Topics of
the Times
After nil, the wonder nerai to be
that there ts anything left for the policy-holders
to expect.
Mr. Rockefeller's mall continue to
apply proof that his money U la the
tnlnj of many people.
Russia Is finding that the ud of
the Russo-Japanese war meant only
the beginning of the end.
A sea level canal possibly intght
ts completed tn time to be called the
Theodora Roosevelt Jr. canaL
As between a battleship and I Dew
bonnet there Is some doubt as to
which more quickly becomes obsolete.
Emperor Nicholas' manifestoes, like
the platforms of some American politi
cal parties, are not meant to stand
Upon.
The fight la not against the principle
of life Insurance, but against the life
Insurance grafters who have no prin
ciple. Kaloer William says he wants "only
pious and gallant soldiers." The Kai
ser never had a regiment of Rough
Riders.
That writer who describes Ssrah
Bernhardt as the "greatest living dra
matic artist" had better keep out of
Richard Mansfield's way.
John L. Sullivan announces that he
la about to retire from the stage. Com
ing so soon after the death of Xlenry
Irving, this leaves the drama rather
groggy.
The Japanese, the Chinese, and even
the Turks, may be pardoned if, after
reading our football returns for the
season, they contemplate sending us a
few missionaries.
Colleges that have failed to win dis
tinction on the bloody football field will
have to be content with merely fur
nishing opportunities for the acquire
ment of a good education.
One advantage of studying the
"Origin of Life," as Professor Loeb Is
doing this. Is that the job will last for
ever, passing along as good as new to
an endless succession of professors.
Judging by the cable reports. If the
Russians had been as active in fight
ing the Japanese as they are In
slaughtering the Jews, the war In the
Far East might have had a different
termination.
Mrs. Astor Invited only seventy-nine
guests to the dinner which she gave
In honor of Prince Louis. New York's
.'00" must during the past few years
have been making rapid headway In
the race suicide business.
Mr. Hyde admits that he does not
know any other company that would
pay him a salary of $75,000 a year.
He probably does not know of any
other company in which he ever held
17,000,000 worth of stock and securi
ties. Edna Wallace Hopper has during
the past few weeks been sued for
breach of promise, figured as the heir
ess of an $8,000,000 estate and been
operated on for appendicitis. Edna
has evidently decided to make a stir
or bust
Privilege is the root of all evils in
politics and business. It is one of the
oldest sources of wrong In the world
and has wrought more ruin than all the
piked mobs of the unprivileged, who
blinded by poverty, Ignorance and in
justice, have stormed the citadels of
privilege and power. All experience
shows that human nature is too frail to
bear the strain of privilege. The sense
of might overwhelms the sense of
right
One of the tests, of a philosophical
aoul la the reasonableness with which
it sloughs off old beliefs, and sees
treasured doctrines die without losing
faith In the whole scheme of things. A
lady recently complained against at
tacks on her favorite patent medicines,
her favorite financiers and her favor
ite character in history all in the same
magazine. She humorously protested
that she had been thrown into a state
of universal skepticism. The wise per
son will not lose sleep or stop going to
circuses simply because the "real mer
maid" turns out to be made of shoe
leather. The person who makes up his
mind too resolutely never to be fooled
again will m(Iss a great deal of intel
lectual serenity. 4
The friends of vigorous outdoor sport
have long been pleading for the rescue
of football from the blight of unfair
play which causes nine-tenths of . all
the physical Injuries and all the de
tnorauzauon oi uie piayers. - iug
gtng" Is contrary to the rules, the hir
ing of outsiders to play In college and
academy teams Is forbidden, and va
rious other things are condemned. Yet
In spite of the rules, the conduct of
many players and their trainer sug
gests that they deem It more Important
to win a game than to play fairly.
The demoralisation has progressed so
far that college presidents have be
gun to protest against the practice of
teaching the players how to violate the
rules of the game without being found
out When matters have reached such
a pass It Is time to call a halt Col
lege and academy sports should be con
ducted lu a sportsmanlike manner. A
victory won by fraud or trickery should
be made so unpopular that the man
or team winning It should be forced In
very shame to refuse o accept the
award. The only way to bring this
about la for those who believe tn fair
play to Insist upon It at all times. If
every high-minded youth who finds his
associates playing unfairly should re
fuse to take part until the unfairness
la eliminated, the reform would soon
be secured. There are already encour
aging signs thst the high-minded stu
dents are asserting themselves. Those
In a large academy In New York hare
set an example by deciding to play no
more gnmee with other schools. They
wish other schools to discontinue the
game, and thus cut off the supply of
material for the colleges, and thereby
force them to amend the roles radical
ly. The Idea la a good one, and Is to
be heartily commended. It is Impera
tive that the young men who are to
lead the nation In the future should
not have their moral standards broken
down while In college by the practice
of the theory that anything Is fair to
win. One's self-respect is alwsys too
high a price to pay for victory.
You know the moral-hunting man.
He likes to preach and be preached at.
How often do you bear htm say, with
conscious pride, "1 never read a book
unless It ts Instructive end elevating.
I can't waste my time on high-flown
fanclea." He msy be a worthy cltlxen,
a model neighbor, a good husband, li'it
he la not the kind of man you'd like
to go fishing with. And Just here W
where thst Hall of Fame Jury made
the mistake which' has caused a pro
test on both skies of the Atlantic, in
the rejection of Poe and the selection
of Whlttler for honors In this lofty
Institution It would seem that moral
character rather than literary genius
Is the essential qualification for un
dying fame. Granted that a man Is
as bad as his worst feelings. Isn't
he also as great as his greatest work?
What is highest literature or truest
art but the clearest expression of man
st his best? The beauty which man
creates must first dwell In his own
soul. And true goodness and great
ness will sometimes thrive all the bet
ter In soli that Is not too sterile of
the human element When Raphael
painted his master altarplece It was
not moral enthusiasm It was not de
sire to teach purity snd sanctity
that Inspired him to the work. He did
not try to give a faithful portrait of
Mary, a daughter of the house of
David. He saw the flower girl on the
street; the radiance of her counten
ance so filled his soul that be could
not rest until he had perpetuated h'.
loveliness; and as we drink In the
purity of expression, the wlstfulnejs
of the far-seeing eyes, the tenderness
of the whole character of the KlstHe
Madonna, do we not perceive the be
nign soul of the artist In his perfect
conception of womanhood and mother
hood? The great artist reveals two
people in one the person he paints
and himself. Another of the worlds
great masters, Robert Bums, failed In
many things, but his songs go straight
to the heart. They will live as long hs
men live and love. And the best of
him lives in them. It was much the
same with Poe. His life may have
been a curse to himself, bis family and
his friends. Yet those rare flights of
genius which make him the "tall pine"
lu American literature reveal his
higher seif In lightning flashes. K
man's work is the thing.
Obliging Father.
"What's til that bunch of stuff?"
"Our little girl made herself sick yes
terday, eating too much pudding, and
I'm taking home a few of the remedies
suggested by the child's two grand
mothers." When a girl uses the word "kid,"
In referring to a girl of her own age
or a young man, she ought to be taken
home and locked up. .
MBS
fifiifSMffflLaia 1
HI Hflf .1
ESSENCE OF REAL RELIGION.
By Rev. Henry T. Cope.
What doth the Lord require of thee
but to do Justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?
Mlcah vl;8.
There must be some good reason for
the fact that many men feel chagrined
If they are charged with being re
Itglous. Often these meu posse the
keenettt sense of right and make the
strongest Insistence on reality. The
truth la that they object to the unreal
ity of that which they have learned to
call religion; often their protests
agalust spurious types of religion are
but declarations of the true kind.
Every honest hearted man turns with
loathing from the cant, meanness, and
selfishness that wear the guise of
piety. It has led the world to think
that a religious man la the one who
goes to church, uses certain phrase,
and generally cuts the cloth of his life
to the pattern prescribed by the clergy.
Thus easily the gotd Is made to serve
the bad.
It Is a blesalng that there always
have been men who repudiated that
kind of piety. Rut to the true man re
ligion ts simply the effort to find the
right life. He Is most religious who
lives lest Faiths must be Judged by
their fruits; a man's religion and his
religiousness by his living. That Is
the best religion which best teaches
men to live. If any book beside the
bible can do more for us,
If any faith beside Christianity can
give the world a nobler life, let us
find and follow it.
To the question, what Is religion? the
bible gives a surprisingly simple an
swer. Instead of minute rules It give
broad principles; it lifts aloft noble
Ideals and denounces baseness. It
breathes of righteousness, that Is, right
thoughts, words, deeds, relations. It Is
the text bo.k on the fine art of living.
All other thoughts ami teachings but
serve this and have value only on ac
count of their service.
Every man Is religious In proportion
as he seeks the right. Every act la
holy, an act of worship, as It serves
the good snd the true. You can no
more confine religion to a church than
you can Imprison knowledge In a
schoolroom. It belongs on the street.
In the home, the office, the shop, wher
ever men are seeking to do-right and
make life right. Many a man Is re
ligious who would resent the Imputa
tion of piety.
Right seeking and right doing tn Jus
tice and mercy these make the life of
righteousness. There never has been
and there never will be any real dif
ference of oplulon as to these virtues.
He who Is SNhamed of them has no
pjace amongst men: he who neither
seeks them nor endeavors to realize
them Is not religious, no matter what
his professions and protestations may
be. And the man who seeks them with
all his heart Is religious whatever be
or others may think.
The time wilt come when we shall
brand as heretical and impious every
mockery In forms and words and pro
scriptions that lias so long paraded
as the true and only expression of god
liness. Then the test of a man's re
ligion will be the measure In which
his life makes for justice, mercy, and
humility. Then, Instead of asking,
What does ecclesiastical etiquette re
quire me to do? we shall Inquire, What
Is right, noblest, best for a man in a
world of men?
This makes the religious man, then,
that he seeks the life that deals Justly,
that walks uprightly, that loves mercy,
that does good and serves and blesses
men, that seeks not high things for re
ward but seeks them In character. This
makes the religious man whether he be
in sympathy with existing religious In
stitutions or not; these virtues have no
substitutes, neither names, ceremonies,
nor creeds can take their place.
But when once the life has entered
on the passionate search for rlghtness,
when once the love of justice, mercy,
and humility has laid hold on us, there
will be little time or energy to give
to foolish problems of angels or his
tory, there will be no care whether
men think we are religious or not
We shall come to see that our desire in
living Is the desire of the Lord of all
life, that our goal Is a divine and glo
rious one, and nothing will turn us
from It Above all will be a sense of
harmony with the Infinite, too deep
for words, too sacred for expression.
By Rev. Dr. C. Ellis Stevens.
So run that ye may obtain. I. Corin
thians lx:24.
We have been passing through the
football season. Whatever some may
think of this particular game, thous
ands of the older and younger gener
ation keenly cure for fair athletics be
tween colleges.
While what we call athletics have
primarily to do with brawn and mus
cle, they are more than Intercollegiate.
They touch the questlou of success or
failure In the world's arena, because
their principles directly concern the
struggle of life Itself. It Is not Idle
moralising to say that athletics can
meet us In more ways than manly
sport No athlete Is worthy a' great
football team who does not lu self
abnegation sued flea time, energy and
the habit of easy living to the rigid
discipline uecessary for effective de
velopment No athlete ran hope to win who does
not strive at utmost for practical skill.
Nor can he win at least, he cannot In
football without fearlessness, endur
ance, perse vers nee, no matter what
msy come. All the Intensity he can
muster must be aimed at one end the
earning of a victory which he knows
la to be herd fought
But Is not the mercantile world, with
Its difficulties and competitions, an
Ideal field for the application of these
great principles of strenuous athletics
the principles of skill, pluck and per
sistence? Much young men as treat
tii duties of their clerkships or other
positions easily ami lightly while read
ing enthusiastically the news of ath
letic vigor by others, seem not always
to comprehend the opportunity that
confronts them for demonstrating their
own manhood.
Too often they deceive themselves,
while admiring "go" In others, Into
feeling a certain share in It very
much as Ikmi yulxore felt In the ex
ploits of ancient knights, oblivious to
the acute contrast In their own chsr
acters. Older men at times condemu false
or rough plsy at football and then
forthwith make false play In business
because no umpire stands by to dis
qualify, as he should, their further
relation to the game of life. An ele
ment of true athletics Is needed In the
average world, and when recognised It
will ever be a stimulant to honest en
deavor and honorable achievement
What Is thus pointed to as undenia
bly true of the mercantile world Is
Just as true of the conflict every man
has within himself which constitutes
his game of existence. The Internal
struggle Is usually In secret, so that
even nearest friends know little of It.
Perhaps mercifully they can never com
prehend It to the full. Yet the man
himself knows keenly enough bow real
Is bis own contest. He gets "tackled"
at times and finds after a while that
he Is bruised snd sore spent But he
will win. If he wins at all, exactly In
accord with the laws of athletics. He
must "down" the foe or get the worst
of It He must face and defeat temp
tation, bad habits, the evil of ques
tionable surroundings and of doubtful
or sinful tendency, else the game of
his soul Is against him, driving him
yard-lines backward.
SHORT METER SERMONS.
God la not lauded by libeling men.
Rad news never spoils by keeping.
True blue seldom sees things blue.
The greatest art of life Is that of
living.
Nothing worries worry worse than
work.
Sow a small Joy and reap a great
happiness.
It takes more than diplomacy to de
feat the devil.
He needs to wear wading boots who
takes short cuts to success.
The value of a strong man's power
depends on his patience with the weak'.
Better is It to drive the gloom from
one heart than to dower It with gold.
It Is easy to waste enough strength
dodging your duties to do them twice
over.
Bearing the cross does not exempt
one from bearing a share of the world's
cares.
If some hearts should go to heaven
there would be a hard frost there right
off.
Some people never feel good unless
they are making others feel the other
way.
It is the man who fears to soil his
hands who will worry least about his
heart.
The man whose voice drowns the
choir In church sings small on the
street.
. In a sad world the only saints who
have a right to sleep are the ones In
the graveyard.
God's workers never have to wait for
a raise In salary before they will do
their best
The trouble with much preaching is
that It is advertising truffles when the
people need potatoes. '
999999 99 ttt$gl
THE OLD MONK-CURE
St Jacobs Oil
has trsvslad round the world,
and evsrywhsre humsa
Aches and Pains
htve vsicomed It snd bleat
i it (or a cure.
Irlct 95o sssd 50
FrofMaleaat jMUnr,
"Mr. Dustla Stsi saya he isnt g olng
to endow any more libraries,"
"Hut I thought he was ds voted to
literature. lie bss written hooka him-
self."
"That's the trouble. The people let
the dust lie on his hooka and stand la
line to get 'Mssle'a Wooing and
'When True Iov Wss to Hloora' and
works of that character," Washing
ton Star.
Controlling Nature.
Everybody knows that of. late years
natural forces have been wonderfully
subjected to man's need. We are
daisied by the spectacular achieve
menu in steam and electricity, bat are
likely to forget the leaa noisy but do
less marvelous conquest of animal and
plant life. Horses sre swifter, cattle
heavier, rows give more milk and sheep
have finer fleeces than tn days gone by.
In plants the transformation is evea
more marked. People now living can
remember when the number of edible
fruits and vegetable waa far less than
at present and even those that could be
grown were vastly Inferior to what w
now have. For example, oar parent
knew nothing of the tomato, except
carious ornament in the garden.
Sweet corn was hardly better than the
commonest field sorts. All orange had
seeds. Celery was little known and
poor in quality. In the flower bed th
magnificent pansy baa replaced the In
significant heart' ease from which It
was developed, and the sweet pea In all
lu dainty splendor trace it origin to
the common garden vegetable.
This progress ha been made in spit
of the great tendency manifested in all
plant and animal to go back to the
original type. It is indeed battle to
keep atrain pur and np to th stand
ard they have already attained, left
alone any improvement. Th practical
result ar accomplished by men operat
ing largely for love of the work, like
Luther Burhank, in California, and
Eckford in England, a well as by the
great seed merchants, D. M. Ferry &
Co., of Detroit, Mich., who are not
only eternally vigilant to hold what
ground has been gained, bnt have a,
corp of trained specialists, backed by
ample means, to conduct new experi
ments. The result of their experi
ence can be found in their 1006 Seed
Annual, which they will send tree to
all applicant,
tf-aartlaa Fwk.
Following the example of many
European cities, Los Angele. Cal,
will turn Griffith Park, with an area
of 3.000 acre of brush land. Into a
commercial forest Four experts, with
a view to converting this practically
waste piece of land Into a productive
forest made a comprehensive planting;
place for the tress, which will not
only pay for Its cultivation, snd car
through the ssle of mature timber, but
will prove constant source of pleas
ure and recreation for the cltlstens of
Los Angeles. Ixs Angeles Is the first
American city to adopt this plan, but
It Is predicted thst other municipali
ties in this country will soon follow ia
its footsteps. '
- Value of Klpaaat.
An African slepliant Is of value only
for Its Ivory, cf which s full-grown snl
roal yields from $ 250 to $300 worth. Oa.
the other hand, a working Indian ele
phant cannot b bought for less thaa
$2,600 to $3,500.
Joat th Maw n Wanted.
"I sent for you, sir," said Mr. Phsm
ley, "to fix a key in my daughter'
plsno."
"But," protested the srtlasn, "I'm no
a piano tuner, I'm a Ipcksmlth."
"Exactly; I want you to fir the bloom
ing thing so I csn lock it up when I
feel liks it." Phlladslphla Treas.
If a man could bavs half his wish
be would doubls his trouble. Poor Rich
ard. One-half the worldd oesn't cars how
the other half dies.
symx wHisiAii ua rail.
Ootiuh brup, Tuu Uood. U
In tlmft. Sold by artivalMta.
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