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J I W L f\ BROADCASTER DECEMBER 1973
BROADCASTER
DECEMBER 1973
VOLUME 3
NUMBER 12
NOVEMBER RADIO FEATURES
Managing Editor. . .
President. . .
EVELYNN GIBSON
J. RICHARD CHASE
C O N T E N T S
S P E C IA L F E A T U R E B la c k Oil and So u ls to S a v e
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Jam e s O. Henry
*Panel D iscu ssio n s
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2 9 3 4
*Th e Most Dreaded D isea se
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AI S an d e rs
*Philipplans
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Lloyd T . Ande rson ♦Edited Biola Ho u r Radio messages
Cover: The “Jesus Saves” sign is on the south building of the former Biola campus in Downtown Los Angeles. Miss Anabel Ramage of Desert Hot Springs contributed the landmark sign to the school in the 1930’s. Photographed by Kirk Wilson.
Production: Janis Wilson Trude Badger Photographers:
Jim Wilson Kirk Pottar WHEN REQUESTING EXTRA COPIES OF THE BIOLA BROADCASTER, PLEASE ALLOW TIME FOR DELIVERY.
Second Class postage paid in La Mirada, California. Printed in U.S.A. by Penn Litho graphies, Inc., Whittier, California. Address: Biola Broadcaster, 13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, California 90639.
Biola Today Next month you will begin receiving your copy of Biola Today. The first issue will feature the Biblical Studies Division with student interviews, and an “on the job” Alumni interview and feature story with Detec tive Sergeant Donald Stiver. There will be many other features of interest in this issue to let you know how students, faculty and alumni are thinking, and what they are doing for the Lord. “Biola Hour Highlights” is something new! You will receive Biola Hour messages in printed sheets easily adaptable for individual Bible study, discussion groups, or Bible classes in your church. With this printed presentation, it becomes possible for you to share in the exciting ministry of Christian education as well as enjoy the Biola Hour messages in printed form.
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BLACK SOULS
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OIL TO WIN James O. Henry
"It's a stinking place, Pa, and I don't like it." Nineteen-year-old Lyman Stew art had said his piece. He could see hurt amazement in his father's eyes. The lad swallowed hard. There seemed to be a lump in his throat. The elder Stewart did not say a word. Just looked. In a way that hurt. Lyman shifted his weight from foot to foot. Then a torrent of words fairly poured from his lips. "Pa, you know I want to do what is right. I respect you, sir. But I
just can't go on working for you. A tannery's an interesting place for a boy of 11. I felt big learn ing my pa's trade, even if the other kids joked and said I smelled like a stack of spoiled cowhides. But I am a man now." He shifted his weight again and swallowed hard. "I got $125 saved up. I can get a Va interest in a lease on the John Benninghoff farm. I calculate there is oil under those rolling knolls." Oil. Now Lyman's father knew what had gotten into his son. The Page 5
peaceful Venango Valley in West ern Pennsylvania in this year of 1859 was undergoing a transform ation. The Seneca Oil Company's Edwin L. Drake, wolking with the local blacksmith, had rigged up a drilling outfit and had started pros pecting for oil. The operation was known locally as "Drake's Folly." At 691/2 feet Drake hit oil. It was the world's first oil well. Now the elder Stewart could see the rock-hard determination in the set of his son's shoulders. "Lyman," the father's voice was gentle but in his eyes the hurt was still painfully there. "You are a God-fearing young man. Perhaps this new vocation is God's will. May He prosper you accordingly." To Lyman Stewart the words of his father were like a benediction and entirely fitting for a man with his faith. The Stewarts were sin cere adherents of the Presbyterian church. Every evening Lyman's mother read the Bible aloud and the seven children took part in the family prayers that ended each day. Lyman's father helped to raise funds for the first Presbyterian church erected in their area and he occasionally preached the ser mon when the weather delayed the circuit-riding pastor. Young Stewart exchanged his $125 for the desired lease but failed in his attempt to raise enough money to drill a well. Six years later others drilled on the Benninghoff farm and struck the first 300barrels-per-day well in the nation. Lyman Stewart had lost the possibility of a fortune in his first oil venture. He soon saved up enough for a second try. He and several part ners leased the Boyd farm near
Petroleum Center. This time, prof iting from experience, the partners saved enough money to drill a well. Their first well was a pro ducer, but just as it came in sev eral new wells by other drillers came in, producing more oil than the market could handle. The price of oil fell so low that Stewart and his partners could not afford to pump the oil. Again Stewart had to call it quits. Later the Boyd farm became one of the valley's richest producers. The war between the states had broken out and, putting aside his dreams of riches, Lyman Stewart joined a group of volunteers from the valley and enlisted in the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry. He spent most of the next four years as "a valet to horses with the rank of private." He often said that hte only claim to military distinction was that "my unit was at Appo mattox Courthouse when General Lee surrendered to General Grant, ending the war." When he returned to the Venango Valley in 1865, Stewart found his village of Titusville had grown from 400 to over 6,000. Lacking capital, he enrolled for a hurry-up commercial course at Eastman's Business College, at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Within six months he managed to digest the course. Returning to the valley, he opened an office at Pioneer Run, not far from Titusville, buying and selling oil leases. His boyhood ex perience of tramping over the hills collecting hides and delivering leather for his father's tannery now became an unexpected asset. Un doubtedly Lyman Stewart knew the valley better than any other operator.
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His lot now took a turn for the better. Hardly had he opened the office when a boom hit Pioneer Run. Speculators, promoters, fi nanciers and drillers arrived in large numbers. Lyman Stewart was ready for them. Negotiating leases with the farmers, he began to make money. He started to buy 1/64th interest in wells that were producing, thereby spreading his meager capital over a maximum of chances. Later he was able to increase this to 1/32nd and even tually to 1/8th. Lyman was joined in the oil business by his brother Milton. Milton was not a good mixer and preferred to handle the financial and refining end while Lyman got out into the field. He never seemed to have any trouble com manding the respect of the tough est worker or most foul-mouthed promoter. The Christian character and tes timony of the Stewarts so im pressed an oil producer by the name of Frank W. Andrews that he asked the brothers to join him in his new Claremont Oil Company at Petroleum Center. As one of the eight partners, Lyman Stewart made a substantial fortune from the transaction. A short time later Andrews came to the Stewart brothers with the proposition that they buy a 5/sth interest in the 112-acre Tallman farm. Within two years oil from wells on this farm had sold for $800,000. In the six years from 1866 to 1872, Lyman Stewart accumulated close to $300,000 in the bank. In addition, he and his brother Milton were holders of shares in many wells that were producing oil.
It was at this time, while riding the crest of the wave, that Lyman Stewart and another newly-rich oil man agreed to underwrite a project for the establishment of a company to manufacture and sell agricultural machinery. Stewart felt that he could well afford to under write his portion of the expense of this project since he had an income of around $1,000 a week at the time. The agricultural im plement business was a complete failure. Lyman Stewart and his friend had to pay off the losses and when they were through he not only was broke, but had lost his home and most of his oil leases. By 1872 he was forced to take a job at a small salary to provide for his family. While Stewart was in the $1,000- a-week bracket he had befriended a number of young men in the oil business, among them James and Harvey Hardison, two brothers from Maine. Eventually these two men had become experts at fish ing for lost tools in oil wells. Several times they had come to Lyman Stewart's home to discuss mechanical problems with him. When the brothers needed money Lyman Stewart dug into his pocket or his bank account. Although he had helped them set themselves up in business, he had never re alized any financial profit from the Hardison connection, but he had gained what proved to be, in later years, an invaluable friendship. Another Hardison brother had piled up a small fortune cutting ties for new transcontinental rail roads. When he returned east with his profits, he stopped off at Titus ville to look over the situation. His brothers had written him about Page 7
in Los Angeles in the winter of 1882-1883 than he began looking over the prospects of oil develop ment in the area of Southern California. By way of making good his promise, I. E. Blake of the Pacific Coast Oil Company took Stewart to the Newhall area and pointed out the land his company held there under lease. He offered Stewart the choice of any of the leases. After looking over the Pico Canyon properties on at least three occasions, Stewart longed to talk over things with his old partner Wallace Hardison, who at that time was beginning life anew as a rancher in Kansas. Stewart wired Hardison in Kansas asking if he would be in terested in joining him in an oil hunt, this time in California. Less than a day after he sent his wire a message came back from Hardi son. In his usual crisp manner Hardison asked no questions; he merely gave the date on which he would arrive in Los Angeles to start operations. That was all the negotiating or conferring the pair did to launch their second part nership in the oil business. Mean time, Lyman Stewart selected a site for their initial well, picking a location on Christian Hill in Pico Canyon where there had been no previous drilling. With hopes run ning high, Hardison and Stewart started their first well. When they reached the 1,850- foot level, they ran into trouble. Their tools were lost and they were unable to fish them out. All the way down there had been no showing of oil of any kind. The partners decided to chalk the fail ure up to experience. Well No.
the kindness of their friend Lyman Stewart so Wallace Hardison hunted up Stewart to get ac quainted. Impressed with the op portunities in the oil business, Wallace Hardison proposed that he and Stewart buy some more properties on a partnership basis. Virtually penniless, Stewart ex plained his embarrassed estate and expressed his regret that he could not join in the enterprise. Hardison brushed the protest aside. "You know oil and I don't; I have the money and you don't. We will be partners. I will put up the money and you put up the experience." On this basis, with only a hand clasp to seal the agreement, began a partnership that was not put in to a formal written agreement until many years later in California when it had grown to such an enormous business that the bank ers considered a written agree ment necessary. For several years Lyman Stewart had been intrigued by reporters from California on the potential oil fields in the Golden State. He made up his mind to investigate the potentials firsthand. When I. E. Blake, a former Titusville friend, offered him all the land on which he could drill if he would come out West, Stewart proposed to Hardison that they sell out and go to California. Hardison was unwilling to re turn to the Pacific Coast; however, he agreed to sell out their inter est. They realized about $135,000 for their oil investments. Dividing the money, they parted company, Hardison heading for Kansas and Stewart for California. No sooner had Stewart landed
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One was abandoned. Their trou bles were just beginning. After five dry holes they decided to move from Christian Hill to the vicinity of Tar Creek or Santa Paula Creek where they might find more promising spots. This time they very carefully selected their loca tion on Tar Creek and called it “Smith Farm No. One." After reaching the depth of 1,520 feet, the sides of the well began to cave in. The rope broke and left the tools in the well and dirt buried the tools. They fished for three weeks but failed to recover them. The well had to be aban doned. The partners had drilled six wells and had yet to produce their first barrel of oil. They had spent about every cent they owned, but they still had their drilling rights and plenty of courage plus the optimism that goes with oil fever. In desperation, they moved the rig to a spot on Santa Paula Creek. Their “Santa Paula No. One" was another dry hole, the seventh in a row. The partners took stock of the situation. They had exhausted their capital. Hardison, who had organized two small banks, one at Eldred, Pa. and the other in Salina, Kansas, had borrowed to the limit. He had drawn so heavily on the Eldred Bank that the cashier was protesting in almost every mail and warned that the depositors were getting wind of Hardison's overdrafts. Stewart went to his friend Blake and laid their troublé on the table, holding nothing back. He pointed out to Blake that they had drilled all their wells on territory yet unproved and asked permission of him to al
low them to drill somewhere in proved territory. Blake was very sympathetic with their problems, knowing that they were both sub stantial, hard-working experienced oil men. He arranged for them to drill again in Pico Canyon but some distance from their first five “dusters" which they had drilled in that area. This was their last chance; if this failed they were through. Here they drilled “Star No. One." This well was to be come one of the most important wells in California oil history be cause without it the now gigantic Union Oil Company might never have been formed. At the 1,620- foot level the bit hit oil. When they installed their pumping equip ment it produced 75 barrels a day, an unusually good well for Califor nia in those days. Because the two partners had no capital with which to develop their oil, they were forced to sell Star No. One outright. At it turned out, the well eventually dropped to half its original production and later proved to be on the outer fringe of a pool. This would have meant that the partners would have gone broke had they tried to drill other wells in the area. They looked around for lands which they could buy with the money derived from the sale of their well. The broad valley of the Santa Clara River reminded them of the Venango Valley in Pennsyl vania. With their returns from Star No. One, they made the down payment on mineral rights to sev eral thousand acres in Adams and Wheeler Canyons and the Salt Marsh area back of Santa Paula. Using as collateral the land on which they had made down pay- Page 9
which these two men were for mally allied. At this time Hardison and Stewart decided that if they were to make a success of the oil busi ness in California they would have to attract big money. The richest man in the county was Thomas R. Bard who had come to California to drill wells on a vast acreage owned by some friends. When the drilling failed to produce oil in quantity, Bard had turned to buy ing up the distressed properties for a stock syndicate. This had proved highly profitable and Bard himself was already a millionaire. His only oil interest at the time was the little company known as the Mission Transfer Company which owned several thousand acres of land in Ventura County, with tanks, pipe lines and a small refinery. The company did a thriv ing business transporting and mar keting other producers' oil. Bard had sold a half interest in the Mission Transfer Company to the Pacific Coast Oil Company, the big competitor of Hardison and Stewart. Much to their surprise, he agreed to sell the other half interest to them. He was receptive to their idea of launching a new company to drill in Sespe Canyon on proved oil lands which Hardi son and Stewart controlled through leases. This was the beginning of the Sespe Oil Company with Bard as president, although most of the stock was owned by Hardison and Stewart. Soon after this deal was consummated, Hardison and Stew art bought the other half of the Mission Transfer Company and Bard served as president of this company also. In December, 1886, the Hardi-
ment, the partners borrowed mon ey to get together equipment and men to drill once more. They managed to drill an even dozen wells in 1884, but hard luck still plagued them. The oil from their first wells in Adams Canyon was heavy dread oil with small kero sene content and was of little value. All the oil that Hardison and Stewart were able to pump and sell in 1884 was not nearly enough to keep them drilling. They were kept operating by oc casional dividends from oil leases they still held in Pennsylvania. Both Stewart and Hardison began to suspect that the heavy asphaltic oil that was being found at shallow depths was simply the by-product from deeper pools being pushed up by pressure from larger de posits deeper down in the earth. It was this suspicion that led them to bring John Irwin, a relative of Stewart, who was a geologist, from Pennsylvania to study the situation. As a result of his advice they began to drill deeper wells. This proved their suspicions that there were deep pools beneath the surface of the heavier oil. It was the result of this development that the two partners began their success in the California oil busi ness. All the agreements between these two men up to this,time had been informal and purely verbal. With the prospect of great ly expanded operation in the West, and at the suggestion of their bankers, they decided to draw up a written partnership, in which Lyman Stewart and his fam ily owned 51% and Hardison and his friends 49% of the stock. Thus began the first oil company in
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evangelism. At this time he was also a tither. The Lord prospered him and in his first six years of business after the Civil War he averaged $1,000 a week over and above expenses. During this time he had many opportunities for what seemed to him very attrac tive investments and he began in vesting faster than his income would warrant. He invested so fast he started neglecting his tithe. In order to quiet his conscience he kept telling himself, "If I make this investment I will have so much more to give to the Lord's work." And as he stated it, "My judgment was taken away." That was the time he lost everything and had to go to work for some one else to support his family. During this interval of extreme discouragement Stewart met an old friend who said to him, "You have everything in your favor; you are young, the world is large and God is good." This statement seemed to have had a tonic effect on Stewart's spirit and to have been a turning point in his busi ness career. It was here Hardison came into his life to begin a friend ship and business association that was to last for many years. Stewart's support of Christian work in California was widely di versified. In Los Angeles he was a faithful supporter of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church of which he was a member. In addition to his church, one of the earliest activ ities in which he became engaged was the work of the YMCA. He served as president of the local association and for three years devoted a large part of his time endeavoring to provide a home for its facilities. Over a period of Page 11
son and Stewart partnership was terminated. The partners con cluded that they were getting into such involved financing that it would be better if handled by a corporation, so the Hardison and Stewart Oil Company was incorpo rated with a capital of $1,000,000. Lyman Stewart was president, and Wallace Hardison was vice- president and general manager. Among the other incorporators was Thomas R. Bard. In 1888 things began to look better for the company. Their Adams Canyon No. Sixteen came in as a gusher — the first gusher ever struck in California. This par tially compensated for some of their more dismal failures in Adams Canyon. Their holdings mushroomed to such proportions that they decided on October 7, 1890 to consolidate them into one corpo ration: the Union Oil Company of California. Bard was president, Stewart was vice-president and Hardison was treasurer. Later Stew art succeeded Bard as president of the company, a position he held until his advanced age took him out of the active operation of the company. He then continued as chairman of the board of directors until his death at the age of 83 in 1923. Long before Stewart's death his Union Oil Company was one of the leading industries of the West. And from the very start of his work in California he became a system atic tither of his income. Early in his career he had been active in Presbyterian church of Titusville, Pa. In that church he had been a member of the Session and had been very active in its program of
years he contributed a total of more than $25,000 to the local work. He later felt compelled to withdraw his support because he believed it ceased to be loyal to the gospel and to its original purpose. His interest shifted to the men and boys on Main Street. He was instrumental in organizing what at that time was the Gospel Union Mission, now called the Union Rescue Mission. The burden of the expense of this mission work be came too heavy for Stewart finan cially and he eventually had to withdraw from the work. The con tributions to the YMCA and the Union Rescue Mission amounted to far more than a tithe of his in come but he said, "I was endeav oring to make good my default on my former tithes, with interest." At the close of the Spanish- American War, many who were engaged in Christian work be lieved that the Roman Catholics were exercising a strong hold on President McKinley and were dic tating policy to him in reference to the Treaty of Paris, which dealt with the Philippine Islands. Stewart said: "I became very anxious lest the Catholics should again get control of the entire Philippines; and there were only two Bibles in the entire Philippines, so far as is known, at the time of the Spanish- American War." Because of his concern over the conditions that prevailed, he took the question up with A. B. Prichard, a Presbyterian minister who prepared and underscored Testaments which Stewart had published in Spanish and then dis tributed extensively in 22 Spanish speaking countries. It was in con
nection with this work that the Rev. Mr. Prichard became presi dent of The Los Angeles Bible Institute, a project founded by Stewart. Classes were held from 1901 through 1903. However, when Prichard accepted the pas torate of the Central Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, the Bible classes were discontinued. After the Bible institute work disbanded, the publishing part of the ministry continued under its secretary, Ralph D. Smith, and its name was changed to the Bible House of Los Angeles. Stewart continued to be the main supporter of the Bible House for several years and he stated that he "probably contrib uted about $175,000. This I regard as a very satisfactory investment." One of Stewart's greatest con cerns was the matter of apostasy in the Christian church. As a result of this concern, he became keenly interested in the publication of literature on the fundamental teachings of the Scriptures. This intense interest was aroused when he attended a Bible conference at Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1894. At this conference he heard some of the finest Bible teachers of both the United States and Canada, among whom was James H. Brookes, editor of a little maga zine entitled The Truth. A copy of The Truth had providentially fallen into the hands of Stewart and he found it exceedingly instructive and helpful, particularly because of its sounding a note of warning in reference to the problem of apostasy by calling attention to. the teachings of men who had previously been strong in the pul pit but who were then teaching error.
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Testimony Publishing Company to publish The Fundamentals. Stewart turned over 3,000 shares of United Petroleum Stock to Giles Kellogg, an official in the Union Oil Com pany, to be held in trust as a gua rantee of his good faith in the matter, and the work was begun. Later, his brother Milton joined him in this project to the extent of one-half of the expense. The plan which was adopted by the committee of the Testimony Publishing Company was to pub lish a total of 12 volumes and to send them free to all the English- speaking Protestant ministers, evangelists, missionaries, theolog ical professors, theological stu dents and YMCA secretaries. Later, the plan was broadened to include Sunday school superintendents, religious lay workers and editors of religious publications through out the world. Of the first nine volumes, over 300.000 copies of each were sent out. Of the other volumes, over 100.000 were sent, but these vol umes were limited to those who requested them. Copies were sent to 21 foreign countries. The cost of this project was around $300,000. Again Stewart was paying back his tithe with multiple interest. Stewart's interest once more turned to the foreign field. He and his brother Milton pledged the support of 12 missionaries in Korea, a work that was under the Presbyterian Board. They agreed to support these missionaries for five years. Although the mission board was slow in providing the missionaries, at least six of them sponsored by the Stewarts did finally reach Korea and houses were erected for them with funds Page 13
While attending this conference, Stewart became deeply impressed with the idea of sending this little magazine to all the ministers in America but was unable to do any thing about it at the time, having hardly sufficient funds with which to carry on the Christian work in which he was already engaged; and, as he stated it, "having hardly sufficient funds with which to get back to Los Angeles." But the im portance of the work along the line taken by the magazine con tinued to impress itself upon his mind and he felt that some work of this nature should be done to "stay the tide of apostasy." He said, "I was impressed with the thought that a great many good, honest men were teaching error because they have never been properly instructed, many of them being limited in their reading and study to their church literature, which in many cases, is preju diced." Some time later, when Dr. A. C. Dixon, pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago, was in Los Angeles speaking in some of the local churches, Stewart attended some of the meetings. On one occasion he felt impelled to ask Dixon for a personal interview. Up to that time he had never spoken to anyone in reference to the mat ter of publishing Christian litera ture. When he mentioned the matter to Dixon, the latter replied, "It is of the Lord; let us pray." In the interview with Dixon, Stewart outlined his ideas and the method by which he thought they should be carried out. Dixon went back to Chicago and organized a committee of strong Christian men who, in turn, incorporated The
provided by the Stewart brothers. Exactly how much was invested in this work is not known, but it was an appreciable sum. It was in January 1906 that Stewart met a man who was to have a profound influence upon his life. This man was T. C. (for Thomas Corwin) Horton. The cir cumstances that brought them to gether are interesting indeed. As early as 1894 Stewart's pastor at Immanuel Presbyterian Church had asked Stewart to contact pos sible prospects for the position of assistant pastor. While attending a conference at Niagara, Stewart dis cussed the matter with several prominent ministers who were at tending the conference. Most of the ministers recommended T. C. Horton as the best man available for the position. However, upon his return to Los Angeles, Stewart found that the church had decided not to call an assistant at that time. Again in 1905 the question was taken up by the church, and Stew art, remembering the splendid recommendations in reference to T. C. Horton, presented his name to the church. This was during the Chapman Evangelistic Campaign in Los Angeles and several of the leaders of Immanuel Church made inquiries of some of the evangel ists who were assisting in the meetings as to a suitable man for the position of assistant pastor. Without knowing that others were being asked the same question, each of these men recommended T. C. Horton. The church then authorized Stewart to correspond with Horton. After considerable correspondence Horton accepted the position at Immanuel Presby terian ChOrch. He arrived in Los
Angeles from Dallas in J anuary 1906. On hand to greet him was Oilman Stewart. This was the be ginning of an association that was to have a profound influence on evangelical Christian work in the West. T. C. Horton was born August 3, 1848 in Cincinnati, Ohio. While still a young man, he gave his life to the Lord and became very active in church and Sunday school work. Later he moved to Indianapolis where he went into business and became very successful, with an income three times as large as that which he afterwards received in Christian service. He gave up his business to enter Christian work, taking a position as the Secretary of the Indianapolis YMCA. He was called to that position by a busi ness men's prayer group of which Benjamin Harrison, afterwards president of the United States, was a member. Horton was 27 years old at the time. It was here that he met Dr. A. T. Pierson, with whom he later served as an asso ciate pastor and a man who greatly influenced his life. From Indianapolis Horton went to Saint Paul in 1883 to do mission work for the Hope Presbyterian Church (now the Goodrich Ave nue Presbyterian). A year later he received a call to Bethany Presby terian Church, Philadelphia, where he served for four years as asso ciate pastor with Dr. A. T. Pierson. Horton did not have formal theo logical training and while he was in Philadelphia he spent some time every day in systematic Bible study under the direction of Dr. Pierson. These four years of study under a great man were a rich ex perience for Horton and bore fruit
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in his later life. In 1888 Horton returned to Saint Paul to become secretary of the YMCA. While engaged in this work he also organized the Northwest ern Bible Training School which opened in October 1889. As far as is known the school closed after Horton left Saint Paul. Horton felt the YMCA in Saint Paul was becoming liberal in its program and resigned in May 1892. The next October he organ ized an independent church called the Gospel Tabernacle located in the center of the city not far from Saint Peter's Cathedral. He min istered to this church until the end of 1899 and when he left, the church was well established and free of debt. His next pastorate was at the Scofield Congregational Church in Dallas. He was with the church three years and then resigned once again to take up work with the YMCA. He was the Dallas secre tary until he accepted the call to Los Angeles in January 1906. Horton plunged into his new duties at Immanuel Presbyterian Church with a fresh vigor that was a sheer delight to the heart of Lyman Stewart. The two men had occasion to talk together often about evangelism and the future of the Lord's work around the world. Stewart confided that he wanted his money to be invested in the type of work that would immediately evangelize the un saved, rather than have it put into endowments for future programs. Said he: "Personally I do not be lieve in endowment of anything pertaining to the Lord's work. If the Lord's people have funds, I believe they should be transmitted
as quickly as possible into living gospel. Putting them into an en dowment rather suggests the lay ing of them up in a napkin. It always seemed to me very uncom plimentary to the future church to think that it would not take care of its own current work. By putting funds into immediate gospel work, there will be a much stronger con stituency created to take care of the work in the future." Horton agreed with his new friend Stewart, but from time to time remarked that there was a shortage of trained people to pre sent the gospel. Stewart would politely listen but then firmly re state his beliefs that it was not wise to tie up the Lord's money in "brick and mortar." By May 1907, Horton's hints that there was a need for trained peo ple to preach the gospel seemed to be bearing fruit. Now, Stewart was often bringing up the subject of a training school himself. The idea of such a school seemed to take definite shape as a result of evangelistic tent meetings held in Los Angeles during the summer of 1907. The meetings were under the direction of Horton and fi nanced by Stewart. By summer's end Horton concluded that the greatest drawback to the Lord's work was as he states: "The fact that our leaders are not qualified by practical equipment." It was at this time that Horton spoke of hearing a sermon by a Dr. Galloway of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church about whom he said, "He added nothing to our faith, but his message was very liberal." This incident seems to have crystallized Horton's thinking concerning the trend of the times Page 15
Church Federation and about 600 people enrolled. Horton wanted to launch a formal school immedi ately but his vision was by no means a general one. All evidence points to the contrary. It appears that only two men, Lyman Stewart and T. C. Horton, had vision strong enough to impel them to action. Stewart was out of the city for a time but Horton continued to work diligently on the matter of opening a school. However, he was able to accomplish very little as far as final plans were concerned. In his dis couragement he wrote to Stewart, "We are not making progress in Bible school work and I do not see that we can do so indefinite deci sions without your presence." He felt that Stewart was "the only one who [had] given much thought and prayer to this proposed work," and that only those who had given time and thought and prayer were qualified to deal with a matter of "such grave importance." For these reasons, according to Horton, it was impossible to com plete the plans in time to "open in the fall" of 1907. Horton had two lengthy confer ences with Torrey during the sum mer of 1907. Out of these came advice that proved helpful in the establishment of the school and the program that was adopted. Horton was convinced that Torrey knew more about Bible school work than any other man in the country. Torrey agreed that a school should be established on the West Coast and that Los Angeles was "the logical point on the Coast." He was of the opinion that a school confined to Bible teaching "pro duced the best results." For this
toward liberalism. It was about this matter that he wrote to Stewart: “Can we hope to change the tide which is setting in so strongly or must we bend our efforts to set ting in motion streams of real truth for such as will accept the truth?" Horton's dream for a Bible train ing school became a reality as an outgrowth of an evangelistic cam paign that failed to take place. In late August 1907, plans were being completed for a city-wide cam paign to be held early in 1908 with Dr. R. A. Torrey. In order to have trained personal workers for the campaign, Horton set up a Bible training class. The class was to do more than merely prepare per sonal workers, however. Horton designed each class to run for 45 minutes on personal evangelism. This was followed by general Bible study for another 45 minutes on such themes as prayer, the Holy Spirit, the duty of Christians and the Word. He said, "We want to do two things: first, to instruct workers and then to get hold of some who need to be instructed in the Bible." Horton desired to secure the Church Federation of Los Angeles to endorse the plan for Bible study without holding the meetings under the auspices of this group. His reason for objecting to any alliance with the federation, as he stated it, was: "There is oppor tunity for criticism concerning their kind of teaching. The need is now so definite for instruction along the dispensational lines that I want to give it out and yet there are many federation men who would no doubt object." In the end the training class was held under the auspices of the
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reason Torrey felt that some of the literary work undertaken by some of the other schools had not proven a real help to the students. He expressed his willingness to be identified with such a school in an advisory capacity. Since it was not possible to get the new school launched in the fall of 1907, Horton concluded that the next best time would be fol lowing Torrey's campaign early in 1908. Torrey agreed with this plan. However, the meetings with Torrey did not materialize. At the last minute the skating rink in which the meetings were to be held was condemned by the city as unsafe. This was the largest place available and Torrey refused to hold the meetings in any smaller place. But the new school, The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, was launched as planned on February 25, 1908 with Stewart as president, Horton as superintendent and Dr. W. E. Blackstone as dean. Black- stone was a lay member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and author of Jesus Is Coming. The first home of the Bible Insti tute was on Main Street, near Third. It was here that the first classes were held. The location was on the second floor above a pool hall. According to Mrs. Helen Day Sheppard, a member of the first graduating class, it was a large building divided into about four rooms. One was a dining room, another a kitchen, a third was an auditorium and the fourth was a social hall on the front of the building with large windows over looking Main St. This latter room was furnished with comfortable chairs, tables and lamps. It was used for social gatherings and also
for classes when needed. Students for the new school were recruited from three sources: 1) The Fishermen's Club, 2) the Lyceum Club and 3) the Sunday school teacher's training class held by Horton. The Fishermen's Club had been founded by Horton at Immanuel Presbyterian Church on Monday evening, April 16,1906 to 1) create and stimulate a love of Cod's holy Word and the study thereof, 2) do active, aggressive, personal work for Jesus Christ and 3) uphold the evangelical doctrines of the church. The club was incorporated under the laws of the State of California on December 3, 1910 and again in 1926 as an international organiza tion with chapters in Palestine, England and Puerto Rico. While the Fishermen's Club was strictly for young men, the Lyceum Club was strictly for young women, started by Mrs. Horton for the young ladies employed at the Fifth Street Department Store. The first meeting was held in the rug de partment of the store, but soon so many of the girls and their friends were coming that the store executives prepared a special room just off the rug department and equipped it with kitchen, dining and classroom facilities. For the convenience of the club, the store owners constructed an entry into the club room from the old Eve ning Express building, which was next door to the store, so that the club members would be able to enter the premises after closing hours of the store. By the end of its third academic year, the school already had out grown its Main Street facilities. Its success as a training school seemed Page 17
Burning the mortgage: Dr. Louis T. Talbot (circa 1932) in mortgage burning ceremony symbolizing the end of a near fatal financial crisis.
Dr. Sutherland, Dr. Talbot and Dr. Myers in front of Talbot Seminary on the La Mirada campus.
for 70 students and would provide an auditorium and classrooms far superior to that which the Moody Bible Institute had at the time. He was anxious to make the additional purchase, having read the pub lished statement of Henry Hunting- ton, President of the Los Angeles Railway System, concerning the looping of all the Los Angeles streetcars around Main and 11th Streets, which would make that area the center of the city. It seemed that the location that had been chosen would become even more advantageous. The adjoining lot was eventually purchased from the Slauson estate, and a third parcel owned by the Lankershims was under considera tion for possible future expansion. In September 1911, Stewart made a visit to the Moody Bible Institute in order to obtain some ideas for the new facilities to be built. This visit raised several questions in his mind and he began to wonder if the location that had been chosen was a proper one. In a letter to Horton he said, "My hasty view of the Moody Bible Institute plans have placed several question marks in my mind. With the limited amount of space at our command at 8th and Los Angeles, are we warranted in making the large expenditures necessary without assurance of adequate facilities for the future? Our location is, of course, ideal, but if we had in ad dition to the Slauson lot, the next one east of it on Los Angeles Street, and the Lankershim lot on 8th Street, we would still have less ground than the Moody Insti tute, while we have an empire to provide for." It was these questions in the Page 19
assured; its future looked bright but many obstacles lay in its path. In July 1911, Stewart wrote to his brother Milton back in Titus ville, "The work of the Bible Insti tute has been on my mind very much of late by reason of having outgrown its quarters, and our need for a new home for the work." Encouraging reports of the work had been coming in to Stewart. At that time the Institute was already carrying on an extensive teaching program through cottage and sub urban Bible classes. It was esti mated that about 3,000 persons were receiving weekly Bible in struction, and that from these classes quite a number of candi dates for the ministry and foreign mission fields had been produced. Already four students had been examined and approved by the African Inland Mission and some 15 additional students had applied to go to Africa. To meet the needs of the ex panding school, Stewart, on July 28, 1911, purchased two lots, 80 x 116 feet at the corner of Los Angeles and Eighth Street for $78,000. He wrote his brother about the location: "It will always be near the center of the city, from which all car lines radiate, and it will only be a couple of blocks from the 6th Street Subur ban Station so that people in the suburban towns can attend the evening classes without the annoy ance and expense of an extra carfare." The plan at the time was to pur chase the adjoining lot which was 70 x 116, which Horton consi dered, together with the one al ready purchased, would be ample
later services of R. A. Torrey. In the formative period of the school, Torrey's advice was sought fre quently. He was considered by the founders to be the nation's great est leader in the field of Christian education, and a man whose ad vice was invaluable in the estab lishment of such a school. Torrey had left the Moody Church in Chicago to do evangelistic work and was scheduled to join the Bible Institute of Los Angeles as dean in 1912. One of the stipula tions for his coming was that there was to be erected an auditorium with a seating capacity of at least 3,000.
minds of Stewart and others inter ested in the development of the school that made them hesitate to carry out the plans to build on the 8th and Los Angeles site. Immedi ately they began to cast about for a better location. In a letter written by Horton to Stewart on September 26,1911 the first mention of the Hope Street location was made. He wrote, “We have found a lot 168 x 180 on the east side of Hope Street which can be bought for $180,000. It contains 32,000 square feet — 7,000 more than the other lots. There is quite a diversity of opin ion as to the location, but for many reasons I still am led to favor the 8th Street site." However, Stewart believed that they were providentially led to the Hope Street location which he felt “comes nearer to being an ideal location than the one on 8th Street and will give more commodious accommodations." Joseph Irvine, who was inter ested in the Institute from its very beginning and who was in the real estate business af the time, relates how the purchase for the Hope Street property was made. He was given certified checks from Stewart and authority to negotiate for the purchase of the property. The property was in four separate par cels owned by four different indi viduals. According to Irvine the price did not vary more than $1,000 per parcel, and no owner was aware that the others were selling until they all met at the escrow office. The change of location caused some delay in the building pro gram of the Institute. And the delay nearly cost the school the
DR. R. A. TORREY With the change of location, the new auditorium would be delayed for at least two years. Torrey had been invited to come back to Moody and the BIOLA board feared the building delay might induce him to do so. Acting swift ly, Stewart proposed two plans to keep Torrey with the new West Coast school: 1) that the Institute arrange evangelistic meetings for
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fered by Dean Torrey and the audience sang, "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less." Almost a year later, on Saturday afternoon, May 31, 1913, the cor nerstone was laid. Chiseled on the stone was the inscription, "Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood." Inside the cornerstone was placed a copper box containing the city newspapers of that May 31st, copies of The King's Business, the school's statement of doctrine, catalog and circulars, a list of the officers, faculty, workers and stu dents, names of the architects, superintendent and assistant, a copy of the address given by Stewart, a copy of What the Bible Teaches by Torrey and a Scofield Bible. In his talk that day Stewart said, "We sought to have buildings planned on a scale somewhat commensurate with the commer cial value of this site, the magni tude of the field and the probable future needs of the Institute's many-sided work. These dormi tories, while a necessary adjunct to the Institute, will also partake of the character of an endowment. The work of construction, how ever, can proceed only as the means for this purpose can be secured; but the phenomenal in crease of our population, and the new problems to be solved when the Panama Canal is opened, im posed increased responsibilities, and render haste imperative. . . . For the teaching of the truths for which the Institute stands, its doors are to be open every day in the year, and all people, without reference to race, color, class, creed or previous condition, will Page 21
Torrey on the West Coast until 2) the basement auditorium (1,500- seat capacity) be completed. With a man of Torrey's vision the basement idea was not sound. Said he, "If you begin on the 1,500 basis, the community will size you up as a 1,500-size man, and this, humanly speaking, will make it more difficult later on to gather larger crowds." He was pleased with the idea of doing evangelistic work and it wasn't long before a firm agree ment was finalized whereby Torrey was to head the academic and spiritual activities of the Institute as dean from 1913 to 1924. After several delays, the Bible Institute finally held a ground breaking ceremony, Friday at 1 o'clock, June 22, 1912. Following the singing of hymns, Superin tendent Horton made a brief ad dress, calling attention to the great work providentially assigned to the Institute and the purpose of the management to make the pro posed buildings a rallying center for magnifying the Word of Cod. Stewart, as chairman of the board of directors, turned a shovelful of dirt, and said: "In the name of the Bible Institute I now take posses sion of this ground for the Lord's use by the act of turning this spadeful of earth. May our united prayers be that every detail of the construction of this building be accomplished in the fear of the Lord and for His glory. Let it be our hope and prayer that from this place shall radiate streams of influence which will be a great blessing not only to the multitudes around us but also to the darkest places of the earth." A prayer of dedication was of
Bible Institute. In 1912 Stewart wrote his broth er Milton: "I did not suppose that you were ready to say that you would go 'havers' with me in the Bible Institute work at present. What I have been anxious about, in view of the uncertainties of life, is that some direction be given by you to Kellogg in reference to an appropriation to these trust funds in his hands for this purpose. . . . This would be simply an instruc tion based upon possible contin gencies." The Kellogg Trust Fund, to which Stewart referred was a fund established by his brother Milton with Giles Kellogg, Secre tary of the Union Oil Company, as trustee. The fund was to be used in Christian endeavor, and it was Stewart's opinion that his brother should instruct Kellogg to use some of the fund in the financ ing of the Bible Institute. To this appeal, Milton Stewart replied by telegram: "As to Bible Institute, will say, as heretofore, will help, but cannot say 'havers' until I see how matters pan out." Later, after the construction of the buildings at Sixth and Hope Streets were under way, Stewart, due to financial reverses, was forced to appeal for additional help to carry on the building. In his appeal to his brother he stated: "Work on our Bible Institute build ing is pretty nearly at a stand-still owing to lack of funds for pushing it. To have the work stop means a great waste because it would not only break up our organization, but it would delay the time for utilizing the property in the active work of the Institute. This in itself means a great loss. I have won dered whether, if you had some
ever be welcome to its privileges." One of the greatest misconcep tions in connection with the Bible Institute of Los Angeles is the idea that immediately upon the deci sion to establish the school, Stew art came forth with all the neces sary funds to erect the buildings, and that until his death the Insti tute had only to call upon him at a moment's notice and he would supply all the funds needed to carry on its work and to complete its buildings. Nothing could be further from the truth. On the con trary, although he was a very rich man, Stewart's wealth was always tied up in investments and he never at any time had many liquid assets. Consequently, on many oc casions he had to borrow on tem porary or short-term loans to carry on his business, and frequently he had to borrow even to carry on his personal affairs. Upon the establishment of the Bible Institute of Los. Angeles, Stewart was prepared to give very liberally. However, he was well aware of the great expense that would be incurred and that the burden would be far greater than he would be able to bear alone. Further, it was his opinion that it would not be to the best interest of the school to have a patron who would pay all of its bills thus leav ing it without any reliance upon the Lord. With these thoughts in mind, he sought at the very begin ning to interest many men of wealth in the work that was be ing undertaken. Foremost among these men was his brother Milton, and throughout the remainder of Stewart's life he was constantly calling upon his brother for help in the financial support of the
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