44 



A Handhil of Stars'' 



I- 



Excerpts from address of Rev. Gleorge HI. Gibson, 

 Pastor, United Cliurcli of Hyde Parii, Cliicago 



Against the background of the day 

 in which we live, I fling a handful of 

 stars, — star of freedom, star of truth, 

 star of love and the star of peace. 



I fling out the star of freedom. It 

 has only been in recent years we have 

 known of such freedom as we enjoy 

 today. Christianity had to go on mak- 

 ing its way across fifteen centuries of 

 tyranny, carrying with it the doctrine 

 of the dignity of the personal soul be- 

 fore that thing got itself implemented 

 into a political philosophy. That politi- 

 cal philosophy of democracy got itself 

 expressed in this great experiment on our 

 continent, later in France, and later in 

 all the nations of the earth. 



have not sense enough to be friends, 

 the whole world is not big enough to 

 hold them." 



We are discovering in the past ten 

 years that democracy is not unchal- 

 lenged and we have to watch our pres- 

 ent freedom with great and jealous 

 care. I think our freedom today is 

 endangered for two reasons, because 

 we love the wrong kind of freedom 

 and have not guarded the right kind of 

 freedom. 



I fling out the star of truth. It is some- 

 thing that has come down through his- 

 tory. We see it in its modern presenta- 

 tion, in the scientific era of the past five 

 hundred years. It is a wonderful story — 

 the impact of modern science, upon 

 world life. First the desire of men to 

 know things for the sake of pure knowl- 

 edge, working away in the laboratories 

 and discovering things through test tubes 

 and other appliances. Then later, ap- 

 plying that knowledge to actual tools 

 of life. 



Long ago. Sir Francis Bacon, laying 

 down a philosophical basis for the 

 science that was to come after him, 

 looking from his vantage point, saw a 

 civilization somewhat as we have it today. 

 He forecast pretty much in detail that 

 one of these days we would have a civil- 

 ization in which the machine would lift 

 the burden of toil from the backs of men. 

 He did not foresee that alone with that 

 intellectual achievement would not have 

 come corresponding character develop- 

 ment, and that man would not know 

 what to do with his machine when he 

 had found it. His character has not 

 quite stood the test of his knowledge, 

 his brain has outrun his heart. . . 



We need to be greatly on guard 

 against falsehood, against native fear of 

 fact, against people who love tyrannical 

 ways. 



Controversy has to go on through the 



DR. GIBSON 

 "The peace of the world haa always 

 rested upon its agricultural elements." 



ages and out of the give and take of 

 free discussion we can ultimately reach 

 the convictions of democracy and know 

 the things we must do. 



I had a good friend high in church 

 circles whose particular genius was try- 

 ing to find the middle of the road be- 

 tween two opinions. I was usually on 

 one side or the other. He was some- 

 times termed a mugwump, who sets on a 

 fence like this (illustrating) with his 

 mug this way and 



I think there is something fine in 

 the breadth of man that can see two 

 opinions and bring them together to 

 the point of harmony, but I think we 

 must admit controversies in times like 

 this. Our great fellowships have to be 

 big enough and broad enough to with- 

 stand the fur flying and fire falling. 



The star of freedom, star of truth and 

 star of love — I fling out that star. I 

 think it has not been brought near 

 enough to earth. Freedom has come 

 to earth in the form of democracy. 

 Truth has come to earth in the form 

 of modern science. The star of love 

 seems still to represent something rather 

 sentimental and far removed from the 

 practical considerations of life. The 

 light of that star has to be brought 

 to earth. 



In one of my classes in sociology in 

 Texas, somebody asked the professor, 

 "Is it true that all the people on the 

 face of the earth could live in Texas?" 



My professor said, "Yes, that is true, 

 provided they had sense enough to be 

 friends." Then he added, "If they 



We are coming here today at the 

 crisis of our present civilization, when 

 we have to choose whether we are go- 

 ing to be armed against terror, against 

 one another, distrustful of everybody 

 who does not look like ourselves, jeal- 

 ous and vengeful as class meets class 

 and as creed meets creed and race meets 

 race, or trying through the difficulty 

 of these times to evolve new social 

 techniques of understanding and work- 

 ing together. 



That is the thing love is when it is 

 made plain in the actual life of folk. 

 We have to come to work on an ex- 

 perimental basis, in great organizations 

 such as this, keeping before us our pri- 

 mary aim is not merely economic, but to 

 discover a basic way of living for people 

 born of one blood in all the nations of 

 the earth. 



I fling also against the background 

 of the night-time in which we are mov- 

 ing, along with the star of freedom, 

 truth, and love, the star of peace. I think 

 I am rather at home in flinging out 

 to a farm group the star of peace. The 

 peace of the world has always rested 

 upon its agricultural elements. I am 

 not saying that in any way to flatter 

 you, but with the utmost historical real- 

 ism. You can trace the hundreds and 

 thousands of wars waged on the face of 

 the earth and will not find a single one 

 organized by peasants and farmers. 



While we look upon some of the 

 nations of Europe as potential enemies 

 or at least the parties in power as po- 

 tential enemies, we must be big enough 

 in spirit and broad enough in mind 

 to look upon the common people of 

 Germany, Italy, and other countries 

 not as potential enemies but as poten- 

 tial friends and see what we can do to 

 create a vast world community that will 

 be fit for neighbors to dwell in. 



Edgar County Farm Bureau and Supply 



Company had approximately 1,000 at their 

 combined annual meeting in Paris, Jan. 17 

 reports Farm Adviser L. E. McKin2ie. A 

 comprehensive mimeographed report of Farm 

 Bureau activities including insurance and 

 farm supplies was distributed to members. 

 A "Committee of 90" met the first Monday 

 night of each month to discuss ways and 

 means of increasing membership. Hassil 

 Schenk, president of the Indiana Farm Bu- 

 reau, was principal speaker. 



A Woman's Chorus, sponsored by Ford 



County Home Bureau presented a Music 

 Festival in the new High School gymnasium 

 at Roberts, January 22. The chorus consists 

 of 40 voices and is directed by Mr. Everett 

 Anderson, instructor of music in the Gibson 

 City High School. 



L A. A. RECORD 



