, 1877-02-18

u vas easy euoosn ~ aniI bosis uros mt 81
easy. There had been good deal OF numan
nature in the building Of ranroaos.
[Laughter.l What was stock: r1,5,ont Mh5, II
was the piles that IL, ths fs,aat;on uitee'oa9 nn
which to put q frst-mortgage bond, and upon
this was a nice debt on which to put second,
and, on top OF that, bankruptcy. lLnugnter.l
Usually there we're twenty directors, s,-nve "
themwtsc, and fifteen Respectable Lau9h't ieh ~
contractors, aud swindling Of every conceiraole
nature, the crash came. But who sup
posed the Directors lost anything: ~,
no. 1t vas the poor schooltcaenels' tne
led by the religious newspapers to take q adgan- =
tagc Of the admirable opportunity to sell Coy
ern1nent bonds and invest in Northern Pacihc
stock. [Appiause.] Even the ministers TOOK
some. Some Of them put in thousand or ,Sf tme'
which provoked great laushter.] Never had he
appreciated SO fully the words Of Paul;
II would that were altogether, as thou art,
save these bonds" Laughter In Instead asan,; O.
falling on those best able to Dsar tne 1a1nte caam
mcans,-thc middle classes. This period oi
shrinkagc had gone on, and would go On untA
the common people had time to earn what they
called their small ovcrplus, sucked up In these
But, after all, the losses had been material;
the gain, moral. Debts had been paid: people
had been taught lessons of economy and pru-
dence Young men, who had been allured to the
cities with the prospect Of becoming merchants,
returned, some TO beg, some to thelr nomes, tnaa
which there was ho better place Tor battered
ambition to put In and re6t. Some, remember
ing the words Of the good book, TO to the
ant, thou sluggard,' - went to their aMnts M ana
helped cat their bread. [Laushter.l The bank
l,ome-and wncn man mad done that, though
he be bankrupt for million dollars, he nao
made one of the greatest discoveries Ap-
plause.l Some had done even better than that.
They had learned the total insecurity o. eastn-
themselves treasures In heaven where
neither moth nor rust could corrupt, and where
there was nothing that maketh lie; tnese'
where the spirits OF just men were made peficct.
There let man invest and though Ris ne hs Ge 6.d
learned the way Of living, the way OF dying, and
the way of living again. Prolonged applause
BEEcHER AND TUE TABERNACLE.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
OFFICE STAR LECTURE COURSE, CHICAGO
Feb. live think 1t just to the Tabernacle
Committee, and to ourselves, that ne should
briefly state the facts, as far as We kno" them
why N[r. Beecher did not preach Or lecture IN
the Tabernacle. To have replied before 70 all
the public aud private criticisms to which We
hare been subjected would, In the minds OF
certain OF our critics, undoubtedly nav e
been construed into shrc"d enort
on our part to do some special adseftis'
ing for Mr.. Beecher's second lecture 1aat
lecture having been given, We are now e1tf1cat.
ed from all embarrassing surroundings, ano
cannot be accused Of having any other interest,"
in the opening Of the Tabernacle Tor proper
public uses than that which should be 1elt bs
every public-spirited citizen. , -.
| Let us premise by frankly ackno"ledihg az
| the outset that we recognize the propr1ets ana
| right of the Tabernacle Committee US Com
mIttec, to determine absolutely apd "Anou,
reference to the opinion Of any one what snail
| be done with the building they manage. IT i
| trne the building was erected partly by public
| subscriptions, but having passed into the hanas
| of this Com nittcc, it is to all intcnfs aud pur
| noses. theirs to do with as they like Thcll
| Judgment may be criticised, but their r1Gnts mol
| at all. ~ - 4.o.
Furthermore, let US say for ourselves that
when we engaged Mr.. Beecher to lecture for US
| the extraordinary fec We were obliged TO nay
compelled us, in self-dcfen:e, to stlpulate "a
part Of our contract that tlr. Beecher shoule
OF orpb b. our consent. TO that extent ht
became .tour property as some Of our critic:
have kindly reminded the public. It has peer Z,
| our constant DESIRE and We think the punitc
will bear witness that it has been our haoit
lie enterprises to deal honorably with the pub
| lie. often sacri1ciCg our temporary personal Ill
| tcrest to the public benefit, recognizing, w
| frankly confess that such course lot those
dealing with the public is the only wise one u
pursue. It needs no explanation to any business
man that having agreed to pay Mr. Bcecher lafe9t
fee to come to Chicago to lecture for US. it wa:
our privilege to determine whether be shoniG
! preach either before or after. OF prcacn az al
A. least Mr Beecnsr 80 Pond n naeej
| the entire matter in our hands, aud ! !
| yyas arranged with them that ne shoult
nreach once. and that on the Sunday before tn
lectures. So much By way Of preface NO" Il
the facts respecting the Tabernacle.
| We made all our arrangements to have Mr
! Reecher lecture in Mccormick Hall, but as sool
as Mr.. Beecher's lectures were announced
prcssure such Us we could not have reasonab!'
resisted: ii we had so desifed Vas maze 3he HpG oh
crnace, where all who desired to hear him couls
hc comfortably accommodated at an admission
fee Of 50 cents. Accordingly Mr.. Carpente
| saw Mr.. Harvey and explained the SITUATION q
him, Mr.. Harvey, with equal frankness, tol'
| Ur. Carnenter that it was the intention OF tn
| Committee to have some entertainments
| their own In the Tabernacle to raise money, an'
did not wish to have the novelty OF us US
worn OF before they lad o9 99mpesea hpear t1c, tSa
# was a matter OF money with them, as Inc
were ia great need Of funds, aud asked VIVA
consideration We could offer. Mr.. &. suggeste
he {slr. a. should make any reasonable propc
sitton, and he would find us liberal IN our az
ctptance. He asked if we could o1er 70 pa
S1.OO. Sfr. e. told him that, having 10 pa
Rrecher such IN unusual fec, We could not tak
such large additional risk, but instead OF pay
| inr certainty for the Tabernacle would viii
ingly give such percentage OF the receipts, a
In case the building should be crowded TO II
capacity would approximate the sum namea.
As q further reason why 1t it was desiraol
for us to make the percentage arrangement, W
c. explained to Mr.. Harvey-who' as q shre"
business man, at once took in the tarts-tna
It was no inancial advantage TO U
| to hare Mr.. Beecher IN the tabernacle,
the general result would be tue san !
whether be lectured in the Tabernacle At :
cents or Mccormick Hall at sl.50. our ch'e
| desire was to please Mr.. Beecher with q late
audience, satisfy the public, and close our lec
ure season with eclat-
After an extended interview MI. Harvey tol
| Mr.. C. to submit a proposition, and hoer'
enough the arrangement might be consun
mated, he stipu1atlng, as part Of the conslae
alton, that we should give the Committee ou
| services In the management Of their own cn1e
tainments, which we rendered him indepent
ently OF auv conclusion reached in our matter
. We submitted three propositions to choose
tween, one Of $500 rental as 4 certainty, Or
they would foin us In the risk 10 per cent OF tn
i | orrree racaints or 12S5 pcr cent OF the net r