The Portland daily press., 1880-10-16

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paper or two, wondering if the young man
would have any better show in the metropolis.
But couldn't see any special chance for him.
l could not find that any business house was
| anxiously looking for an accountant who had
never been guilty of the grave offence Of
preaching or praying where anybody could
hear him; couldn't find that any merchant
was especially looking for some young man
who had never gone wrong so far as to become
treasurer or superintendent of Sabbath
school," They didn't seem to hunger after
that particular kind of young man.
| looked at the young mans advertisement
long time, and it seemed to me that he was
| very young man, indeed He must be very
| young, or he would know that to preach and
| to pray, even boldly, without being ashamed
of it, in broad day light, in the presence of
| fifty, hundred, or three thousand people is
not considered, even by business men, as vic
| ious habit, or an indication Of loose morals.
do not know who the young man has been
accustomed to hear preach. 1 do not know
what manner of prayer meetings he has at
tended, but it is very evident that he has re-
ceived very erroneous impression of preach
ing and praying in their effect and influence
upon business-like character, or upon the
mercantile world do not know what kind
of business the young man is anxious to en-
gage in, if the best recommendation the en-
ploye can offer the house, is that he has never
preached or prayed in public" Possibly
desk in the general office of the liberal league,
which met recently in Chicago and was so dis
gustingly goddess and nasty that the best inf
del in America left it in speechess disgust
may be open to him.
And then the young man brings another
proud recommendation to the business house
that may be so fortunate as to receive his in
valuable services. He can lay his hand on his
heart and say with pride that che has never
been treasurer or superintendent of "a Sabbath
school, This recommendation is rather su-
perfuous, as his first one covers the ground. II
is very likely that if THE only recommendation
he could bring the Sabbath school was the ia t
that che never preached or sprayed," the Sab
bath school would endeavor to get along a lit
tie while without treasurer or superinten-
dent until it could find a more liberal candi-
date, for even the Sabbath schools and
churches are tinctured strongly with liberal
ism, and set their faces against the bigotry
that blindly and stupidity refuses to see any
good in sermons and prayers, and will not 30
where sermons and prayers are made, and
does not want to engage in business with peo-
pie who tolerate preaching and praying. Oh,
no, young man, all the bigotry in the world
isn't found INSIDE the pale of the church by
any means.
Indeed the young mans statement of his po-
sition in regar to the Sabbath school is only
another indication of his exceeding youth.
Had he known anything about Sabbath schools
he would have known that the treasurer of
Sabbath school does not have to give bonds,
like county treasurer to keep him from run
ming away with the money. All, no. but he
often has to run his generous hand down into
his own pocket to buy the papers and books
that the hearts of the little people long for.
And then, in consequence of his rigid absti-
nence from church and Sabbath school the
young man wishes us to infer, he has never
| betrayed any confidence reposed in him."
Well, we don't know yet that anybody ever re-
posed any confidence in him. Certainly tie
church people never did; they never gave him
a chance to betray their confidence, because he
never preached for them. Nobody ever placed
any confidence in his ability in Sunday school
matters because they never elected him SUPER
intendent, and it is sadly apparent. from the
young mans own statement, that they would
not even trust him with the little handful of
pennies and Ilckles that are gathered up from
sunday to Sunday from the little people. 1t is
a very thin recommendation for young man
DreLlr60, Wn6n ne can even DO trusted 10
handle the scanty fund OF an average Sunday
school collection. He doesn't tell us anybody
else ever did repose any confidence in him.
He simply says the Sunday school people
didn't.
And then couldn't help thinking as read
the advertisement again and again how quick
| ly, after telling the merchants OF Boston that
he never preached nor prayed nor held office in
| Sabbath schools, how quickly he FASTENED to
assert that he had never betrayed any conf
lapo sol in htx,,O 40 1ad 70 hink
that it was time he was giving his character a
"boost." Ordinarily when young man asks
for a situation in some well established
house." it taken for granted that his character
is good and that he has never betrayed any
confidence reposed in him." without setting 1t
forth in the advertisement. 1t is expected
that he can bring good references with him.
| But this young man after proudly bas ng his
| claims for the situation upon the fact that he
| never breaches and doesn't pray in public and
| never was Sunday school officer, seems to
| think it necessary to say something really good
/ of himself. He hastens TO assure the mercan-
| tie world that he is better than they would
think, from his foregoing references, that If he
did stay away from church and Sunday school,
| he never betrayed any confidence. Perhaps it
| occurred to him Just then, that to be preach
| or or Sunday school superintendent wasn't
necessarily to be rascal. This young man
really appears to grow younger every time he
| speaks.
But" the young man says, scorning the
| ministry, the church, the Sunday school, and
| even, as his advertisement reads, the fact that
| he has ''never betrayed any confidence reposed
| in him." scorning all these and setting them
| aside as worthless aids to worldly success, he
"relies for worldly success on the old-fashioned
qualities of integrity, intelligence good health
| and good nature"
| And do hope, for the sake of the young
mans worldly success, that his integrity is
| greater than his intelligence, and tina: his
| health is better than his nature. For the sam
| Pile of intelligence that he lays out for the in
| specton of business men in his advertisement
i doesn't show up great lot. And the good
nature" exhibited in it is not the best kind of
| good nature. 1t is very dyspeptic, that good
| nature. 1t is discourteous, satirical, unjust,
| little mean, should say, yes, decidedly mean,
and altogether ill-natured. If 1t isn't unjust
| and mean and ill-natured to insinuate that
| saying ones prayers, or preaching, or attend
| ing Sunday school and "holding office therein
| disqualifes young man from holding a situa-
ton in "well-established business house"
| then i don't know how man is going to say
1 ANYTHING unjust or ill-n; red. The young
/ man may have "good health" as he says, but
| il that advertisement does not run back to the
/ worst kind Of dyspepsia, I'm mistaken in my
diagnosis. And then, why should he call
| guish them from preaching and praying?
| Does his old fashioned intelligence" consider
| preaching and praying as something quite
| new? A craze of the 10Th century? A mod
4
coat or style of hat? His Intelligence" is in
| deed very old-fashioned; decidedly antiquarian
j for so Young man. Doesn't he really know
| that praying is older than history?
Then, in conclusion, he says, he "will work
| with muscle and brain for the same compensa-
ton given by the city for muscle only"
Well, now! a cheap man after ALL After
all his lofty scorn for preaching and preachers;
after all his naughty contempt for prayers in
| public, after his proud refusal to serve us
Sunday school superintendent or the guardian
of the infant class Golfers. after all this, and
his manly refusal to "betray any confidence
| reposed in him." which he seems to consider
| something very remarkable. A fter all this.
| he turns out to be a cheap man. and offers to
i do twice as much work for Just SO much pay,
\ as the street laborer receives He will sell
| goods, pack goods and mark cases, help the
| porter and assist in the books, devoting brain
and muscle to his employers, and asks only the
| pay of the man who can't read, doesn't know
| how to write, and scrapes the streets under the
/ commissioners ORDERS and carts off the mud
| to the dumping ground. 1t is really too bad
| that such expensive preamble should herald
| such cheap resolution.
| Now, nave preached longer sermon than
| / intended, but 1 felt sorry for the young man
1 7 ady III sa+med n