Litchfield enquirer., 1879-04-24

and teachable spirit; desiring to wisely Know himself, and learn more and more of the char acter. and the government of Him who is his 1 Teacher and God. For 'Pride of intellect, " say some, ''may shut God out of the soul" as we'll as pride of heart. And in this day, when many run to and fro and knowledge is increas- ed, and curiosity to unravel difficult questions carries captive so many, pride of intellect is shutting out God from multitudes of souls. Instead of a willingness to accept, upon simple faith Gods own revelation of himself, and thus proving it's truthfulness by the deing of hls Will, men set up their own opinions and fancies over against the words of Him who is ''the way, the truth, the lite." But the true man, ever confesses in humility his own un- worthiness and ignorance, and sin, accepting gratefully at the hand of God the help he prof fers, and, if need be, is willing to take the low est place in the opinions and judgment of men, that thereby he may be exalted.
 But let us pass now from these general state ments to some particular and specific applica lions of the character of true man, a christian citizen, to the duties which belong to him, in this day, and in land like ours
 1. First le will not connive or wink at wrong. He will not be party in other mems sins. The evils that exist in society and in the political life of the nation, will not go unre- | buked by either his words or his example He will not be afraid to live, speak and act the right, in every relation in life. He will not for the sake of present, selfish gain, hold prin- cple in abeyance, nor seek to occupy some middle ground when the interest of truth and righteousness are hazarded.
 There is an increasing danger in our day. that men come to sink their own personal re- sponsibility in regard to evil practices, in the party to which they belong, or in the corpora ton with which they are connected, or in the clique who have the chief manipulation of affairs. The truth that 'corporations have no souls" thus at length becomes the sent- ment of those who compose them, and there is such dividing up of moral responsibility, that when palpable wrong has been, or is being committed, no one is to blame for it. Widows and orphans are disregarded, and the hard earned dollars of the working man are selfish ly squandered to enrich others, and yet no one inss particular is responsible for it. Moneyed institutions whose professed existence is to en- sure to the helpless and unprotected the means of livelihood when the earthly parent is re- moved, enter upon wrong courses, through 8 | spirit of personal aggrandizement using funds which do not belong to them, but are only a sacred trust, in ways where honesty or safety | any whose opinion or conscentiousness might l give them trouble with tempting remittance Thus this evil has increased upon us, until mercantile deceit and breach of trust,' have caused general distrust of both individual and national credit, ''venality and profigacy of politics, municipal, state, federal" has 'sunk-republican government" as one has said 'almost to the level of the worst speci- mems of monarchy, in the times of the second Charles, and the French Regency" while at the same time, there exists a dislike of these wholesome theories of correction which alone can reach the fountain of evil
 New in regard to all these things, the true l man will not remain silent He will not suf- fer wrong which he would not commit alone, 1 and unaided, to be committed by clique, corporation CT party with winch he may be | connected, without his protest I have at hand an illustration, as described at that time, | in the care of man, whom deem it an honor | to know ''moral hero, whose deeds deserve | place on the roll of the most brave and good"
 | A corner in wheat was almost completed by a powerful combination in New York on the last day of September, '7S. The clique | came at last to MT. David Brigham, gentle man, resident of Orange, New Jersey, to invite him to unite in the operation. The sue | cess or the failure of the scheme depended on his yes or mo- If he said yes he would have put thousands of dollars into his pocket, and at the same have assisted in making the ruin of | many of the grain merchants while the price of bread to the poor would have been increas- ed, and at such time as this, when it is so | difficult for the poor to find work. If he said no, he would lose hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars but would almost certainly avert ruin and suffering from others. The question was just this. "Will you unite with us in con- trolling the wheat market? Mr. Brigham, for may call him by name, said no, meant no, and did no. He not only refused to join the con- | bination, but used his means and influence. add labered energetically to break it down, and succeeded. Thank God for such true mer- chant! The New York Produce Exchange, a few days after, passed, at largely attended meeting of grain merchants, resolutions ten- dering their public acknowledgement to Mr. Brigham for his unselfsh efforts expressing their grateful appreciation of him, ''who plac- ed himself in the breach at the critical heur, refusing to aggrandize himself at the expense of other merchants in the grain trade''
 This is the kind of men we need to see mul- tiplied today. If such Christians as Mir. l Brigham were more frequently met with in the walks of business life, the world would begin to feel that there is something in the re- ligion of Christ, after all Is it not fact to be lamented that such an instance of integrity, under great temptation is an exception rather than the rule That so seldom the ''knightly spirit" of the moral hero is exhibited for our admiration. The occasions are not 1nfrequent when the true man is called upon I like man. ner, to stand by principle rather than belle his professions and his faith in God.
 g. In relation to the great moral reforms that have for their object the elevation and salvation of fallen men, the true man will also be in hearty sympathy. As to particular measures, he may be in doubt, but as to the end to be gained, he will be Outspoken, and give his help in some way or ether. He will not allow prejudice to blind principle. As some one has said, there are "many men who claim to be firm in their principles, when re- ally they are only obstinate in their prejudi- ces." How true is the remark! How often prejudice which is the result of education. or