The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 14, 1902, Page 14

14 THE FUNDAY CALL. ARTOQONISTS “sometimes seem loss to find a conceit which aptly ‘pérsonify San Fran- for example, “Father does New York. Why 10t take a hint from the con-, e head of the peninsula which o forms? Look at the literally a head. Not a Apollo features, perhaps—the too much expanded for that— e a veritable shape of a nd one which in the map e writer has the curiously re- h of a monocle. 2 la Cham- , suggested by the hanging down SAN FRANCISCO A (Continued from Page Sixteen.) people, Elmore. Our sunrise service will be our annual celebration of Peace day. It will interest you. Good-night, brother.” IIL On the following day the sun rose glo- riously over the lake and bathed the city. on the hills in a flood of light. Everything was astir. The inhabitants of Nyanza flocked together from every quarter to at- tend the Peace-day celebration. Behind the Nationa! Library was a large open space encircled by the old Arablan date palms, & reminiscence of the origin of a part of the nation. Within the inclosure was a huge amphitheater, at the lower end of which stood a simple marble block, mot uniike the old altars. Beside it was a table, provided with curious electrical in- struments, at which a clerk was already seated, receiving and transmitting mes- sages. There was no church in Nyanza. All Genominational distinctions had long agg disappeared, and the people were educat- ed to the practical conception that the NYANZR---A R 9 9 Ty ot T 0 T T W R FRRERIRNGER G E SEEEMEBR SV F o e FEnREREBERD L L PEEEHEIZ R fEEERNTmmES SEARBIWnGY . R was worship of God should be expressed in the virtuous character of social and domestic life. There was no hierarchy; and the simple theology of Nyanza taught God as the father of all men, wherefore all men should always love each other. The audi- ence rapidly assembled. Just as the sun seemed to reach the highest point over the mountains, a flood of music broke the stillness of the vast assemblage. came from within the library, through huge windows that opened upon the amphitheater. Then a mighty chorus in- toned a hymn, that had come down from remote ages: “Glcry to God in the highest, and on esrth peace, good will to man. As it was in the beginning so shall it be forever- tmore, Amen.” e Jan Siltart appeared from the library. Clothed in 2 white gown, his noble head bare, his dark locks flowing, he was the personification of the genius of Peace. Ascending the steps in front of the altar, his tali form seemed to quiver with emo- ticn as he began to propound the lesson of the day. It “Beloved,” he commenced, “this is the - Peace day of the nation of Nyanza. God has ingatliered us from . England, from America, from Abyssinia and from Ara- bia to be a pecullar nation unto him. We worship him. He is love. He is peace. Peace and love are our blessings. We practice love and we keep the peace. Theretore are we happy.” “The nation that is not at peace with itself,” said the preacher, his eyes flash- ing with the light of inspiration, “is un- worthy of llving beneath the heavens. In olden times the gods were lying creatures of man’s imagination. Wherever there is no love there is no God. The absence of Justice is atheism, and a nation of athe- ists is doomed to eternal death.” “Aforetime men sald they worshiped God and killed each other. They confessed their sins and rose from their knees to sin agaln. They professed justice and com- mitted iniquity. They were the hypocrites condemned by Christ, the teacher. They hated each other. They persecuted. They were diwided iInto sects. Catholics and Protestants, Mohammedans and Budd- s hists; they professed each to have their revelations from God. But each succeed- ing revelation brought hatred and death. Can God bring hatred and death? Those Wwere the days swallowed up in the ecean of time. The waves washed: the ruins of old-time civilization and expired religious systems. What is then left of the great -history of olden times? What of the mon- umental fortresses of ages agone? “The name of Moses, the Jewish prophet, lives because he taught ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’ “The names of Micah and Isaiah live because they saw with the eyes of faith that man would be redéemed from his bondage of hate and war. “The name of Jesus of Nagzareth is im- mortal because he taught peace and love, “Other names live and will live—not the names of city builders; not of the architects of pyramids; not of military commanders; not of great captains of in- dustry. The extreme phases of civilization shall pass away with the men who reared them; only they who wrought and taught peace, the ideal of human redemption— FORD NICHOLS + from a well defined eye city character. of the cord- like line, the proposed bay shore cut off ‘6f the Southern Pacific Kailroad The face seems to be turned over San ‘ Francisco Bay with a significant look ' toward’ the rest of the continent, and mouth, pose and general feature beam with a serene satisfaction that every- thing is coming our way. Brain and Yackbone, too, are especially prominent. Dne bump on the top of the head juts out as if it meant a good deal of some- thing. Phrenologically charted it comes near enough “benevolence” to at least enable us to read a possibility of And Christmas-is a ,DD. BISHOP ©F GALIFURIVA g only these shall live forever!” s “Jesus sald: ‘By their fruit shall ye know them." The ancient nations were iud:ed by their fruit. In 2000 years that ruit became like Dead Sea apples in the ancient myths, roseate of hue, rotten at the core. “Within the last thousand years many nations have perished. "They boasted of religion and civilization, only to fall vic- tims to_their own violence. “Oh, Nyanza! Oh, People of_God! Hold fast to thy standards! Love, Peace, Jus- tice—these be the three attributes of God ‘we shall worship forever! *“‘Men of Nyanza, the dest of a nation depends upon the conduct of ‘a nation; a nation means men and women. Your con- duct will be the pledge of your children’s future. Anciently, it wds said the parents eat sour grapes and the teeth of the chil- dren stand on edge. It is true. What you sow they shall reap. What evil is in you shall be Vi!itednt‘:n ittl'leh' heads. So doth nature avenge iniquity. ““And these be the virtues that you shall nourish forever, so that ye may be im- mortal. “‘Be at peace with yourselves, “Worship God, the source of life. | “Let truth be your guide. “Hate not your brother in your heart, “St. John said: one another.’ “Have rio substance which you shame in the earning. “Make no man your slave. He broiher‘ e b s “Let_your power be your wise gov: ance 6f men. Use no staft of authority to beat down justice. “Cultivate justice. It is the greatest gift of civilized society. “Cleanse your bodies; let your souls be as one who hath bathed seven times. “Jesus said: The tabernacle of God is with men. God is In this grove. God is in Nyanza. But as soon as love, peace and Jjustice shall ~disappear from our midst, just so sood we shall have no God and be doomed to die. “Men of Nyanza, we wor-h\l}s God. Glory to him in the highest! ® pray God for peace and lave and justice to abide forever!" And as the last word left the speaker’s ltihya a rnllshty sh«imc ott s;m arose from e populace, crying out: “Peace on earth. Glory to God in the Lighest!” The service was ended. Through the crowd Dr. Elmore made his way to the orator and emfBraced him. “Your voice 8ounded like that of the “Preacher on the Mount,” said he, “and he ‘Little children, love ye your right good time for bump of benevolence. Of course hearthstories will feel it with their glow upon home happiness and the merrmess of chudnood gwing diore than 1t gets—Sania Ciaus enjoys bis trawtionar smile far more even than the chudren enjoy his pack. Of course aitars wul prove it as tney bear the of- ferings of the faithiul o praise God for the Christ, with their offerings for the work and the word of the Christ, us to feel that { Oi course our philanthropies will feel it as treasuries are filed tables are laden, and lonely, hours are brig| the sunshine of Cali- fornia iarge-heartedness—aiter all the cheeriest sunshine of our California skies. course Christmastime this as every year will chart our city bump of benevolence in ail maner of kindly gifts and kindly deeds. he bump om tne map lies hard by the Ge Gate, and the Golden Gate is never shut. But after all not St. Nicholas but St. Francis is our patron saint, and the legend of the birth in si_stable with songs of ang th joy give an especial Chr benevolence which w s touch to his ever so bright and full of sunshine that, as a recent biographer said, made him as a figure in history a remarkable instance of ready statesmanlike qualities developed from entire simplicity of character and the love of God.” “He utt gave himseli for others. He k t noth- ing, and his love was w 1 gener- ous. There was nothing narrow nor pedantic about it. Anything that inter- ested his fellow men interested him; his country, the aspirations of the peo- ple, their struggle for freedom, litera« ture, song—all moved his ever-ready sympathy.” He had caught the spirit of the age. He in a time of commercial expansion lived to teach men the re- sponsibility of those who possess wealth. He influedced and was in- fluenced by the age of chivalry and poetry. These personal traits which emerge clearly from all legends and controver- sies about him have all breadth and big-mindedness of a municipal type, and why should not these characteristics of St. Francis contribute more and mors to the true genius loci of San Fran- cisco? Benevolence is primarily good will, Christmds is the season of good will—the good will of God to men in sending his Son to earth and the good will of man to’his fellow man in the era of the world which is called Christian because of the coming of Christ. Good will among the men of San Francisco, back of all the bountiful deeds of San Francisco’s past, present and future, is the best building genius of a metropolis. Some of those who know the city best aver that there is almost vital need of the stir of good will pow if our fond city is to find the true metropolitan cult. Commercial supremacy can neither be attained nor held unless the leaders find some way of coming together. It is the evil genius of business that breeds the cutthroats and calamities of trade. Ifdustrial peace calls loudly for good will and calls for it from both the office and the shop, if the municipal body i3 to learn from the human body that the brain can never say to the strong right arm, “I have no need of thee,” nor the strong right arm to the brain, “I have no need of thee.” Political presage and power will never come to our city nor our coast as it might and ought, and our “slope” in this ocean will incline to a gigantic slump of in- fluence unless we come together as statesman who foster good will above sectionalism all along the coast line. And our city papers—well, suppose they do all they can to be organs that pour out the harmonies of life, though they must take cognizance of the sirens thai shriek out the discords of life. Let them exploit the thousands of happy homes for which Christmas speaks more than the din of divorce courts; the gen- zrous “Cheeryble Brothers” of business more than whole menageries of “bears and bulls”; the great philanthropies more than the great crimes; the heroism of common life more than the follies and the woes. And if I am not seeming already to have run into millennial rather than metropolitical visiofis, one thing more: Our good Christian _peo- ple of all names get along very well to- gether as things go in our city. Our city’s name does not imply by any means that we are all saints any more than does the calling the catalogue of station saints by our clarion-voiced trainmen as we ride over our California railroads imply that our California brakemen arrogate to themselves piety above all other brakemen. Indeed we do not always rise to that measure of good will which prevents frictions and misunderstandings and divisions and church rows of one lamentable sort and another. But on the whole we dwell to- gether as brethren. And it is hardly too much to say that one great integrating factor in any city is the religious in. fluence properly working. All Christ- mas good will, then, in those and to those “who love the narie of our Lord Jesus in sincerity and truth.” pa-~ pers as they value this factor of integra- tion in the upbuilding of our metropolis can do much to help it and help the city by fostering it and refusing to fo- ment discord, as they so often do. The critics of what does appear in print sometimes forget, as Mark Twain’s pub- lisher said about “Innocents Abroad,” “what did not get in.” But the tem; tation for a good write-up sometimes our church differences leads to a stiff acidulation of the sores all ar and that hurts the city because it hurtg some of its best integrating vitality. But at any rate there is San Fran cisco’s bump well defined on the chart. It is on the Presidio reservation, and so Is in a condition to be well guarded. us live up to our destiny and make it a big bump of benevolence that the city we love may become the true me- tropolis we predict. Christmas Tale of the Thirtieth Centlry . spoke three thousand years lfo." mFor a thousand years are in thy sighy yesterday,” quoted Sittart, but a: And again these two men, the American and the ican, embraced and were brothers in their hearts. IV. “ONE DAY.” In the date groves behind the great amphitheater walked Tanyah Elmore and the daughter of the Sittarts. As a ple- ture of physical strength and beauty might pose for the pair who In the bibli- cal poem of Creation became the glorious parents of mankind. “Victoria,” said the youth, a burning blush of manly modesty suffusing his own cheek, “shall” we, too, begin our peacs compact to-day?” The maiden clung to him with tendes love. ‘“Aye, Tanyah, and take up burden of our fathers to teach peace ana glorify God in human happiness.” ““And live together until death do part “Until death do part us,” breathed the maid, softly. Then these two went their way, the centuries stood still to thm'p:lnnd for love has the right of in all time and eternity. . 9 4 | 2