Pacific Presbyterian (Volume 4) online

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PACIFIC



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PRESBYTERIAN



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Volume 4. SAN FRANCISCO, JANUARY 4, 1906 Number \






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MY CHOICE.



It ain't no use to grumble and complain;

It's jest as cheap and easy to rejoice;
When God sorts out the weather and sends rain,

W'y, rain's my choice.

In this existence, dry and wet

Will overtake the best of men —
Some little skift o' clouds '11 shet
The sun off now and then ;

They ain't no sense as I can see,
Immortals sich as you and me,
A-faultin, Nature's wise intents,
And lockin' horns with Providence.

It ain't no use to grumble and complain ;

It's jest as cheap and easy to rejoice ;
When God sorts out the weather and sends rain,

W'y, rains my choice.

— James Whitcomb Riley.







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PACIFIC PRESBYTERIAN.



PACIFIC

PRESBYTERIAN

Published weekly at the Y. M. C. A
Building, San Francisco, by the Pacific King who should rule in righteousness



Anulysis Ami Key.

I — Herod: Effect of quest of Magi
upon him. Ambition to found a dy-
nasty which should survive him.
Jealous of a rival.

II — Jerusalem: Perturbation on ac-
count of rival to, Herod. His reprisals
feared. City not ready to receive a



Presbyterian Company, in the interest of ' III — Magi
the Presbyterian church of the Pacific in contrast.
Coast.

SUBSCRIPTION.

Subscription price, $1.50 per year. Re-
mittances should be made to W. W. Fer-
rier, Y. M. C. A. Building, San Francisco.

EXAMINE YOUR LABEL.

The label bearing the name of the sub-
scriber shows to what date the subscrip



Their moral earnestness
One thousand-mile jour-
ney. To watching eye star appears.
Kingly gifts for a king. Indifference
of Jerusalem does not daunt them, nor
does mean place of Nativity. Adora-
tion.



The Teachers Lantern.

Seeking Jesus is the highest practical
wisdom. All who seek him are Magi
in the best sense of the word. And it



tion is paid. It is due from that date on* i s n0 difficult task to find him. No
Please watch the date thousand-mile journey confronts us.



year in advance,
and remit promptly.



DISCONTINUANCES.



thousand-mile

No going up to heaven or down to
hades, for the Word is nigh. But we
shall not find him unless we have the



Paper is sent to subscribers until it is same moral earnestness the Magi
ordered discontinued and all arrearages showed. * * * The Magi are the ideal



are paid.

Entered at the San Francisco Postoffice
as second-class mai l matter.

PLEASANT FIELDS OF HOLY WRIT.

Save for my daily range
Among the pleasant fields of Holy Writ,
I might despair. — Tennyson.

The Wise Men Find Jesus.

First Quarter. Lesson II.

Matt. 2:1-12.

January 14, 1906.
On the dark background of Herod's
murderous jealousy and Jerusalem's



seekers after Christ. They made it
their business to find Him. They might
have said: "This one thing we do."
They left home, business, society and
all to find Him of whom Moses and the
prophets spake. They were not daunt-
ed by well-nigh insurmountable ob-
stacles. They persevered. They did
not fall out by the way, though it were
a thousand miles long. And when they
found Jesus c* length, they believed in
Him. " ' li is largely a matter of
sentiment, the finding of a spiritual
significance in the various gifts which
the Magi brought. They gave just the
best they had, the choicest things their
far-off country produced. We may well
imitate their example. * * * The skulls



cold indifference, the moral earnestness | of the Macj b]azin ,
of the Magi shines with a pleasing lus- , pIayed ,„ the f the cathederal at

ter. From their home a thousand miles Cologne. Each skull is crowned with a
in the east they came, not prompted diadem, and the name of the wearer Is
merely by the vague expectation of a written in rubies upon it Such literal-
Savior which was abroad in the heathen ism is unfortunate. The spirit of the
world at that time, nor the faint hints Mag , is far mo) . e lmportldtt v j,^ the , e
found in their own sacred books. No bones. * * * According to the charae-
doubt they first learned of the Messiah ter of each, what is good news to one is
through some Jews of the Dispersion, evil to another. What were blessed tid
In a borrowed scroll they read of Him ings to Magi and she pi ie rds were the
of whom Moses and the prophets spoke, evilest possible to Herod and the Phari
To minds prepared for it, and eyes \ sees. Character is still and in everv
watching for it, the star in the east case, the true touchstone'
appeared. Their obedience to the heav-
enly vision was instantaneous. Going
to do homage to a king, they must needs
carry kingly gifts — links of gold and
tears of frankincense and myrrh.

That they were not sweirved from
their purpose by the indifference of
Jerusalem to the Advent of the Messiah



" 'Pardon me, sir,' I say. 'You have
dropped something,' and I point to pil-
lar in the background.

"He always runs back, feeling his
pockets. In three cases out of four
he misses the train. I trust that while
he waits for the next train the point
dcwns on him.

"If he chooses not to catch the train,
h.;> either subsides, crushed, in which
case I know he's got the point, or else
he comes to me and says:

" 'See here, what do you mean?
What did I drop?'

"I look him over, and kind of raise
my shoulders at him as a warning that
I'll be right there if he gets trouble-
some, and say.

" 'Your manners, sir.'

"I've reformed at least six persistent
hogs who get on at my station, and I
tiust that I have taught manners to a
number of others whom I haven't been
able to observe regularly.

"Oh, yes, some day I'll probably run
up against a better man, and take a
heating, but it will all be in the inter-
est of the cause."



IN HIS LIKENESS.



HIS MISSION IN LIFE.



The New York "Sun" tells of a mus-
cular young man, once on the Columbia
rush line, who, on leaving college,
is new evidence of their thorough-going srught to do good with his abundant
seriousness. To find such skepticism muscle, and hit upon the following plan
at the very seat of the Hebrew faith ' of reforming his erring fellow citizens
was enough to dash their zeal. But it ' „ fc B ienow citizens,

did not. To be pointed to a mean, little, i n « sa y s -

straggling Judean hamlet as the possible ] "I take a subway or an elevated train
place of the Nativity, to actually find about four times a day. I wait until
the Babe in the meanest place that 'the gate is opened for the hog who
mean village afforded — none of these __, , , e

things moved the star-led Magi. Great makes a rush ' and -* am3 llis wa ? ah ead
was their faith. ,°" women, children and weaklings.

This thousand-mile triumphal prog- I "He is always there; sometimes



I pick out the



ress of faith reaches its golden climax three or four of hir

in an act of worship. In attitude of „,„„„ f . . ,,

loving reverence they presented the worst one ' and follow him - Just a » He



heart's adoration, always richer than
oblation or gift.



reaches the gate I tap him on the
shoulder.



Bishop Thoburn tells a beautiful pic-
ture of his dead child. It seemed a very
imperfect photograph, so blurred that
scarcely a trace of the loved features
could be seen in it. But one day he
took the picture to a photographer, and
asked him if he could do anything to
improve it. In three weeks the bishop
returned; and as he saw the picture in
its frame on the wall, he was startled. It
seemed as if his child were living again
before him. The image had been in the
old picture, but was concealed beneath
the blurs and mists that were there
also. The artist, however, had brought
it out in strong, living beauty, until it
was like life in its tender charm.

In every true disciple of Christ there
is the image of the Master. It may be
very dim. Its features are overlaid by
blurs and blemishes, and are almost un-
recognizable by human eyes. It is the
work of Christ in our lives to bring out
this likeness, more and more clearly,
until at last it shines in undimmed
beauty. This is what Christ is doing in
many of his ways with us. — Selected.



Doctor (to Pat's wife, after examin-
ing Pat, who had been run down by an
auto) : "Madam, I fear your husband
is dead."

Pat (feebly) : "No, I ain't dead yet."
Pat's Wife: "Hush, Pat, the gentle-
man knows better than you." — Lippin-
cott's Magazine.



Eternity itself cannot restore the loss
struck from the minute. — Ancient Poet.



2.W1C



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PACIFIC PRESBYTERIAN

Published in the Interest of the Presbyterian Churches ef the Pacific Coast,



Y. M. C. A. BUILDING, SAN FRANCISCO, DECEMBER 28, 1906,



WITH CHRIST AT SCHOOL.

Herman S. Reichard.

"Come, learn of me!"
The words so wondrous sweet,
Fall from the Master's lips —
With tender love replete.

"Come, leave dull dross behind,
And learn of me."

Teacher divine!
In thy great school of prayer

Kneel we as suppliants meek.
Meet us, as humbly there
Thy richest grace we seek,
Master divine.

Our stubborn will
Melt with thy love so warm.
'Mid life's absorbing stress
Keep safely from all harm;
Close to thy bosom press —
Thy peace instill.

Then let thy joy
Sweeter than aught of earth

Flood with a radiant power
Lives filled with carnal mirth.
Songs born in heavenly bower,
Our lips employ.



We establish this week a new department in The
Pacific Presbyterian under the caption, "The Para-
graph Club." A full statement concerning it will be
found in that connection. We have reason for the con-
fident belief that this department will be found of
considerable interest to a large number of our readers.

Transportation competition between San Francis-
co and Portland has been needed for some time. The
placing of a line of passenger and freight steamers by
the Northern Pacific will give this to some extent.
The indications are that the steamers will make about
as good time as the railroad trains.

Mr. A. M. Lochwitzky, a Russian exile, has been
giving in lectures in different parts of the state a vi-
vid picture of life as it is in Russia. He was at one
time a lieutenant colonel in the Russian army, and
without offense was banished to Saghalien. He in-
tends to become an American citizen and has taken
out his first papers. Any organization wishing a
thrilling account of convict life in Russia will do well
to communicate with Mr. Lochwitzky at 11 12 Taylor
street, San Francisco.

The Young People's Missionary Institute for San-
Francisco and vicinity will be held in the Central
Methodist Church on Mission street, between Sixth
and Seventh, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of next
week. Evening sessions will be held also in Oakland,
Berkeley and Alameda. This is the institute which is
to be conducted by the prominent missionary workers
in the East whose names we gave last week. Much
good to the cause of missions is expected from these
meetings. The first session will be on Thursday even-



ing. All evening meetings are open to the public.
Those during the day are for those who have as dele-
gates from the churches registered and paid a fee of
$1.

Congratulations to Mills College on its additional
endowment of $50,000, for a chair of domestic science.
And congratulations also to Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Smith,
of Oakland, in that they have put that money in a place
where it will do great good. A few hours af-
ter the foregoing words were in type, Mrs.
Smith passed suddenly into the life beyond. We
let them stand as first written. Congratulations for
good deeds are as appropriate for the dead as for the
living. Their works do follow them. Mrs. Smith was
a noble woman ; many there are who have reason for
calling her blessed. Her special monument, and one
the influence of which will be ever-enduring, will be
the cottages for homeless girls, -which she established
and endowed, in Oakland. Ever there will be those
who will be thankful that God put it into her heart to
use some of her wealth for such a purpose.

Word comes from Southern California that en-
couraging progress is being made in the effort to se-
cure the additional endowment for Occidental College
at Los Angeles. We say again that there ought to be
a hearty response all over the state to this appeal.
Occidental College is doing a most excellent work ; it
is needed on our coast and it ought to be placed in con-
dition for doing its work unhampered. Situated as it
is in the rapidly growing and wealthy city of Los
Angeles we believe that the time will come when men
of wealth in that city will endow it liberally ; but at
present the funds must come mainly from many small
givers, and so we urge upon all the necessity of doing
what they can to make successful the effort to secure
the $200,000. All who have part in it will build them-
selves so far forth into the lives of the young men and
young women who shall go forth from those college
walls in all the future.

The Pacific Presbyterian enters, this week, on its
fourth year of existence. It has without doubt made
a place for itself among the Presbyterian churches of
the Pacific coast, especially in California. From time
to time words of appreciation have come to us and
have given encouragement in the work. That the pa-
per is needed is beyond question ; but its maintenance
is by no means easy. It ought to have a much larger
number of readers than it does have, and we ask its
friends to endeavor to get their friends to subscribe
for it. In a recent letter Mrs. P. D. Browne of the
Presbyterian Orphanage at San Anselmo says: "I
read the paper with much interest every week. It
ought to go into every Presbyterian home in the
state." And the Rev. Theo. F. Burnham of Vallejo
says of the paper that it is "almost indispensable to
workers in the body which it represents." Mr. Burn-
ham, as is well-known by many of our readers, was



231537



PACIFIC PRESBYTERIAN



the editor of The Occident for several years. He rec-
ognizes the influence of the press and realizes of what
value is a paper which can minister to the local inter-
ests as well as to those of wider reach. That the Pa-
cific Presbyterian may grow in influence and useful-
ness and be a permanent institution for the upbuilding
of the kingdom of God on the Pacific coast through
l'resbyterianism is the wish of the present writer and
Of all who have had to do with its establishment and
publication.



€k Qfoftgtou* TEonb.



A member of a church of the Disciples of Christ in
Indiana ( known also as Christian ) , offers to deed a
$12,000 farm to any minister in that state 'who will
prove conclusively that sprinkling is Scriptural bap-
tism. The man who makes the offer is to be the judge.
That, and the fact that the present writer is no longer
a resident of the State of Indiana, are the two things
which keep him from looking up the editorial on that
subject, which he wrote for a secular paper about
twenty years ago, and making a rush for that farm.

Further steps toward the union of the. Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America and the Cum-
berland Presbyterian Church were taken last week in
St. Louis. The agreement entered into by the com-
mittees will be ratified by the general assemble of
the two bodies next May, and in 1907 commissioners
will be elected to the United General Assembly. This,
we believe, will be found as the years roll around to
be very greatly for the good of man and the glory of
God.

The Home Missionary gives the following socio-
logical census which was made recently in a Western
town: "Number of families, 164; bachelors' quar-
ters, 29; owning their own homes, 100; number of fam-
ilies in the same house for one year or less, 112; two
years or more, 42 ; five years or more, 9 ; ten years or
more, 1 ; numberof children, 278; two years and under,
48; in Sunday school, 100; between three and sixteen
not in Sunday school 107, sixteen and more not in Sun-
day school 23; population, 804; American, 239; foreign
67; (Germany, Canada, Sw.eden, England, Norway,
Wales, Ireland, Australia); churches, 2; church pre-
ference of heads of families, Catholic, 31 ; Lutheran, 30;
Methodist Episcopal, 18; Christian, 18; Episcopal, 16;
Congregational, 15; Presbvterian, 14; Baptists, 12;
United Brethren, 2; Free Church, 2; Free Methodist,
1; German Methodist, 2; Unitarian, 1; saloons, 5 ;
spirits consumed per month, 7J/2 barrels ; beer con-
sumed per month, 256 half barrels. Here is oppor-
tunity for more than one kind of Christian endeavor."

The Boston Evening Transcript of recent date con-
tained an article entitled "A Religious Retrospect,"
vhich was a survey of the work of the churches for the
year 1905 and a statement as to conditions and trends
at the close of the year. Among other things the writ-
er of the article, who is evidently connected with the
paper, finds a tendency toward orthodoxy. He says :
"The judgment of no one man is worth anything as
showing the tendency of theology. Higher critics
claim they have won everything, and conservative
theologians declare higher criticism to be dead, and
higher critics to be buried under an orthodox wave.



There occurred several things during 1905, however,
that seem to point to conclusions. These are, if events
are to be trusted, that the drift was toward a stren-
uous upholding of orthodoxy as exemplified by the
teachings of Jesus Christ, and that there is far more
toleration of differences of belief than ever before.
These events stand by themselves, for there was chron-
icled nothing of an opposite character. There came
together in New York in November between five and
six hundred men, representing over thirty different re-
ligious bodies. Unanimously these men inserted the
word 'divine' in a sentence framed by a conference
committee and containing the name of Jesus Christ.
Methodist bishops dropped the name of a professor
from an educational institution because of alleged dis-
loyalty to Christ. Evangelistic campaigns that have
held most closely to old-fashioned revivalistic doc-
trines succeeded during the year in attracting most at-
tention, and producing largest results, if undisputed
figures are to be accepted at full value. Those bodies
that are most aggressively orthodox made largest
membership gains, while those Unitarian in tendency
either stood still or showed only very slight gains.
There was an outcry against an Episcopal minister
who was thought to deny the divinity of Christ, but
when his utterances were under investigation by a
committee, to see whether he should be brought to
trial or not, he made far more conservative statements,
and when confronted with his own words, from his
own book, he argued to the extent of a thousand words
that he did not mean quite all he semed to say. The
year did not show any conversions of note to the lib-
eral standard, nor was there ever in the religious his-
tory of America a stronger showing for orthodoxy
than that presented by the more than five hundred
men who were delegates to the recent Inter-Church
Conference."



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A Statement and Greetings.

The "Paragraph Club" sends greetings to the
readers of Pacific Presbyterian, and begs admission
to their fellowship. A group of congenial friends,
availing themselves of the courtesy of the editor,
undertake to use this column, from time to time, as a
platform from which to speak their minds on matters
that seem worth while. The "Club" might be said to
comprise an Optimist (but no Pessimist), an Idealist
and a Realist, a Conservative and a Radical, and
several merely "plain folks ;" but they are all one
in their loyalty to the great ideals of Christian living.
They believe in Jesus Christ, and in his message of
the divine sonship and destiny of mankind. They
recognize that for the Christian men and women of
to-day all truth is divine truth in a measure never
possible before. They glory in the wide outreaches
and open hospitalities of the truth as it is in Christ.
They believe in life and its rich compensations. They
find in Christian optimism the only creed which keeps
faith with life at its best.- They like people, not as di-
verting puppets in a passing show, but because they
are infinitely likable, and because they are the children
of God.



PACIFIC PRESBYTERIAN.



S



Somewhat in this spirit the members of the Club
will speak as they find occasion. They have no "ex
cathedra*' wisdom to utter, no hobbies to parade.



Saints of To-day.
T live in a new town which is yet almost without
memories or traditions. But already it has its heri-
tage of precious associations in a group of beautiful
lives which have gone out from it into the larger
citizenship of "the other room." A splendid old mis-
sionary, whose work has changed the face of conti-
nents, add whose name is known around the world,
living out his last days in peace and quiet. A rare old
minister, superannuated, but alive and learning, with
the theology of Sinai and the heart of a child, busy and
useful to the hour of his departure. A gracious old
Christian layman, simple-minded and without preten-
sion, but built of the truest stuff that ever went into
the making of a godly man. They are all gone. But
T like to think of them. They are to me the compell-
ing evidences of Christianity. The spiritual forces
which blossom and bear fruit in such lives as these
need no other credentials. I like to believe that the
simple Christian goodness of these souls has entered
into the character of the developing community and
will remain "a treasure for aye."



The Deeper Needs in Education.

An old-time friend who is busy in educational work
recently sent me two questions to answer with refer-
ence to present needs in education. Here are the ques-
tions and a digest of the answers :

1. "What changes in existing school conditions will
tend to make our elementary schools more effective in
preparing our pupils for real social efficiency?"

"More careful regard for the normal and healthful
physical development of children, through better hy-
~.Vn"c and sanitarv conditions in buildings and man-
agement : more attention to positive physical culture ;
the removal of abnormal nervous strain due to over-
crowded curricula and to high-pressure methods of
instruction."

2. "What changes should be made in our educa-
tional ideals to bring them into harmony with our
present civilization?"

"We ought to establish our ideals first, and then
strive to bring our present civilization into harmony
with them. The fundamental need in our schools to-
day is a firmer grasp of the truth that education is
more a moral than an intellectual process : a more im-
perative demand for emphasis on character in the
training of the young.

We need also to realize, as we are gradually learn-
ing to do, the futility of the attempt to divorce morals
and religion in the educational process: the necessity
of preserving intact the religious sanctions of conduct
and character. That does not imply the teaching of
any religion as such : but it does imply a reverential
and obedient attitude toward great religious truth."

These are old-fashioned opinions. But the old is
ever becoming the new : there are not wanting signs
of the near approach of a great ethical revival in the
spirit and method of American education.

The Simple Life for Children.

The hurry and whirl of our present-day community
life are bad enough for groWn-ups : but it is a double
pity when they become the settings of a child's mem-
ories. This truth is emphasized afresh by the words of



a friend whose early years were lived under a differ-
ent sky. Her father was a pioneer on the western
frontier when pioneering meant rigor and self-denial.
But her memories of childhood are touched with the
glory of romance, and hallowed by beautiful visions of
a world that is rapidly passing away:

"The long gently-rising hill in front of the ranch,
over which the sun rose so tardily in winter, and the
shorter steeper one in the rear behind which he dis-
appeared all too soon on any day: the valley widening
southward: the creek, sometimes a mere thread of
water, again a rushing torrent crossed with difficulty
in the wagon-bed ferry; and yet again a swelling flood
rising higher and higher until it entered, unwelcomed
but not unannounced, the ranch house itself, driving
the family into what by courtesy was called "upstairs" ;
the trees skirting the creek, one of which gained a
deeper pathos because in its shadows was laid to rest
the body of our little sister. This sorrow, life's great