278 



GLEAJSINGS IN BEE CULTURB 



permit such things? Joshua asked the ques- 

 tion, you may remember, and Jehovah told 

 him it was because there was an " Achan " 

 in their midst. There is an Achan in the 

 big city of Cleveland, and all the increased 

 force of policemen will never restrain the 

 " carnival of crime " {Plain Dealer again) 

 until that Achan is disposed of. You and I 

 are sut¥ering because of him; we are all 

 suffering ; and God will permit things to go 

 on from worse to worse until we wake up 

 and " do something." A thousand or more 

 saloons have just been " licensed." In God's 

 name, why not license these masked men we 

 have been reading about, to go on with their 

 " industry " ? Yes, and then let them buy 

 and sell these licenses. The same daily tells 

 us three schoolboys, excited by the way 

 " hold ups " succeed, got a pistol and made 

 a man give up his money. Several times, 

 when there is labor or other troubles in 

 large cities the saloons have all been closed. 

 Is it not nearing the time when the mayor 

 and chief of the police decide, as a last 

 resort, to destroy this Achan, as Kansas, 

 Maine, and other States have done? 



SOWING GOOD SEED, ETC. 



1 think I have explained before, that, 

 when we are down in Florida, Mrs. Root 

 and I attend the Presbyterian Church. In 

 fact, I should like to say we are a part of 

 the Presbyterian Church — that is, if the 

 good pastor and the good people there will 

 not object. Well, of late my heart has been 

 warming more and more toward our Pres- 

 byterian people; and here is a letter from a 

 good Presbyterian brother that I hope will 

 warm the hearts of all readers of Glean- 

 ING.S, no matter what denomination they 

 belong to: 



Mr. A. I. Root:—l am largely indebted to you for 

 the contents of the " sticker " which I enclose. I 

 am a Presbyterian minister. I have been on the road 

 for a number of years in the interest of our church 

 papers. After I had been traveling for some time I 

 noticed that " drummers " often had " stickers," and 

 it occurred to me that I might have one with which 

 to " drum up " the Lord's business. But I was much 

 at a loss as to the form. While in this dilemma I 

 read one of your articles, in which an expression 

 very much like the first of my "sticker" occurred. 

 I took it, changed it somewhat, and had a thousand 

 of them printed. My intention was to create a more 

 devotional reading of the Bible. "When I would hand 

 them to some one I would say, " Stick that in your 

 Bible. It is a good little prayer to offer before you 

 read your Bible, or when you come to a good pas- 

 sage, or a hundred times a day when things don't go 

 right." 



At first I did not have my name on them. I gave 

 one to a drummer. He said, " That's all right, but it 

 hasn't any name on it." I said, " I do not believe 

 that people are interested in my name." 



He put his hand in his pocket, and, taking out a 

 dollar, he said, " Here is a dollar. Have a dollar's 



worth of those printed at my expense, and put your 

 name on them." So I have been putting my name on 

 them ever since. 



I thought you would be interested in this, and 

 thought it nothing more than right that you should 

 know the good your article was doing. 



If any of your readers would like to have some 

 for their own use, or for distribution, I will take 

 pleasure in sending them free of charge if they will 

 send a stamped self-addressed envelope, and say how 

 many they want. 



Hulbert, Okla., Sept. 22. E. P. Keach. 



The sticker he alludes to is a sort of 

 gummed label, or card, and below is what 

 we read on it : 



Teach me, O Lord, just the 

 lessons you want me to 

 learn, and make me willing 

 to do what you want me to 

 do that I may be thy child 



indeed. 



E. P. Keach, Temple, Texas 



1913 



Dear friends, I hope you will read that 

 over and over. And now let me ask you the 

 question, does it seem possible that any man 

 or woman who reads and endorses that lit- 

 tle prayer (for indeed it is only an enlarge- 

 ment of my little prayer, "Lord, help"), 

 can be selfish or tricky or deceitful? God 

 forbid. 



SEVENTY-THREE YEARS OLD, AND — ''THESE 

 ARE THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE." 



Bear Brother Root: — Several months ago you 

 made mention in your Homes article of a new dis- 

 covery you made. As I read it I was reminded of 

 an experience of my own more than forty years ago. 



One day my hired man said to me, " On next Sat- 

 urday evening there will be a preparatory service at 

 the Lutheran church. There will be communion ser- 

 vices on Sunday." I did not say any thing to the 

 Lutheran brother, but I wondered what kind of ser- 

 vice that might be. I had never heard of such a 

 meeting. However, I decided to go. But before I 

 left I went into my bedroom and got down on my 

 knees and asked God to keep me from going as a 

 critic, but that I might get something good. They 

 had an after-service, and the pastor began to ask his 

 member.? questions about their daily life ; and as he 

 asked, and they gave their answers, I would mental- 

 ly ask myself the question, and give the answer. I 

 can remember only two questions. One was, " Do 

 you have family worship in your families every day?" 

 I, of course, could say " Yes." The next was, " Do 

 you read God's word in your families every day? " 

 To that question I had to say " No." The spirit of 

 God had been talking to me about that very duty, 

 but I did not take heed to it. We had a custom of 

 singing a hymn, then have our prayer service. But 

 there that Saturday eve, in that Lutheran church, I 

 promised God I would read his word to my family 

 every day, and I believe I have kept my promise up 

 to this time. The children then were in their teens 

 and under. Now they are all grown to manhood and 

 womanhood, and I will ever praise God for the de- 

 termination lie put in my heart to live for him. 



I am now in my 73d year, and these are the best 

 days of my life, although the half of my family, 

 which means my wife and six children, have passed 

 over, and I am here with six children and twenty 



