The Labor enquirer., 1883-02-10
a SERMON
By 0. =. Billings On the Subject Of
Money, the Root Of
all Evil"
DENVER. February 5.

Text First Timothy, vi. 10. III
"For the love Of money is the root Of all
evil" >.s 4 G@I ".
We shall differ from many good men
in this sermon about the origin of evil.
We have been told by Orthodox teachers
that the origin of evil was by and
through fallen angel that was expelled
from the shining retinue Of the heaven
ly hosts, and cast down to hell, but has
in some way oranother' escaped the sui
phurous pit and found his way to this
planet, and is everywhere present to
tempt and lead into sin the sons and
daughters of man. /. :
Now, g we sustain this theory in the
light OF .oason and scripture 2 think
not About the first position reason
would take in the premises would be,
that, if any Infinite God could not man
age affairs with his satanic majesty occu-
pying the same locality together with
Himself, that He would confne him
where he could not tempt or harm any
creature of His creation and fathery
care. And the Prophet Isaih has learned
US to reason together-I. 18. No, we will
examine the scripture and see if we can
find where evil and sin did originate,
and if we succeed we shall know how to
overcome the many evils and sins man
kind is unfortunately suffering under.
The text declares the love of money
to be the root Of all evil. The root is
the source, the fountain from which the
great tree of sin springs, with its multi
farious branches IS of railroad monopolies,
land monopolieB, telegraph monopolies,
press monopolis, oil monopolies, mine
monopolies, ard in fact every branch of
industry has been monopolized by cor
porations through the love of money,
and the evils that this insatiate love of
money (that these corporations have)
has produced can never be told. Cast
an eve to the system of land monopoly
in the British Isles. Look at Ireland
with her millions of wealth-producers
driven from their homes to perish by
cold and hunger and disease, to satisfy
the desire of few land thieves for
money; and if our own beloved country
pursues the same course for a few years
longer, that she has for twenty years,
we shall be no better off than poor Ire
land. Even now we feel the effects of
being robbed of our God-given inherit
ance. Those same landlords of the Brit
ish persuasion have in the last few years
bought millions of acres of land in
Georgia, Texas, Minnesota, Dacotah and
other states, with view to renting to
those who earn their bread in the sweat
of their faces. These same lords will
undoubtedly sit in their cushioned
pews in London, New York and Brook
lyn and repeat the scripture that, "the
earth is the Lords and the full
ness thereof" being careful through
the six days to so arrange
matters that the fullness thereof
thereof finds it's way into their Golfers.
These same hypocrits will leave their
places of lounging on Sunday and thank
God that they are not as other men,
and look upon the outcasts in the streets,
the beggars they meet and the poor
unfortunate creatures in houses of ILL
fame, and tell them that the devil will
soon take them, while they (the landF
lords) expect to occupy the New Jerusat
lem, with it's streets of pearl and gates
of gold. The devil has been invented
as >bdg-bear to frighten poor humanity
into submissive slavery, that the avarice
of wicked men might be satisfied. Il
The Apostle Peter, I. 5, admonishes to
"be vigilant, because your Adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about
seeking whom he may devour." The
lion is beast of prey, the king ofI
beasts, and the British lion truly hasEl
devoured every country where EnglishI|
system of governme has obtained. \
She has devoured Ireland, Egypt, the
East Indies, and ev verywhere the roaring
lion has gone with her systems of rent,
interest and profit she has devoured the
substance of the poor. The British sys-
tenn of finance has been Incorporated
into our system of political economy
and what is the effect? Ithas produced
its millionaires on the one hand and its
millions of wage-slaves and paupers on