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Rev. Joey N. Welsh: Being first, at least for awhile ANOTHER ANGLE: the occasional musings of a Kentucky pastor. Previously posted September 17, 2006 By The Rev. Joey N. Welsh joey_n_welsh@hotmail.com BEING FIRST, AT LEAST FOR AWHILE All of the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, contain Jesus teaching that the human view of rank and status is seldom the divine outlook. According to Matthew 19:30, many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. (NIV) The context in Matthew 19 is the story of the rich young ruler who went away in sadness after Jesus had asked the young man to leave behind his wealth and follow as a disciple. Jesus subsequent teachings in that chapter about status and possessions end with verse 30. In Matthew 20 the parable of the workers in the vineyard concludes with verse 16: So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Mark 9:35 describes Jesus response after the disciples have argued about which among them was the greatest. Jesus calls the disciples aside, saying, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (NIV) In Mark 10 Jesus tells the story of the rich young ruler and, just as in Matthew, ends the parable by speaking of the first becoming the last. Luke 13 uses the saying in the context of Jesus teaching about the narrow door. Alben Barkley spoke of being first Surely one of the most famous Kentuckians to speak about the tension between being first or last was Alben Barkley. Barkley spent a large portion of his life being near the top of the political heap. After serving in the U. S. House of Representatives and then winning four elections as U. S. Senator, he was Vice-President during the Truman years. Having been re-elected later to the Senate, he was at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia addressing students on April 30, 1956. He declared, "I would rather be a servant in the house of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty." Those were his last words. Radio recordings of the occasion catch the sound of Barkley crashing into the microphones as he hits the floor, dead of a sudden heart attack. What a smashing way depart this life! Another political leader with Kentucky roots is not so well known to us these days, though he spent a large part of his life in the seats of the mighty and ranked first in his field of leadership. As far as most people in his birth state are concerned, he may as well have been last of all. I think his life is worth remembering, however, because he has a direct connection to any of us who spend money. Look in your wallet or purse. If you have a dollar bill imprinted with the stamp of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis or Kansas City, you are carrying a link to James Beauchamp Champ Clark (1850-1921). Born in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, to John H. Clark and Aletha Beauchamp Clark, his Kentucky family heritage ran deep into the commonwealths history. Through his mother he was first cousin (twice removed) to Jereboam Beauchamp, primary figure in one of the most startling American murder cases of the 19th century. Robert Penn Warren told its story in World Enough and Time. (I know I digress here, but I think its interesting that the family of someone who became as prominent and powerful as Champ Clark also shaped one of the most heartrending tales of its era. Anyone who passes through Bloomfield in Nelson County should stop to read the highway historic marker at the cemetery where the sad lovers Jereboam and Ann are buried. Entitled Romantic 1825 Tragedy, it reads: Jereboam Beauchamp and wife Anna buried here in same coffin at own request. To avenge her alleged seduction by Col. Solomon Sharp, Beauchamp murdered him at Sharp's Frankfort home, 1825. Beauchamp and Anna were held in Frankfort jail. She was released but joined her husband in his cell, refusing to be separated even by force. He was sentenced to hang. See over.Champ Clark went to Missouri after law school Despite his profound Kentucky connections, Champ Clark went west after he finished law school in Cincinnati, settling in Pike County, Missouri in 1875. He was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1892, losing in 1894, then winning election every two years until shortly before he died. House Democrats elected him Minority Leader in 1908. He became Speaker of the House after Democrats gained a majority in the 1910 election. Then at the peak of legislative influence, he became the frontrunner for the 1912 Democratic presidential nomination. At the convention in Baltimore he ran well in the balloting, holding a majority of votes from the 10th through 16th ballots. Unfortunately for Champ Clark, he needed 2/3 of the ballots to win under the party rules of the era. After William Jennings Bryan belatedly announced his support of New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson, Wilson received the nomination on ballot 46. Clark had been first for awhile, but not by enough or for long enough to win the Democratic nomination in a year when the Republican Party was fractured and weakened by the Bullmoose candidacy of Theodore Roosevelt in a third party. Clark guided President Wilson's legislative initiatives Remaining in the House, Clark was effective in guiding President Wilson's legislative initiatives until 1917, when he split the party by opposing Wilson and U. S. intervention in WWI. Clark also had opposed establishment of the Federal Reserve System during Wilsons first term, believing it to be a structure that would benefit powerful east coast bankers. In the end, though, Clark allowed the Federal Reserve Act through the House. Because of his powerful position and the crucial influence of Missouri Sen. James A. Reed, Missouri was the only state to be allocated two (of the twelve) Federal Reserve branches. One branch is in St. Louis, the other in Kansas City. (Much of Kentucky, all of Arkansas, eastern Missouri and parts of Illinois, Indiana and Mississippi are in the St. Louis District of the Federal Reserve system). Champ Clark lost his seat in the Republican landslide of 1920, and he died within a few months, still at his Washington, D. C. residence. One of the leading politicians of his age, he was buried at Bowling Green, MO, seat of Pike County. His home in Bowling Green, Honey Shuck, is preserved as a museum home, and the city observes a Champ Clark Festival each September. A history marker in Lawrenceburg notes his Kentucky birth, and, of course, some bank notes are reminders of his political career (The new-fangled bills don't bear the imprints of the twelve regional banks, but the one-dollar bills retain the regional marks.) (One additional item of interest: rent a copy of the 1944 Hollywood film Wilson. A biographical picture based on the life of President Wilson, it won several Academy Awards. The movie contains a rousing re-creation of the Democratic National Convention of 1912, focusing on the Clark/Wilson competition for the nomination.) This story was posted on 2009-09-20 06:56:48
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Being a volunteer doesn't mean joining, but that helps Volunteer service most enjoyable time of life Barbara Armitage: Improving Adair County by the numbers Rev. Joey N. Welsh. Reprint, Aug. 20, 2006. Still learning Shamarie Claiborne picture reminder of clues in nature Mark Hale: An elevated catwalk for the courthouse Says 20 cent difference =$1,400 per gas tanker extra profit! Rev. Joey N. Welsh: July 30, 2006. Dairy Queen Dave Rosenbaum speculates on sauced up Adair Co. Comment on wet county vs. dry county View even more articles in topic Commentary |
 
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