Sunday School and meeting are a thing of the past at the new
church on Daniels Run. We have a fine church house and a thickly settled
community and it is a shame we don’t have a regular meetings.
J.J. Starcher is the crack trader of Claria. He traded a yoke of
oxen to W.E. Anderson for a $250 horse.
An editor, away for a while, left his paper in the charge of a
preacher. During the minister’s stay in the sanctum, the following letter came
from a subscriber: “I know very well I paid my subscription to your paper last
time I was in town. If I get any more such letters as I received last week, I
will come in and maul the h--l out of you.” The minister answered, “I have been
trying to get that out of the editor for 10 years, and if you can come down and
maul it out of him, then my dear sir, I have 20 members of my church I will give
you to operate on.”
Most of us are inclined to admire those who have strong
convictions on the day’s major issues. The man who freely and vigorously argues
all the major topics, knowing correct solutions to them all, passes in some
people’s eyes as a great leader. Quite often, the one who listens and says
little, and qualifies most of what he says, is considered a bit slow.
The politician must take a stand on almost everything. It would
never do for him to say he didn’t know about this or that, or thought there was
a good argument on both sides of this or that question. A certain percentage of
his admirers want him to take the lead, to espouse one strong conviction, and
that he usually does, and in doing so, carries with him those who place their
faith in him. Often, he knows it is almost mandatory for him to take a strong
stand on certain issues--because his constituents demand it.
We might consider a bit more these days the man who seldom knows
all the answers to the great questions of the day, but who can consistently
discuss both sides, and shed a constructive light on most conversations.