The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-07-01
Heecher on tho Uss OF Riches,

dSteCucT THO S6o va ksiChu''
Henry Ward Beecher last Sunday morning
preached a sermon on the use of riches, with
reference to the prevailing strikes. The ser.
mon is reported IN the W6rh and other Mon.
day morning papers, and Its tone may be IN.
lferred from brief extract. His character.
zaton of some of his own church.members
as pick. pockets was plain talk, To say the
least
al am not speaking against banks, brokers,
capitalists, corporations or rallways-God
forbid. Without that society would collapse
and lie fiat. You might as we'll attempt to
take the beams out of a hOuse-where would
the house be without them ?-or the bones out
of the human body. They are hard and some
times disturbing, but they are necessary, and
nothing ia more useful than these cOmbina-
tons of capital. All that we affirm in regard
to them is that they are not to have their sell
fishness in tull swing, and that they must hold
their power according to the law of love. 1t
IS good thing to manufacture cheap goods,
but we cannot afford t. cheaper human life
in order to do it, and il the life ls crushed out
of men, it is not the fault Of combined capital,
but it is the want of moral sentiment in COM
bined capital. Men say: This business Is
ours and we have a right to conduct it as we
please" but no man has right to own any
business which corrupts or degrades or OPP
presses humanity. a man has limited right
to control his affairs, and the laborer has
right to control his affairs but neither has
right to be unj ust or to be inhuman. The
human element is to be considered by all men
that conduct great mercantile businesses. The
example set of the rich is not altogether what
it should be- and that the poor man should
dstrust them Is but natural. Poor men pay
their taxes great deal better than rich men
do. If the secrets of the collectors office
could be shown, the allegations against the
rich would be very severe and very Just. There
is notorious dishonesty among rich men, and
a man that does not pay his full share of the
public burden cheats his neighbor who does
pay. There are hundreds Of rich men in this
community that are pickpockets; hundreds
that are members of churches, who ii they
were searched would be found picking the
pockets of the poor. The most ingenious
methods are employed to preserve their pro.
perry from inspection passing 1t out of their
hands, SO that they can swear that they do not
own 1t and do not know anything about 1t.
All these methods Of refusing to pay taxes are
but concealed and direct robberies, and the
people are intelligent enough to
know them, ana when we see that they are
preudiced against the rich we can see there
is some ground for it,
Before Germany was united there was one
little principally where each year an est.
mate was made of the sum required to carry
On the government, and then it was announced
hat certain per cent. on all property must
be contributed and on a certain day. A table
was spread, and every citizen came and lifting
up the cloth deposited his quota, contributing
his percentage of his property according to
lis own estimate, and no man knew how much
lis neighbor had contributed. And for 100
ycars, twas SAID, the treasury had never run
hort | should like to see such table spread
n our City Hail. Great laughter.) think
'ou could cover with pinch of snuff every.
hing that would be laid there, (Renewed
aughter.) Taxation is regarded as blood.let
ing, and the least you can afford to let the
urgeOn have the better | know several
gentlemen who can buy me out twenty times
nd they don't pay half the taxes that do,
because | pay honestly as near as can find
mt