The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1923-05-11
SCIENCE
BOOK DISCUSSION
Club Members Take Up
Publications of Year
WAS LADIES NIGHT
Papers Read BY Rev. John Hall
And S. D. Peterson:


the Social Science clubsat It's annua
meeting last evening atsthe home o
Dr.. and Mrs. j. W. Andrews.
large bouquet Of 0pneIid roses &c
corated the table OF the presiden
=. 5. Seile. A short business ses
sion was held and reports were Civ
en- by the secretary, o. w. Snarr
Rev. John Hall mad the paper for th'
evening, The Leading Books Of the
Year" and S. ID. Peterson, mem
Der of the faculty OF the Teachers
College, led the discussion. After
the reading of the papers, DR.. An
drews stated that he had never
heard as fine a review of books as
had been by the two speakers. The
new president for the ensuing year
j. J. Fachsenhar, gave an enjoyable
talk expressing his hopes and ex-
pectations FOR an interesting year
which will begin some time in Oc-
tober. President Selle stated that
he had belonged to many study clubs
but be believed that the Social Set
ence Club was the best thing of its
kind he had ever been a member
Of and that there was a freedom in
expressing ones self, and often such
a diversified opinion among the for
to members made 1t intensely inter
! III ~
the books, the president asked fol
opinions of the books ready or any
other books they wished to discuss
DR.. Andrews responded with a very
clever talk and said those who had
not read Rabbit" by Sinclair, not
Ito waste too much valuable time on
it for in his opinion it was not
worth the reading. He stated that
both he a and Mrs. Andrews We're
making a study OF FREQ Gibbs books
and found them intensely interest
ing, believing his books were unbi-
ased and fair.
| Rev. Hall, who read the leading
paper OF the evening said:
"In the year 1921 there were 10,-
1910 new books published in America.
Last year there were published 6.S63
new books or 3,447 less. But even
with such a number as was publish =
ed last year, to pick out the leading
book, or books of the year is pro-
position that no single individual
would dare to undertake, for the
book that would be of Importance to
one might be Of no or very little
importance to another. When as
certained the subject the programme
committee had assigned to me l
wrote at the close of the year 1922
to the Methodist Book Concern, Chi
cago and asked the officials to give
| to me six of the leading books of
the year, that is names OF the SIX
best sellers. The officials immedi
ately responded. i found upon in.
vestigation that ! had already read
three or four of the books and SO |
win take them up as briefly as
possible.
my first book is entitled. What
Must the Church Do To Be Saved"
and is a series of lectures given at
Depauw university by Earnest Free
mont Title. The book is an eye
opener from the very beginning and
is freighted with truths that are
vital Teh church in Or. Titles
estimation is not a man made in
stitution at all, but diyinely author
lied institution. yet in spite of that
fact, the church. through individual
or collective neglect may totter and
be OF no vital consequence to the
| community in which it resides, so
the writer pointedly asks this ques-
ton What must the church do to
| be SayedT The writer does not
ask what must the church do to
live, the church is not going to die,
ii has too much momentum behind
! 1t to come to dead stop it is too
firmly supported by the affections
Of millions OF people to fall, yet it is
possible for the, church TO keep on
| that greatly needs to be said and
keep on turning the wheels of it's
great machinery without bringing
any needed thing to pass. So in
virtue of this he asks the stirring
question What must the church
do to be Saved? What must 1t do to
be saved from tnefficiency? What
must 1t do to be saved from neg
lecting its rtghtful part in the re-
sharing of the world? What must
1t do to be saved from retarding
the universal spread of Christ's pro-
gramme? From the study of this
book few things have been culled
which are fundamentally vital re-
latiye to this question. If the church
is to play any large and vital part
in the building of better civiliza-
ton, she must clothe her message
in the living language of the pres
ent and no longer conceal it in an
tiquated .garb OF former day. She
must keep alive here thought forms
Of religion, her doctrines and her so
strong faith. She must be a thor
oughly unselfish organization. She
must be democratic and must mea-
sure up to her divinely authorized
prophecies and, see in Jesus Christ
the hope of. the world.
Another book that has a big sale
this past year is the one entitled
"A Bunch of Everlastings," or texts
that made history" This book was
written by Frank w. Bereham of
Australia. In this book he gives
brief sketch of twenty three men
with the specific text that had open.
ed up their vision, fired their mental
and spiritual capability and made
them dynamic. Take Thomas Chal-
mers. Thomas Chalmers was an in
tellectual prodigy in the early years
OF his ministry, but with all of his
intellectual strength he did not
get anywhere, it-seemed to him as
! il he were travelling in a circle
and practically beating the air,
when this. text flashed into his
soul Believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved"
Those were the words that trans
formed his life and TRANSPORTED his
ministry. Chalmers greatly believed
and, was saved, saved from the arti-
fical and made sanity, saved from
littleness and made great Take
live my faith This string of mono
syllables sums UP everything and is
sent to everybody. The Old
Worlds text, the New Worlds text.
the Europeans text, the Asiatfc's
text, everybody's text Is in spe-
cial and peculiar sense Martin