St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-14
He Invites King Solomon to Play a Brief
Engagement in His
Pulpit.
The Vanity of Riches the Theme, with
Illustrations from Modern st.
Paul Life.
The True Value of Money--The 0oou
and Bad Ways of
Using it.
To Gain the Whole World anu L]oSe
Ones Own Soul BAD
Bargain.


for he was a king as we'll as apreaeher, ana
q rich one. too, whose surroundings WeIe
so sumptuous that the glory OF solomon
has been used as the synonym lor ttii THAT 10
magnificent for all time. Solomon was
even for the present times very ITCH liiaii. +:
All the kings of Arabia and governors Oh
the country brought gold to HIM. when
fine Oneen of Sheba made that famous VlslC
to him she was SO paralyZed with ms WIS
dom that. forgetting the. ECONOMY natural 10
her sey. she gave him $50, O00,a DesloeS
spices enough to flavor all the cakes his sew
eraI hundred wives would ever be able 10 est
and precious stones. With all these re,
sources of revenue, it is related in the sacred
chronicles that the weight of gold that came
to him in one year was within lTactioli VI
a million dollars worth, not counting s9Gii
trifles as silver, precious stones, eIc' nc
had so much gold that he didn't know "liaG
tn do with if all, He made 200 targets and
500 shields of it. His ivory throne was solu
Mated and the six steps leading to 1t were
IF nure GOLD. All his household utensils
We're of gold. for silver was too common
for him or his numerous family to drink
out of. NJ
Nevertheless, notwithstanding all TINS
accumulation of wealth, along toward the
close of his life he
HE WROTE AS FOLLOWS:
He +bot loveth silver shall not be satisfied
with silver nor he that lOveth abundance
with increase; this is also vanity. :" men
goods increase they are also 1ncreaseo th''
eat them; and what good Is TO the oWnetS
thereof saving the beholding them 10 thelr
ewes? The sleep of a laborlng man Is sweet,
whether he eat little or much; but the apun-
dance of the rich will not suffer him to Sleep
There is one evil which l have seen unuef Uile
sun. namely riches kept for the owners
thereof to their hurt. As he came 1orth ot
his mothers womb, naked shall he 60 as NC
came and shall take nothing OF his LABOR
which he may carry away in his hand. Be
hold that which | have seen: 1t is good ana
comely for one to eat and to drink ana 10 eii-
JOY the good of all his labor that he faketn
under the sun all the days OF his lie Whlch
God giveth him, for 1t Is MS porIlon. E'eIy
man also to whom God hath given riches and
wealth and hath given him power to eat
thereof, and to take his portion and to reJolce
in his labor.-this is the gift of God.
Now if these words which Solomon ut
tered were timely some twenty-five hundred
years ago, they are surely so now, when
riches are fully as troublesome to their
owners as they were then. This discourse
Of his IS so full of wisdom that were he
now in St. Paul [ would invite him to this
pulpit and ask him to repeat it. We can
imagine that he might make the talk some
what in the following strain:
THE SERMON MoDERNIZED-
A man may love silver and gold, but it
will not satisfy him. 1t he keeps on plllng
it I'D. he will not be content with the IN
crease. He may live in residence on
Dayton's bluff. rent houses at Post Siding,
own controlling interest in one OF the ma
tiona banks and block of stores on Sew
l. Iaa tnd nm
less he can have a roller rink on st. An
thony hill and several lots on the flats in
West St. Paul But what use is all this
wealth to him? He can't eat it, and as for
wearing it, the man who wears the least
clothes nowadays is the most comfortable.
The only pleasure that comes of all these
possessions, beyond the mere sense of own
ing them, is in looking at them. But there
is the great trouble and bother they cause,
the anxious Soiicitude, the SleeplesS nights.
No man is continually increasing his wealth
but subjects it to continual risk Of destruc-
ton. When the fire alarm wakes him at
night he listens for the box to see if it is in
the vicinity of his store on WabaSna
street Or his block of tenementS in
Dawsons Encouragement of block II.
Crooks addition. lie may buy wheat
Oh bull news from Europe, and see himself
shut out. He may invest in several blocks
of land with the idea that railroad will
want to buy it at about twice its value for a
right OF way, and then find that the road is
coming in on the other side OF the city. He
NAV trust his cashier and find him in Can
ada next week. He may invest large sums
of money in a Democratic campaign only to
find detested wretch OF Mugwump ap-
pointed surveyor general. And then
oil of
public works may assess him SO per front
foot on his property for cutting down the
street in front Of his house and leaving him
about fifteen feet above everywhere. If
these misfortunes don't come to him, they
Dr similar ones are liable to strike every man
with money. This also is vanity.
THE POOR MAN,
meanwhile, or the man with only COM
Portable competency, how fares he? The
abundance of the rich will not suffer him to
sleep, but the sleep of the laboring man is
sweet whether he eat little or much. He
may take an interest in politics or in
economics, but only as matter of curiosity
OF Of information. with no overwhelming
interest in either side of any question.
What use, them shall a rich man make of
his wealth? 1T is good and comedy for
one to eat and to drink and to enjoy the
good things of all his labor, that he take it
under the sun all the days of his life which
God giveth him, for il is his portionn l
wrote this 2, 800 years ago. and now [ am
prepared to reiterate it without modifica-
ton. Why should you concentrate all your
energies to piling up money? You'll not
carry away any Of it, You came into the
world helpless and naked. You'll go out
of it without cent. All this property you
must leave behind. and for whom? The
lawyers will get a good share of it undoubt-
edly. If they don't get it Your heirs will,
and you will leave behind you the children
Of rich father, which are frequently curse
10 the community.
THERE IS ANOTHER PHASE
Of the question alluded to first. | believe.
only about couple of thousand wears
ago as follows: What shall it profit
man if he gain the whole world and
lose his own soul?" How many we see who
are gaining the whole world of their ambi-
tion-money. money, money-and are los
ing their own souls. Their lives are no
broader. their sympathies no more delicate.
their feelings no nObler than thew were
when they first began to accumulate their
pile. Does BOOK come ont which puts in
new light some of the deep mysteries of
life, 1--WE no time to read" they saw: ssmy
stock and wheat ticker is the only litera-
lure my soul needs" Is their attention
called to new picture done in the best
style of the painters art? Don't tell me
Of pictures. unless you can bring me the
front elevation of a building that shall look
ls well and cost less money than my neigh
bors'" Are they invited to concert to
hear the compositions Of the masters? 1.-The
Dnly music 1 care for is the rumble of my
freight wagons and the scratch of pen on
The credit side of my ledger. Don't bother
me with your books and your pictures and
your music. I've got to make 500. 900
this year, and am annoyed by this talk