Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-30
INDIFFERENCE.

INDIFFERENCE.
And by chance there came down a certain
priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed
by on the other side. And likewise Levite,
when he was at the place, came and looked at
him, and passed by on the other side. Luke
1871 80.
The one important reason for the in
difference which the multitude of men and
women feel towards all those who do not
belong to them, or whose interests are
distinct and seperate from theirs is selfish
ness. There is no god so blindly or SO
universally worshiped as self.
At its shrine all the best
and purest feelings of the heart, all the
most generous impulses of nature are sac
rifced. The voices of reason and con-
science are drowned in the clamor of this
deity.
Let a young man with all the fresh and
kindly impulses of youth start out to be
rich or to gain Office, and how long will he
care who succeeds or fails so long as he is
on his feet? You can count on your
fingers the we'll established business men
of this city who take an interest in new
business ventures which will bring them
no profit. Is it not strange that
man could fight such hard battles with
fortune and grow gray before he wins sue
cess and then look on with Indifference,
while other men are passing through the
same conflict, some going down without
offering helping hand. Is it not strange
that man could GO down from Jerusalem
H. foil nd ha
saved by some good Samaritan, and after
ward, seeing a man in the same hard
strait, pass by on the other side.
1t is not in business only that men fail,
many shipwreck honor and good name
because it was no ones business to throw
them a plank. 'That young man
is going to ruin," is often said
by those who care little whether he goes or
not, because his ruin would not effect them.
Christianity teaches that all men are breth-
rem, and that, next to love of God, is love for
ones neighbor. When man has religion
enough to break down the barriers of self
ishness and Indifference that hedge him in
from the rest of the world, and
strength enough to bear others burdens,
he can call himself christian. If not, el
though he may preach and pray and as
sumo as sanity an air as the 'Jackdaw of
Rheims" or "buiId great temples of good
ly stones" his sentence will be, thou art
weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Are women more anxious to
promote each others welfare
than men. There are Christian Homes and
Magdalen Homes and it is quite the thing
to be interested in them; and director
ship on their boards is position to be de-
sired. There the friendless and penitent
are classified and a christian lady can meet
#; with them and suffer no social degradation.
But is that all, are there no women beyond
their sheltering walls who need christian
charity? Is there more friendless being
in the world than an outcast woman? Do
any stop to ask how she fell, or whether
she be wholly evllf No, there is contain
anation in touching even the fringe of her
garment. Let such woman reform and
lead pure life, will good women
help and encourage herr Per
haps one in fifty. They will
reinstate him in his social position, if he
ever lost it, but woman never. The tears
and remorse, the shame and agony of a
lifetime cannot wash her clean. They will
patronize her if she will wear ashes upon
her head and covering upon her lip as
did the lepers of old, and cry "unclean,
unclean." But let her try to get a little
brightness into her life, to be happy in
home of her own, and they turn from her
with shudder. What business has she
with happiness? Does she forget what she
is? Women who do not wear the visible
brand of the Magdalen are apt to regard
themselves as the only perfect flowers in
the garden of God, and look upon others
with supreme Indifference, when in
the sight of God they are weeds absorbing,
like the Canada thistle, all the richness of
the soil. and the life of the sunshine, and
giving nothing in return.
If a woman prizes virtue so highly how
can she be so Indifferent when temptations
and pitfalls environ those less favorabIy
situated than herself 1t is not virtue, or
the love of virtue, but selfshness and ig
norance: 1t is because she is so wrapped
ND in herself and the petty round of her
own daily life, that she can see and hear
nothing beyond. To her
ssTbe rustic cackle of her bourg
Js the murmur of the world"
-,:ao.anoa this lack of svrn r,t thv