of our
God and of eur country.
When to Live, When to Die.
David the youth, was possessed of
real courage. He was ready to cham
pion forlorn hope, after the buster
ing giant had turned the whole army
| of Israel yellow. Fear he knew not.
1t was the spirit of young manhood
| Astounding in his heart: not without