Connecticut western news., 1876-01-21

places his property mostly out of his hands legally, and then takes up with the legal process and when his affairs are settled he is congratulated upon the result. Corporations pay their dividends and double salaries, while the owners certificate of stock is so much waste paper. And what corporations do in- dlvlduals do under cover of the law. A case just entered in New York is in point: liabilities, $143, 3,000; assets, $l25 worth of wearing apparel, claimed to be exempted under the law. One man can legally carry on business until his assets cover only five cents on every dollar of liabilities. Another can legal ly borrow thousands of dollars to-mor- row and fail just after. In the sight of God thief is a thief it matters not how, 1t matters now where or whom. Thou shalt not steal
 Fourthly, speculation or stock gam bling. Speculation, robbery, despair, prison-these are the steps on the down ward road. The mania reaches this side of Wall street. Respectable papers ad- vertise the names of brokers whose advice can clear $1, 200 upon every $1OO invested, subject to call upon the Stock
 
 Friday" did not break the fascination of the ton thousand dreamers of wealth i; nor did it put a stop to the spurious companies, legally equipped but pure frauds. Tbe number of men who, dur ing the last few years, have gained wealth on Change, approximating to their expectations, we are told could be counted on one's fingers. But the enor- mity of the evil leading to poverty can hardly be appreciated. The par value of the sales at the New York Stock Ex- change reache, considerably above twen- ty-two thousand million dollars annually. Speculations which in former times swept over the street like a monsoon now produce mere nipples. But all this is legal, and the vultures sometimes are among the seemingly devout worshipers of Christ, that Christ who, twice in his lifetime, cleared His Fathers house of the men of traffic as heartless as their followers of to-day. Honest business men need our heartiest sympathy since they have to cope with the dishonest who are shielded by the law.
 But what of the man who is in haste to be rich The crown he aspires for is of gold. and can be won only here. It must be left with the body. The racer is born for two worlds; yet as he hurries forward he gauges his acts by human statues. He keeps the gains legally got ten from those whom God will defend. He hears the curses of those whom he has defrauded. but whose only appeal is to God of eternal justice, and not to the tribunal of man. He hasteth to be rich, but poverty shall come upon him. What though he gain the crown and wear it for few hours9 When he shall lay it one side and enter another existence, where shall be his hope "The love of money is tho root of all evil, which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows"
 We must come back to the old time. We are to be judged by our motives, Fraud is sin; neglect of the Divine law is sin; and it is high time that the Christian church shall recognize this fact. We need a frmer pubicsentiment which, being stronger than the law, shall keep back from destruction those who unwittingly are tempted thither.