Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1871-11-25

The Bright Side.
NJ HENRY WARD BEEcBKn.


visited Chicago il an anachroDsm in his
tory, and is like another Pompei or the
apocalyptic vision. II astoundcd rather
than interpreted itself We dare not
enter Upon the interior Of this disaster,
or ask "why hast thou done this Z" Why
should the frugal and industrious suffer
more than the lazy and shiftlcss, who
had nothing before and have nothing
now Why should the innocent and
bopeless--the poor little chldren-the
weak women be chased out into the
to fall victims TO the de-
vouring element Why should the
puny wife, just opening !he door Of life
to her first born, be destroyed-and
since she must go, why might not the
lover and the husband go too? Gods
are great deep, and the
man who attempts to follow them with
inquisiLion will soon find himself with.
out chart or compass Turn away from
these queries, for in their path lies Athe-
ism. Refuse longer to be in darkness.
Is there not some thought that will
bring JOY and comfort to the sorrowing?
l. there not bright side to this terrible
disaster? Yes, there is. Morally, So
cially and industriously, cities are the
great heads Of society. Chicago is blot
ted out, but every town, village aud city
feels the flash OF its flames. Its nerve.
filamcnts run out TO every part of the
land. There is scarcely n nation on the
globe but had some Of the roofs of Chi
cago in it. No city stands alone-no
man can stand alone-much less can
whole community OF men.
When a man il well, he doesn't realize
that he has nerve, or drop of blood.
Touch the brain, let sickness remove the
tough covering, the protection of health,
and cities are the heads, the brains OF
the country. They produce civilization
and are produced by it their purity,
morality and wholesomeness are of
transcendant Importance 20 the whole
universe. Shall the nerve in TIE check
say to the nerve in the foot, you are so
far down that you doa't belong to me-
1t is noble to spread commerce all over
the land but it is Of more Importance
that metropolis should be well gov
erned city than that it should increase
in commerce. Our cities are the seats of
from the fruits they bear but whether
the seat of the demoniac gods or of the
Great Jehovah, they are the places oi
power Our civilization is expressed by
our cities. America is to he the land OF
cities. Intelligence and thrift always
develop in that direction. The fire is a
good thing, then, if only for enlarging
the idea of our relation to the world.
This burning of Chicago is great ma
tional benefit. II hasn't been disaster.
We are richer to-day with Chicago burn
ed than we ever were before. There
were great many things which should
have been burned. If we were to Judge
from the cruelty and lust which trans.
pired there, it would seem rs if God sa,
upon his throne only to make mysery
Over against this picture, like a rainbow
against the storm cloud, hangs another
fair and beautiful. In that great whirl
ing tornado of fire there was bountlfu
harvest of good as well as hideou
harvest of evil. How many selfish mel
have learned to esteem others better
than themselves. How many mother.
ioyfully suffered that their children
might be spared. What heroic achev
ments more than we know, but no
more than the angels chronicle. Man
hood is raging in its best aspect. No
that think houses, offices, banks anc
churches are the best crop but tha
manhood which the very next day re
bounded and commenced is better 10 IL
than streets paved with gold. The sui
terers rose superior to their misiortunes
They stand up heavier and stronger thar
before, and it's this manhood that make
the world rich. 1t is treasure to Eu
rope, and may rouse the sluggish Asia
Burn dwellings, go down churches
that we may see what lies behind you
There is a grand-a glorious bright sid
to this so called calamity. | mean t
participate in the heroic example of tn
sufferers, and pick out the good ly in!
among the ashes. 1t may be satel
affirmed that not man was more tina
twelve hours hungry. All the granarie
, of the west, and the wardrobes of tn
east were thrown open. Fire and 81 ear
did the work OF humanity. A inothe
in the night never turned quicker to he
mourning babe, than the whole worl
turned to ease the pain and misery {
, the great chared city. Crecds might b
spread all over the universe, aud not
Christian be found in it. Churche
might be built upon every block of lane
:, and the spirit OF Christ be nowhere Wis
BILE. We have been preaching the brotl
erhood of man, endeavoring TO harmt
nize the rough elements, but at last til
: work has been done by fire and destru
: ton. What do we see Churches an
o. theatres working together. God bic:
! the theatres, and churches, too. Ever
: man feels that he is more than Catholi
more than Protestant-he is man
T. Corporations are said to have no soul
> but it seems TO me they show somethin
! very much like it at the present time.
: it not worth while TO have disastt
" which brings us together so closely
This spectacle is worth more than q
}, the riches of Chicago. We couldn't a
d ford to have her not burned. When HI
e Majesty telegraphed to Canada "Seu
u all the blankets in the Dominion"
;, touched deep chord. We have BET
| tonched on the other side before noN