The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-07-20
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
Editorial Opinions OF the Leading Journals
upon Current Topics Compiled Every
Day for the Evening Telegraph.
PELF AND PIETY.

meeting assembled) that he was as sure of
the existence of a Deity as of the existence
of -four in the city; and of that he was sure,
since he had Just received 800 barrels prime
Howard Street, which he was ready to sell,
at wholesale or retail, upon the most reason
able terms. We reckon this story a sort of
irreverent Joe" invented by the scoffer; yet
we find in the Worcestershire (Englsnd)
Advertiser. O veritable advertisement as
relishing in its way as the celebrated Worces-
tershire sauce. In this, Edward Hicks, No.
27 Friar street, Worcester, invites "his
Christian friends" to inspect his large assort-
ment of boots and shoes" He expresses
desire for 'the Divine blessing upon his dill
gence in business, and promises, if he can
sell boots and shoes enough, ''to devote a
portion of his time to gratuitous mission'
work. Repairs neatly executed. Bespoke
orders punctually attended to, etc. etc." Now,
we should like to ask the reader as we have
asked ourselves, what there is in an adver-
tisement like this which should make the
irreverent sneer and the reverent- judicious
grieve, as they assuredly will? 1t is perfectly
possible that this shoe-seller may be sincere,
and that he desires to sell great many shoes
in order that he may be able to distribute a
great many tracts in Worcester. Why should
we doubt the veritable devotion of good Mr..
Hicks? Why suspect him of using his piety
as q puff? Yet nothing can be more certain
than that nine e-tenths of those who may read
this advertisement will declare Mr.. Hicks to be
but a worldly wise hypocrte of cordwainer.
Probably a good deal of the disagreeable
feeling to which such an announcement may
give rise may be safely attributed to its pal
pable violation of the laws of good taste
Men with no loudly-professed religion of their
own may yet be offended by anything which
diminishes their respect for the religion of
others; for, however Indifferent they may be
upon the point of personalp piety, they are not
Indifferent to the dignity of human nature.
They fail to see the connection between the
selling of shoes and the salvation of souls
between faith and filthy lucre. For the tenn
pie, pure and undefled, they may have sort
of reverence, albeit they never pass its por-
tals and they may not exactly approve its
conversion into house of merchandise.
But the incongruity, perhaps the decep-
tion, goes further still. Mr.. Hicks invites
Christians" to come and buy his boots and
Shoes Now, this would be perfectly right if
Christians wore uniformly particular kind
of boot, whether calf, cowhide, box-toe, or
round-toe. But this not being the case, there
is no reason why Christians, as such, should
be invited to buy, unless all the profits of
their buying are to be devoted "to gratuitous
mission work. But it must..be remembered
that Mr.. Hicks, excellent man though he be,
must eat, and so must Mrs. Hicks and the
little Hickses. Moreover, this devotee of a
tradesman solicits the patronage of the
wicked, or Gas he phrases it ''the public
generally" His goodness, therefore, enables
him, through the prosperity of his shop, not
only to distribute tracts and occasionally
preach, but also to pay his notes, keep his
stock good, support his family, and perhaps
lay by good bit of money for day of rain.
The world may be a wicked world, but of this
kind of piety, the piety which literally pays,
the world always has been and will be sus-
picious.
Nor have men who thus, either through
interest or carelessness, mix the sacred and
the secular, any right to complain of outside
criticism. If they will bring the sacred ves-
sells into the market-place they must not be
surprised if the general populace shall pro-
ceed to test the soundness of the metal. We
do not believe that any rational human being
ever looked upon any form of real religion
without feeling of respect; and to this
feeling an exhibition of self-seeking,
hypocrisy, and cant is grievously often
sive. If this were an ordinary matter,
carpers might properly be told to mind
their own business; but, as it concerns the
spiritual culture of the whole race, pious
puffery is their business, and cannot be
otherwise OF this there is overmuch, even
in our own beautiful land. Gentlemen of
the clerical profession are continually be-
trayed into giving a semi-official sanction Gin
the literal meaning of the word) to books,
medicines, piano-fortes, sewing g-machines,
melodeons, and all manner of merchandise
matters of which the Reverend" before theii
names by no means makes them infallible
judges. If they will but calmly consider the
matter they will see that the respect of the
unrighteous is precisely what they canno
afford to dispense with.
QUESTIONS AT STAKE IN THE WAR
From the NJ Y. Times.
Those who suppose that the war between
France and Prussia is solely the fruit of tn,
Emperor Napoleon's ambition can have paic
but little attention to the recent history o
Prussia The cable tells us that the Londol
Times said on Monday, ''France, without
shadow of excuse or justification, plunge
Europe into war of which no living persol
may see the end" The first part of this sen
tence may answer the purposes of partisan
ship, but it is not historically true. TIL
latter part of the sentence, although con
tanning only an opinion, is worth NOR
consideration. The probability increase
every hour that this will be war of colossa
magnitude. 1t is said that the United State
cannot possibly be drawn into it, but hoy
can there be any certainty of thatp mis-
understanding with regard to any American
vessel, intercepted on the high seas by
belligerent power, might compel us to take al
attitude which would end in war. At presen
we have, unquestionably, a better prospec
of peace before us than any great power o.
the face of the earth. We. might do trad
unequalled in our history-we might, pei
haps, reinstate our foreign commerce at
single stroke-if the policy of Congress ha
only left the hands of our ship-builders an
merchants free.
If the sympathies of the American naonI