Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-12-18
FRIDAY MORNING. DEC. IS. 1885.
DIVES AS A CAMPAIGN ISSUE


Somehow, in the pulpit and press allu-
sions to the death of the millionaire Van
derbilt, there appears to us to crop out O
comforting feeling that friend had at
last been found who could cope with and
conquer Two Hundred Millions. The
pulpit utterances seems to be even clearer
on this point than the secular. and abound
in unctious descriptions of how Death &C.
complished his work, as if he we're an at.
tache of the church and his success in
this particular instance were in some
way creditable to it and to the cause OF
religion. We see that the Rev. W. Hay
Aitken held up before the congregation
that crowded Old Trinity Church, Friday,
"a vivid picture of the death of the rich
man." 1t is not stated that he named
any particular rich man, and we presume
not. for however. the old strain of animal
ferocity may force itself to the surface
even in our era of civilization, we hardly
get SO brutal as to apply individual vitu-
peration to the dead. He spoke of the
'.rich man" apparently as class who are
engaged in wrestling with the deity as a
lifelong avocation, and whose individual
defeats, such as death is considered to be,
are something to be seized upon by the
good and held up as warning to the bad.
These views seem. to us very crude COM
prehension of death and of the procession
Of man through the world. Death is SIM
ply process of nature; it is not the am
qnition of celestial marksmen to whom
are pointed out particular sinners to pick
of, or particular saints to call home. II
le process of nature that may be hasten
ed by accidents or profigate life, or de-
layed by virtues and upright living.
Life is gift of God, which we can pro-
long or shorten according to the seed VIZ
SOW, for whatever in this respect we SOW
that we shall surely reap. With this per
ticular millionaire, he was suddenly bur
dened at middle life, with the legacy OF
more than hundred, millions. The strain
to hold it together and increase 1t, was ID
tense, and he succumbed under it. The
fact that he was the heir OF millions show
ed no particular sinfulness on his palt. In
point of fact he had been man of good
life, lavish-handed churchman, and a
charitable citizen. He was an ordinary
man with common tastes in social life, ana
whatever of OstentaJion he was guilty OF,
and it was little, was forced from hiEa by
the exigencies of his position ratheg than
Wanted as an evidence of his wealth. He
was in no respect man whose taking off
could make sermon, as 1t could have
made had he misused his, wealth, and his
only crime seems to, have been that he had
the millions and, perhaps it Is fair to add,
that the rest Of the world didn't have
them. He was not to be envied. All the
tastes that he had could be gratified for d
few hundred year, and all Of the oeb
millions income outside of that was to
him subject for worry and debate and anx
iety.
There is no more in tae- death of rich
ran to sermonize CT editorialize over, than
there is in the death. of a poor man. 1t
wealth has its, temptations, so has power
tx. "Give me- neither poverty nor riches, ;:
is, a petition dictated by the highest wis
dom. The excuses brought within our
reach by wealth are as apt to shatter cur
lives as che hardships poverty brings, but
not more so. The life of man may make
good material for sermon by it's excel
lence or its depraVity, but the mere wealth
Of one is not to be considered, except as 10
bow far he has surrounded the evil it
might have invited him to do, or tia good
it put within his reach. There is. 60 con-
test going on between the Fathaa of man
kind and the rich, and the faM, Of one does
not show that he has got taa, worst of it
any more than the long LIE of one shows
that he has gotten the, best of it. The
rich are simply man, Of many cares OF
which the poor know, nothing, just as the
poor are men OF many cares of which the
rich know nothing. In the dead million
aires case there is little doubt that the
management of the great interests devised
to. his care. drew upon his life to such an
extent as to shorten it. If he wore the
purple of Dives he had little time to enjoy
it and, IS little .taste for its splend DC.
There are, doubtless, many men left BE-
hind like him. TO such. Mr.. Aitkea ad-
dresses tho significant, do you never
think you'v got to die, you rich aaan p
We have no doubt they do; quite as much
as the same number of poor men,; indeed,
their lives being in some respects more
comfortable, the leaving them doubtless
occurs to them oftener. But there is no
reason why Death skeald be addressed
to any man or any class, of men, rich or
poor, as the most Imminent reason for
good life. A much. higher question is, do
they never think they've got to live We
all, rich and poor, should essay to fit our
selves for Life here and hereafter, which is
something eternal, and not merely for
Death which is only an incident of life.
An argument that depends on its kinshIp
to threat, is most likely to be temporary,
for in the mystery of Death we are all but
children and not likely to be permanently
controlled for good by the threats OF
others who are but children like ourselves.
There is nothing in riches or poverty to
condone or exculpate our falling short in
this, or to make the loss up to US. 1t is
false idea and dangerous one that Death
begins our sufferings for wrong doing;
the effect of the faint begins in life and ex-
tends on into countless years. The law Of
retrlbutIon is memorable and does not wait
for signal from Death to commence it's
work.
It is rather curious that for some years
back, both parties have selected one local.