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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1907)
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAU PORTLAND,, SUNDAY MORNING. OCTOBER. 13. 1907. MEN WHO MANAGE THE ROCKEFELLER BIBLE CLASS Pcwonality of Parialnoneri Who Do tlic Executive Wort Ndw TLat Their Yountf Leader Has Resigned; John D. Jr., No Longer Active; Governor Hughea Does Part of th Work Br Member of the Clui. MR. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER. JR., hu resigned leader of hla fv mou Bible cUn and for the first time In eight years b will not open the aaaalon naxt Sunday morning when tha class meeta for lta eleventh year In tha Fifth Avenua Bap tlat church. But tha claaa will go on neverthelesa Behind Mr. Rockefeller have been auch sturdy man aa Mr. J. W. Troaell. tha president; Mr. W. B. Church, tha secretary; Dr: B. W. roota and Mr. O. F. Tafel, who have really been he hard workera and have never flinched In their dutlea. They worked for tha claaa before Mr. Rockefeller waa ven thought of. and they will oontlnua to wrtrk for It aa before. The personality of theae men. they who carry tha burden of executive work, la now doubly Interesting. Aa uaual theae men will be found In the lobby of the church next Sunday morning, and they will greet every one who cornea, friend or stranger, rleh or poor, of what ever creed, nationality or color, with a warm, hearty shake of the hand, a moat welco.ne amlle unrt a look of friendly regard, aaya the New York Herald. It la a welcome which never faila to Irnpreee all who come under lta be- flgn influence, and many a young, en hualaatlo member of the claaa haa aatd that it waa thla greeting which made him a life member of the organisation. Thla element of frlendllneaa and eo clablUty la the aanior Mr. Kockefeller'a idea of what a rellgloua organisation should be. Home time ago he told ma, while pointing the Index finger of hla right hand at ma In hla charaoterlstlo manner, that the trouble with mot churches waa that they lacked sociabil ity. "They are cold and Indifferent." he aid. "They do not have enough so ciability. A little while ago I wandered Into a atrmnge church In the lower part of the ctty. There waa no one to greet me at the door, not even an ueher to ahow me to a seat. I walked down the aisle and aat down In an empty pew. fresenliy a liiuo Doy wun nis roomer entered the eame pew. I greened the little fellow's hand and said: Well my little man how are you this mornlngr The boy drew back as If afraid of me and his mother looked at me with aston ished eyes. All this la a great mistake. People who come to church should be made to feel perfectly at home" Theae sentimenta were undoubtedly Imbued by the young Mr. Rockefeller for he never failed to Impress upon the members of hla class the Importance of sociability. Not only are the offi cers at the door Sunday mornings to welcome all comers, but there are al ways half a doxen ushers on hand to take the visitor to a seat and Introduce him to the young men sitting next to him. After the session is over he Is again taken In hand and led out to the adjoining room, where he Is Introduced to Mr. Rockefeller, who spends some time chatting with him. Mr. Rockefeller1! Sincerity. To the stranger the spectacle of a young man of Mr. Rockefeller's position taking all this Interest In strange young men, preparing and studying several nights a week for his Sunday morning work and giving up so much of his val uable time wag alwaya somewhat In congruous. "Why does he bother with these things! Why isn't he at home "aasawXk.S.V'X.'X. IW e- b L il u ft k. V ,! ' .iZrSJM AsaaaisaaiBaaaaiaMsMsMUBilBa- A. 'sML.'' ' Vft - -" -" ' ' ! m.T. iir r im ink . e n an i i "k - ill in f h , " SmMl' li,i : V ; -i , " ':' nt I ' ' -' ' ' ","A If If ' i I F', 'I'" V J XOHK P. ROCKEfEXt EK , JR . .J 1 T hand he seemed to overlook the fact that the publicity given to the claaa ha been of considerable benefit neverthe lees. The first Impression that Mr. Rocke feller gives In one of extreme reserve, bordering on chilliness. Hla pale, smoothly shaven face has a somewhat xevere exnrexntnn an.l his grny eyes arc cold and Indifferent, his wiiylu demean or betokening n nnm who la burdened with grniit rnsiporiHlbllltlee He la not lilensiil with the sturdy physique of hla fiiinfius fnther wltli a head and face like that of CnrHar'H. set upon a pair of powerful shoulders, towering above hi uiiii slim form llki- an ouk above a i:pllnn Put there Is a keen and active hrHln of uncommon brilliancy behind those grny. llntless eyed, which in the exhlb'.rntlon of moiIhI Intercourse, melt ami soften Into a k I n.1l y l Ifr Vl t which niiikeH and wins frbnds Then It la tliit he Joins In the ultiglng of songs, itid the ti lllna; of sti.rlen. forgetting hla illtrnltv for the ncime In the happlneaa of the orcanlun. N'.i oik who attended the class and noti-d iin immense nmount of work that Mr U . . kef e I r did for It can have doi.M,-d Mk sincerity Those who ijre rear to Mm and those who have (tlata terest.l! studied liltn do not hesltalaj tu any th.it he will be the rlijht man to take chiirg'- of hli father's greet for tune, and there Is nn danger that it will ever be put to lns uses or dissipated while in his tmnds. It Is m,, that .John P Rockefeller made liU ni-ut s'lrnss In knowing how to s.'le. i li,- proper mull to assist him. Jnliii 1) Kockefell.-r Jr evidently poa sesses the s.ime fm-ultv for In the selec tion of the iikii to rio the work In tha class he Imd us fin- a s"t of men SB ran be seen In am organization. Mr Troxell lb,. presM. ni of the class for several years Is most popular, and waa alwavH regarded us the powet behind the throne.'' and Is .1 ery hard worker, lie is. however sIIkIi'Iv handicapped by tin- fact thnt hi" Ki''!' modesty pre vents lil m t'niii mikliiK 'i speech, but he in ikes 1111 In action h it he lacks In speech Like T.'i p, r i-tut of the men of the class. Mr. Troxell Is not s New Yorker Mh comes fnun Maryland and when he Is not busy in the class he la lenrning the railroad business. Other Officers of the Class. Ancth'T poiml.ir member Is "Wee Iv fyxicwac wOHHSON K TROXELL CtAJJ well and made such an excellent Im- fresslon that he was finally compelled 0 accept the leadership permanently. Under his guidance the membership haa Increased yearly, ao that the average attendance at the claaa la nearly 200. Mr. Rockefeller la held In high regard by every member of the class. T I r l. Ti 1. - .... l U enjoying the luxury of a Sunday nap? ch.,r everythn? move1 ke ci00kwork Why Isn't he out automobilo riding or in the cltuiai. reflecting the splendid or playlng golf or aomethlng of that aort gmnlsatlon of the Standard Oil In the in which rich young men are wont to claaa management. Promptly at a quar lndulge?" ter to 10 o'clock Vice-President Foote or These are the tjuestlons most persona Secretary Church opened the session nsked themeelves. The answer waa not with the ainging of a hymn, during difficult. Mr. Rockefeller is sincerely which Mr. Rockefeller walked down the rellgloua, and after studying him no one aisls and took hla seat in front of a ever doubted his sincerity. Hla class, little table on a allghtly ralaed plat like the Young Men's Christian aaaocia- form. Hon, has become a haven of refuge to After three or four hymns had been the strange young men who come from sung In rapid succeaslon the leader rose the country. Of a membership of 800 and led In prayer. The class quartet. In the class, 76 per cent are young men, consisting of young men with exception-middle-aged men and even old men who al voices, was then heard, after which came to New York from the south and the orchestra played a selection. Mr. the weat and who found Mr. Rockefel- Rockefeller then began his discourse, ler's class an oasis In a desert of self- speaking at first in a low voice, which ishness and unsociability gradually grew In power until he waa Mr. Rockefeller did not organise the easily heard In every part of the big class. In fact, the class had a very room. He apoke without notes, never small and obscure beginning Just 1J hesitated or faltered In hla sentences, year ago. Of the seven young men who and 'U clear and logical throughout, organised It two have achieved distlnc- He alwaya called upon the members for tlon Charles E. Hughes, governor of discussion of the lesson, and, though the state of New York, and Dr. W. H. P. many gray heads were present and men Faunce, president of Brown university, with considerable experience In life, Mr. Mr. Hughes was the first leader of Rockefeller's mastery of the subject In the class, and he was followed In the hand waa so thorough that few found leadership by J. M. Forbuah, a young anything to add to what he had already business man. said. In 1899 a yourlg man became a mem- After the discourse and discussion her of the class who at first created no there was another selection by the comment. This young man had former- orchestra, during which the collection ly been connected with a Sunday school was taken up. Mr. Rockefeller partlcu class which his mother had taught, and larly requesting every member to shake now at the end of his course at Brown hands with the man sitting next to him, university, was about to take up his res- thus beginning a social conversation. Idence In New York. Although at first The session was then closed with an a total stranger, he soon became ac- other short prayer bv the leader, and qualnted with all the members, then the entire class adjourned to the recep numberlng about 60, and It was only a tlon room, where the leader shook hands short time before he was one of the with all and Joined them In conversa most popular men in the class. He tlon. took a great interest In the discussion Mr. Rockefeller naturally received a of the question before the class, often large amount of correspondence and a taking active part. His views were great many begging letters. Many not always those of the other members, young men Joined the class in the past btit they were always worthy of consid- for what they could get out of It. In erstlon and ahowed his keen Interest In fact, a great many of the men have ap- ine topic unner discussion. Plled "r positions with the standard When Mr. Forbuah was obliged to re- Oil company, as an officer himself told doth corrupt and where thieves break "Heaven cannot be purchased with lgn because of the pressure of other me. through and steal.' A man mav have money." dutlea, this young man, John D. Rocke- Some of the young man's thoughts on riches and be upright and honest. A j wm tell you what I think Is the feller. Jr., was asked to take the lead- wealth, suocess and other important rich man may live better than a poor greatest uae of wealth. It is to do good." "The whole question Is whether the man possesses wealth or Is possessed by It." "What poor men most need la not money, but friends." "There are greater things than wealth to be striven for In this world, and the greatest Is character." "Spiritual riches benefit man more cess which Is obtainable without char acter you and I have no use for." "Be guided always by the great teach er of character. Jesus Christ." "It takes a strong man to stand pros perity." Mr. Rockefeller's Personality. Mr. Rockefeller was very often mis- Judged and misquoted and this Kreatly couege professors as to what they would exasperated him. For a time he tried to keep the newspaper reporters from the meetings, but this was soon found to be an Impossibility. Ills Impression was that newspaper men di, the class a lot of harm, more harm than they can William K. t'huti h. tne secretary, who has been a inenibor of the ( lass since Its orgsn ixatlon. and who for some years waa president of the Young Men's club Of the class. Both young men are about 30 years of age and their pictures, got with great difficulty, are published her for the first time. Mr. Church Is a very successful salesman In a large whole sale drygooda house. Then there art the genial Dr. Foote and O. F. Tafel, vice-presidents; the treasurer. C. I. Ott, and the flrBt and second recording aec retarles; M A Nicholson and A. C, Thomas. They ure u most faithful body of men and give all their spare time to the class work. In order to guard against cranks rais ing a disturbance of any kind Mr. Rockefeller has a private detective ill the class every morning, who eyed every one who came In. and. If any auspicious) character made his appearance the de tective took a seat near him, so aa to guard against any possible trouble. Mr. Rockefeller did not the least fear bodily harm himself, but he wished to guard against cranks making trouble and rais ing a disturbance by some diatribe. As one of the officers said to me. It has been hard to keep Mr. Rockefeller as leader, of the class, because of tha many criticisms hurled at him. More than once he was on the point Of ra slnlna and only a few months ago ha asked the advice of several prominent do under the circumstances. They all said they would stick to the class and not mind the criticism. However. It seems that changes are about to takat place In the Standard Oil company which may put additional responsibility upon young Mr. Rockefeller, and It la rumored that this is one of the reasons other for his resignation. fa Mmir rHimrm FArcnr mriuujuiurairuMtfLiu ershlp until the end of the class year, topics are very interesting, especially man in the sieht of God.' In June. He hesitated a long while, now that he will no longer express hla "With wealth comes responsibility; consulting his narents and the nsstor thoughts In public. Here are some of but the amount of one's wealth does not of the church before being willing to the most striking: constitute responsibility. It is one's assume what he said was a great re- "Wealth does not mean happiness." attitude toward one's wealth which smonslhlllty, for many o fthe men In "A man may possess great wealth on God considers. A man can let a little the clssa were older than himself and earth and at the same time build up money come between him and his duty he realised that It would require care- treasures In heaven." and his God Just as much as millions." ful preparation on his part, accomoa- "Christ did not necessarily mean "There are men In this world who nled bv a areat deal of tact, to ha ahle wealth when he said that it Is easier have verv little and vat let their small to do Justice to himself and the mem- for a camel to go through a needle s business keep them away from church than wealth a ricn man to enter into more than some men or great weann. of money Is not true m . j , .i i. nit. i - . i , l ; v .... ..1.11,... .!.-...,. Birmnothi. raal u.'ni. KiiiKiiiim ill itiiii. inr w iihii iih K n iiurp luw wnii'ii iiihhrh ub I'll 111 11 , o u ' , . ujiiiuu.n,, consideration he finally accepted the aald, 'Lay not up for yourselves trees- strive for things we have not got, and pa thy. Is the greatest philanthropy. temporary leadership, but he did so urea upon earth, where moth and rust this is the law of progress." "Success means to live our uvea bers After a long period of thoughtful eye than for the kingdom The giving philanthropy. syi Uvea for the good of others, helping one's fellows to restrain from evil and doing good." "Determination, persistence, intelli gence, are the three essential things In seeking the pearls of life and character, friendship and health the three things worth having an being essential to suc cess." "Don't be satisfied with anything but the best." "It Is perfectly legitimate for every one of us to seek success." "Success simply means the develop ment of one's power In the best way, making the most of our lives." "Do not confound apparent success, worldly success, with real success." "The success which ia best Is that which Is based on character. The sue- FEWER WOMEN RIDE AFTER HOUNDS-Sport Not Growing h Favor in America; Lack of a Leisure Class Limits Number Hunts; Riding "Straight RIDING to hounds apparently la not the American woman's most marked accomplishment. A num ber of New York women do, to be sure, take Jumping lessons at various New York riding schools, but what of that? Jumping In a tan bark ring under tha eye and the directions of a paid teacher and riding over fields and fences after a pack of hounds are not at all the same thing, say the scep tics. "It's no uncommon thing for women who come here to take some Jumping lessons," aald the proprietor of a riding school. "Seldom a man asks for Jumping lessons, whereas more women come now for that purpose than came formerly, but whether as a preparation for hunt ing, or merely to gain a firm seat, or to learn how to meet unexpected obstacles when riding, I'm sure I don't know. I do know that It takes a lot more nerve to ride behind hounds than to ride In a ring. Riding to hounds Is a question of nerve more than of lessons, and aa a woman grows older and gets a lot of shakeups she begins to lose nerve and with It some of her interest In fox hunting. And men are a good deal like that too. 1 "At one time I remember nothing suited ma but tha most spirited horse In the stgple, but now that I am a family man I don't care to take the risks I once did, and am quite satisfied to ride with a peaceable old gentleman style of hris under me. Personally. I see no Indication ,that women In this part of the country are developing a passion for hunting." " y But this Is not all. Leaving women out of tha question there will be no gain in either the sise or frequency of fox hunts this fall, says an authority. "The outlook for the fall hunting sea son in America Is not brilliant. de clared the authority, a man who makes a business -of buying and selling horses, and who has ridden to hounds for sev eral years. "There never was a bigger mistake," said he, "than to Imagine that rich Americans are taking more and more to the saddle and making a feature of fox hunting. The only persons who be lieve this are those in the habit of form ing conclusions from printed reports about the different runs In this and other sections, reports which mention ferhaps a dozen well-known names and ell only of who won the brush and whether there was a dinner or some other sort of high Jinks afterward. These reports sound all right In ths reading without giving the least idea that often not more than a doxen per sons followed the hounds and that some of the men who did ride were wondering how on earth they would be able to sneak away in order to catch a certain train back to New York or elsewhere to keep a business appointment. The un informed often point to the multiplica tion of hunt clubs in this country in the last 20 years or so as an argument that a love of fox hunting is growing here. They don't know the history of these clubs. Take, for Instance, the Orange County club of this state and the Or ange County club of Virginia- Both are controlled practically by three or four men the same men In the case of the southern club the membership consisting mainly of the sacred three or four, who with their invited guests alone are entitled to take part in the hunts projected by the club. A few years ago when Fox ha 11 Keene took hold of the Meadow Brook club and Import ed a famous and very expensive pack A of hounds, the members sat up And talked a good deal about the wonderful thinga they meant to do and several very good meets did take place. "The ladies were particularly enthu siastic. I remember, but soon the en thusiasm ebbed, for what reason I don't believe anyone knows, except that some members found the assessments were pretty stiff Just about then, a trifla stlffer than they cared for. "At any rate when Mr. Keene's more active interest ceased the pack of hounds dwindled and the hunts of lata have certainly not gained either in number or brilliancy. The fact of the matter Is that so much of I,ong Island Is being bought up and divided up Into villa plots and private estates that hunt ers are quite likely to find themselves riding over clotheslines and kitchen gar dens. "At the Radnor Hunt club of Penn sylvania, generaly considered, I believe, the finest hunt club in this country, there is more doing, I Judge, than in most of the ethers and there Is good hunting territory In that section, too. Pennsylvania, In fact has some 30 or 40 small hunt clubs, and in the class with the Radnor are the White Spring Val ley and the Lima Hunt. As for the other states, there are the Monmouth County, the Essex county and the Union county In New Jersey, the Nor folk, Myopia and Middlesex In Massa chusetts., the Meadow Brook and Orange County In New York, the Elkridge. Green Spring Valley and Patapsco of Maryland, the Warrington, the Orange County and a score or more of farmers' Clubs In Virginia. These, roughly speak ing, are the clubs wealthy Americans associate wtth hunting, and yet. with two or three exceptions, their social fea tures Include fewer hunts than anything else. "One reason why foxhunting baa not Increased or held Its own in this coun try Is that over here we haven't yet learned to make a business of amuse ment. In England, on the contrary, wealthy men may hunt all day long and for days at a stretoh without a qualm. "I know of men who went In for hunt ing In order to get a social standing and enjoy the excitement of wearing a pink coat. They rode well enough, but they really didn't care a snap for the fun and soon decided the game wasn't worth the candle. And I have known young men. sons of rich fathers, who after scraping the skin off their noses a few times and breaking a thumb or spraining an ankle, weakened on the sport ann sent excuses when a meet was on. I don't mean to say that we have not plenty of young men eager enough and daring enough to ride over any sort of course on earth, but the trou ble Is they can't afford to, They have :heir living to get. "But the women. The American woman of means has just as much leisure and quite a much money to spend as has the English woman. Why don't more of our women take to hunt ing? "Principally I think because when the American woman does go in for fox hunting she thinks she must ride straight or not at all, and nfter a few bruises and perhaps quite serious acci dents the men of her family put down their foot and get her to give up the sport. As a matter of fact the great majority of English women don't ride straight, taking ditches, fences, hedges, and so on. As a rule In an English hunt servants go ahead to take down bars for women riders who prefer to follow the lanes and the roads bordering the straight route Instead of risking short cuts, and these roads are quite pt to he gay with sightseers snd fol lowers In carriages. Only a very small percentage of the English women riders keep straight on after tha leaders. In this country few If any sightseers will be found on the roads, for the reason that there Is nothing to see there. Every woman of them all in the hunt wants to ride straight and scorns to follow the road. I am of the opinion that a larger percentage of American than English women ride straight. I also believe that there has been no In crease in the Inst few years In the num ber of American women who ride to hounds at all." A New York woman who has hunted on both sides of the ocean replied when her opinion was asked that to conduct a hunt along English lines is too ex pensive a business for busy Americans. Said the: "Yes, we have a good many rich men with fine houses, but they are not as a rule the men who ride. Tbu English hunt nuans u house party for an In definite length of time and men and women of almost absolute leisure to onjoy it as well as the hunt. Anil they rio enjoy it. As a rule the wealthy Eng lish are more carefree than wealthy AmerU ans. "Some of our rich men over hero have attempted house parties in con nection with a fox hunt on an even more costly scale than the English. For instance, not so very long ago I was one of a party of 2S who were the guests of a man who keeps or (Md keep at that time his own pack of hounds and who hired an entire hotel for the headquarters of his house party for one week. Our host was a mem ber of the Monmouth club. I heard afterward that that, particular hunt cost him not a cent less than $5,000. Naturally, entertainments of that sort in connection with fox hunting on this side of (he ocean are rare and they are not increasing. "A reason why many women who really ride well there are hosts of American women who ride well don't go in for hunting is because Oil! the publicity it brings them." J jC gmmmmmm n 1 1 lis in mam i'mvifm'misl'''''' 5T? D. T Rev HEORETICAI.I.V, the bishops in the Methodist church are the leaders in that denomination. James M. Buckley, D. or spoken, is direct and the subject OP the cause is never beyond the line of , vision The man who enters upon t controversy with James M. Buckley ' The general conference, which must look to all hlt defenses, for nOj ..x selects from "ll,pr man in America una i nran nt. irnuvc iiieiuui y ii nio iciui ul uinvuiri church or secular, and whether it be In the columns of bis paper or on the floor It has of tlie Methodist general conference. nr. DucKioy is uuKoiuieiy leaneaa the belief that he la in the right. ureat leaders are men, aa a rule, or meets quadrennially the ministry of tin church the men by- vote and. consecration above their rel lows and culls them bishops been tald. possibly without foundation in fact, that James Monroe Buckley eoitor of the christian Advocate, has commanding presence: men of large , ,,.,, i, , bodily frame. Dr. Buckley la a notable' on more than one occasion stated It to exoeptJon to the ruie. As a mutter of be his opinion that to be In a position fact, he Is rather Insignificant at to ' to make bishops was a greater honor frame.- But no one could tudy hla than to be one Certain It is that had head and face without gaining soma Dr. Buckley been willing to lay down Idea of the intellectual forces therein his editorial duties he might long ago contained. In the pulpit or on the have received election as a Methodist platform hla powers-: come not from . bishop. personal appearance but from hla voice ' James M. Buckley leads his fellow and words. Too earnest in manner en Methodists in several ways. An editor matter to be called a popular speaker, , of the greatest of American Methodist in the usual sense of that term, hie ( papers ho has a weekly audience of sincerity and his command of We sub many thousands, but he by no means Ject lay hold upon an audlenc with limits his activities to his editorial grip greater than that ever attained by desk. As a member of the New York personal charm. - . east conference he has a local Influ- The Methodist general eonferenee la) ence that Is second to that of no man to meet in the sprinie of 10 and al In his church, and in the general con- ready leaders in thai .communion are ference, of which he has been a member discussing Important measures for a number of sessions, he la always brought before the . eonferenee. ; Tna. ; in the forefront of oebate and is usu- success or the failure of: many a ally to be found on the winning side. eral conference measure haa depended For over a quarter of a century Dr. in the paatt upon the support er the Buckley has been editor of the Chris- opposition of Jaroea M. ueaJy, ttan Advocate, published in New York. ..thfrtha . advocates of JB .'ha Aa an editorial writer he haa few ehurcb are already-seeking Me s up- equala In his own or any other church' port, and K mS2?tm iYr" -XL?"lt"?,V'v"T-tlihbM-l a number ef previous Bucklpy is sense of nent of purlsta And ficu aid WSrda fiia Tanauage. written number vi impure under nis leadership tne Advocate wi gained a place in the forefront of gen mean, religious, journalism, r,il-,eherin. He Is a Jiue ,lmI" .V" 2?"Kew iereey and waa porn at Rahw.v a a , i iiioi mi in. c I- r- tii. . He entered tne", it""""f a masterly style and literary I" "' .-Van,i ;y'. ,:"C:;.
