ning, one of the defendants was on the stand and he refused to answer a ques tion, pleading a supposed constitutional privilege which obviously had no appli cation. I gave him time to consult with his counsel about it; I held the matter in abeyance over night to make sure that I was making no misapplication of the law, and then the next day, Friday, June 3, of the year 1949, I sentenced him to prison for thirty days, unless he should sooner purge himself of con tempt by answering the question. Pan demonium broke loose. The other ten defendants and their lawyers, and many of the spectators, rose to their feet; there was a great shouting and hulla baloo, and several of the defendants started toward the bench. “ In all that excitement, I felt just as calm as I do now when I speak to you; I did not raise my voice over the tone which you hear me use now; and I singled out several of those men, iden tified the language they were using, got it on the record, and sentenced each of them to imprisonment for the balance of the trial. “And I tell you, as I stand here, that my unguided will alone and such self- control as I possess were unequal to this test. If ever a man felt the presence of someone beside him, strengthening his will and giving him aid and comfort, it was I on that day. “ And so it was later and toward the end of August, when I finally left the courtroom one day and went to lie down, thinking that perhaps I should never go back. But, after ten or fifteen minutes, I was refreshed and I did go back; and I gained in strength from that moment on to the end. “ Perhaps someone will think it wrong for me to tell you these things. But I could not come to this gathering pre pared to discuss the ordinary platitudes, or to hold forth on philosophy or inter national affairs, about which I know nothing. It seemed better, particularly in these trying, difficult times, when each of us is worried, and each of us is troubled over this great country of ours that we love so well, to sound a note of comfort. “After all is said and done, it is not we who pull the strings; we are not the masters, but the servants of our Mas ter’s will; and it is well that we should know it to be so.” Who Is a Christian? T HE Pasadena Star News is an ex cellent local paper. In its Saturday review of religious happenings the world around. On this church page there are usually some timely editorials. In a recent issue the leading edito rial was entitled “ Who is a Christian?” The religion editor first quoted Phillips Brooks, a renowned liberal of the last century, as follows: “Who is a Christian? Everywhere the man who, so far as he comprehends Jesus Christ, so far as he can get any T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
Testimony to the Sunday School J OHN EDGAR HOOVER of the Fed eral Bureau of Investigation certainly could never be accused of flighty, fan ciful reasoning. He is accustomed to dealing with cold, hard facts and because of the tremendous amount of informa tion that passes his desk, he is in a posi tion to know and evaluate institutions and movements in our country, perhaps more than any other single person. In a recent article published in the Sunday School Times, Mr. Hoover pays splendid tribute to the value of the American Sunday School. After pointing out some discouraging statistics as to the increase of crime and the alarming prevalence of crime among young peo ple, Mr. Hoover speaks in the highest terms of the accomplishments of our Sunday schools. “ Let us test the value of the Sunday school dispassionately. We need no array of statistical data to arrive at some common-sense conclusions. Obviously, ordinary reason tells us a knowledge of what is right and what is wrong is es sential before we can expect a child to choose his path. Where better to implant this fundamental knowledge than in the Sunday school? There the knowledge and the desire to exercise it are ac quired together, in such intimate asso ciation that the urge to act righteously becomes a reflex of the recognition of the rightful course. “ The Sunday school teachers of the na tion are doing a truly magnificent job. They are insuring that the child who is so fortunate as to come into the Sun day school fold receives an introduction to the Word of God, the unequaled guide to righteous living and faith in the fu ture. They are laying upon a rock the foundations of Christian character in their disciples, the Sunday school schol ars. Our hopes for the future are in their hands. “ Surely no parent can be blind to the creeping paralysis of secularism and materialism which continue to infect the moral fiber of the world. Surely every parent worthy of the name will recognize the essential part Sunday school train- Page Four
ing must play in developing Christian ideals and staunch moral stability in the children whose moral character and philosophy of life are their parents’ most pressing responsibility. “ Let them place their trust in the Sunday school and the Sunday school teacher. Not only will their children be come better men and women for the Sun day school’s training, but the nation will become a better nation, and the world a better world. For with every child who is taught to accept Christian ethics as his guide to daily living, secular materialism as a national philosophy is dealt a crippling blow. “ The banners of Christ can lead the way to the moral and spiritual rebirth of our great nation. In the forefront of His banner-bearers are the Sunday schools.” The Judge and His God M OST Americans recognize the name of Judge Harold R. Medina as the presiding judge before whom were tried many of the arch-Communists of our country. It is not often that a man in such high position pauses to speak in real humility of his dependence upon God and His wisdom and power. In a recent address given by Judge Medina at the 64th dinner of the Church Club of New York City, the following testimony was made: “ I do not see why a judge should be ashamed to say that he prays for divine guidance and for strength to do his duty. Indeed, there came a time not so long after the incident I have just described, when I did the most sincere and the most fervent praying that I ever did in my life. “As I mentioned in passing at the beginning of this address, I suddenly found myself in the midst of that trial of the Communists. It took me a long time to realize what they were trying to do to me. But as I got weaker and weaker, and found the burden difficult to bear, I sought strength from the one source that never fails. “ Let me be specific. There came a time when, doubtless due to previous plan
issue, it devotes an entire page to a
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