The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-15
ALL ABOARD.

ALL ABOARD.
The Rev. Talmage, seated comfortably in
his private hallelujah car confidently yeiis,
"All aboard for heaven!' His enthusiasm
is hearty. and doubtless genuine, but his
Judgment is at fault. twill be we'll to cry all
aboard for heaven when the time comes, but
at present there are very many who don't
want to go, and other many who would not
be allowed to go if they wanted. Mr.. Tai
mage from the unreal heights to which he
has lifted himself does not see the great
world as it is In his atmosphere of Gull
ture and morality he gets no Whit of
the odorS that rise from the morass of
wickedness and the seething cauldron of
crime. This eloquent man of God, like
many others in every church and in every
land. is ignorant of the status of society, be-
cause he steadfastly shuts himself out from
It. Humanity is not fully represented in
the tabernacle The great multitudes that
hunger and thirst after righteousness, with
out realizing what it is they need, never get
inside the temple, and have no idea that
gospel train is about to start for glory, and
that its complement of passengers is so near
made up that the conductor is Justify yelling
"All aboard" The train indeed is about to
start, and the bell is ringing. Never mind;
don't be in hurry-the bell has been ring
ing for more than eighteen centuries, and if
you pull out now millions will be left.
Quite number are on the platform 10 bid
goodbye to those embarking, or as idle
lookers-on. Others are still in the station,
buying tickets; still others are trying to get
cut rates. But all these are only small per
cent of the multitudes VINO should CO. and
who must go if the great plan
of redemption means anything, In
all the great cities are thousands who
have barely heard Of the gospel train, and
thousands of others who have not been
educated to know the necessity OF taking
passage Don't start the half-filled train
now, and carry off the good and wise and
leave the ignorant and vicious to die in their
sins. There has been too much of this
already. Too many, like Mr.. Talmage,
have been preaching so long to those
who have secured tickets that they give no
thought to the myriads who will be left
unless hel ped aboard
The wickedness of the world is not all con-
fined to the Bowery and adjacent streets.
There is much of it in the great merchant
warehouses along Broadway; much on Fifth
hidden no r,ubIir halinH
brown-stone fronts; much in town and ham,
let, and much in mountain retreat and
sunny rural valleys Let the cry -"All
aboard" 60 up and down the land, but don't
doesn't mean goodness. Far from
it. The world is wise, but wicked.
Perhaps not more wicked than when
shrouded in ignorance, but wicked none the
less. 1t manifests itself everywhere, from
church to saloon, and in every form, from
petty larceny to murder. To-day a bank
cashier has gone wrong; he was a pillar in
the church. and this is his first misstep. He
was reduced by the desire to get rich and
gambled in margins Tomorrow one citi-
zen murders another; the community is hor-
rified-it is the accuseds first crime
A friendly glass in one of the saloons nerved
his arm to murder. The world is full of ali
this Gambling in grain and provisions is
licensed and juggling in stocks is honorable
for those who make wealth thereby. The
world is wicked through and through and
is not yet ready to get on the gospel train.
Instead OF starting it for heaven, suppose
you run down the innumerabe side tracks,
into the coal-mines and around the
rolling-mills and iron works. Let
its glorious headlight Hume the
dark places. The track of the church mill
tant needs balastng, and much of the roll
ing stock should haul up for repairs. The
officials need discipline Let them roll out
of the palace cars and make the train more
homogeneous. The frst-class passengers
should learn that the gospel train offers no
excursion nor immigrant rates If the Cos
pei train is to carry the world to heaven, it
must be large enough, wide enough aud
inviting enough 10 encourage the