The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-13
MONOPOLY AND COMMUNISM.
The Two Great Forces that are Strug-
Cling for Possession of the Country.
The Former Would Reduce the Ownership of
the World to One, and the Latter Means
General Smash-Up of Everything.

On Sunday June 6, Rev T. Dewitt Talmage.
D. D.. preached in the Brooklyn Tabernacle the
fourth Of his series of sermons on 1.-THE Labor
Question His subject was, Monopoly and
Communism Struggling for the Possession of
this Country" The text was Isaiah, Kill
A. ''The Lord delighted in thee, and thy land
shall be married"
AS the greatest includes the less, so does the
circle OF future joy around our entire world in
clude the epicycle of our own Republic. Bold
exhllarant unique, divine imagery of the text!
So many are depressed by the labor agitation
and think everything in this country is going to
pieces, preach this morning sermon of good
cheer and anticipate the time when the Prince
of Peace and the Heir Of universal Dominion
shall take possession of this Nation and thy
land shall be married"
In the first place, remark: There is greedy,
all-grasping monster, who comes in as sutton,
seeking the hand of this Republic and that
monster is known by the name of Monopoly.
His scepter is made out of the iron of the rail
track and the wire of telegraphy. He does
everything for his own advantage, and for the
robbery of the people Things have gone on
from bad to worse. until in the three Legislat-
ures OF New York, New Jersey and Pennsylva-
MIA. for the most part, monopoly decides every
thing 1t monopoly favor law, it passes; ii
monopoly oppose law, it is rejected, Monopo-
ly stands in this railroad depot, putting into his
pockets in year 5000 000, 900 in excess Of all
reasonable charges for service. Monopoly holds
in his one hand the steam power of locomotives,
and in the other the electricity of swift commu-
nication. Monopoly decides nominations and
elections, city elections State elections, national
elections. With brides he secures the votes Of
legislators giving them free passes; giving ap-
pointments to needy relatives to lucrative posi-
-tions; employing them as attorneys, If they are
lawyers; carrying their goods Is per cent less il
they are merchants; and if he finds case very
stubborn, as well as very important puts down
before him the hard cash of bribery
tell you that the overshadowing curse Of the
United States to day is monopoly He puts his
hand on every bushel of wheat upon every sack
of salt, upon every ton of coal; and every man,
woman and child in the United States feels the
touch of that moneyed despotism.
/ rejoice that in twentyfQur States of the
Union antimonopoly leagues have been estab-
lished. God speed them in the work of liberia
ton! wish that this question might be the
question Of our presidential elections, and that
we compel the political parties to recognize it on
their platforms.
Monopoly, brazen faced and iron fingered.
vulture- hearted monopoly offers his hand to this
Republic. He stretches it out over the lakes,
and up the Pennsylvania and the Erie, and the
New York Central railroads, and over the tele-
graph poles of the continent. and says: "Here is
my heart and hand; be mine forever" Let the
millions of the people, North, South, East and
West, forbid the bans Of that marriage-forbid
IHem dJ Inc DdilOI-pOX, IOrDlU GEem on the pat
form, forbid them by great organizations, forbid
them by the overwhelming sentiments Of an out
ragged Nation, forbid them by the protest of the
church of God forbid them by prayer to high
heaven, that Herod shall not have this Abigail.
1t shall not be to all-devouring monopoly that
this land is to be married.
Another sutton claiming the hand of this Re-
public i5 nihilism. He owns nothing but knife
for universal blood-letting, and nitro elycerine
bomb for universal explosion. He believes in no
I'D 49, Ill
cept what he can make earth He slew the
Car of Russia keeps Emperor William of Ger
many, practically imprisoned, killed Abraham
Lincoln, would put to death every king and pres
ident on earth, and if he had the power would
climb up until he could drive the God of heaven
from His throne and take it himself
the universal butcher In France it is called
communism: In the United States it is called So
cialism; in Russia it is called nih;lism. That
last is the most graphic and descriptive term.
1t means complete and eternal smashup. 1t
would make the holding of property a crime, and
it would drive dagger through your heart and
apply torch to your dwelling; and turn over
this whole land into the possession Of theft, and
lust. and rapine, and murder.
Where does this monster live2 In ST. Louis,
in Chicago, in Brooklyn, in New York, in all the
villages and cities of this land. The devil Of de-
struction is an old devil and he is to he seen at
every great fire where there is anything to steal,
and at every shipwreck where there is anything
accident where there are oyercoats aud watches
to be purloined. On a small scale saw it In my
college days, when in our literary society in
in New York University y, we had an exquisite
and costly bust of Shakespeare, and one morn
ing we found hole bored into the lips of the
marble and a cigar inserted. There has not for
the last century been fine picture in your art
gallery, or graceful statue in your parks or
fine fresco on your wall, or richly bound vol
ume in your library. but worsa have been de-
spoiled If the hand Of ruf6ani s4 could have got
at it without peril of incarceration. Sometimes
the evil spirit shows itself by throwing vitriol
into beautiful face; sometimes by willfully
soaring horse with velocipede sometimes by
crashing the cart wheel against carriage
The honest cry for reform lifted by oppressed
laboring men is drowned out by the vociferatons
for anarchy. The criminals and the vaaabonds
who range through our cities talking about their
rights, when their first right is the penitentisry
If they could be hushed up, and the down-trod-
den laboring men of this country could be heard,
there would be more bread for hungry children.
In this land riot and boodshed never gained any
wages for the people or gathered up any pros
perity. In this land the best weapon is not the
club not the shillaleh, not firearms, but the
ballot. Let not our oppressed laboring men be
beguiled to coming under the bloody banner Of
Nihilism. 1t will make your taxes heavier,
your wages smaller, your table scantier, your
children hungrier, your suffering greater
Yet this nihilism, with feet red of slaughter,
comes forth and offers its band for the Republic.
Shall the bans be proclaimed2 Ii SO, where
shall the marriage altar be9 And who will be
the officiating priest? And what will be the
musics That altar will have to be white with
bleached skulls, the officiating priest must be
dripping assassin, the music must be the smoth-
cred groans of multitudinous victims, the gar
lands must be twisted Of nightshade the fruit
must be the apples of Sodom, the wine must be
the blood of st. Bartholomew massacre. No!
1t is not to nihilism, the sanguinital monster,
that this land is to be married.
Another sutton for the hand Of this Nation is
infdelity. Mark you that all anarchists are in
fdels. Not one Of them believes in the Bible,
and very rarely any of them believe in God.
Their most conspicuous leader was the other
day pulled by the leg from under bed in a
house of infamy, cursne and disappearing. The
police of Chicago, exploring the dens of the An
archists, found dynamite, and vitriol, and Tom
Paine's "Age of Reason" and obscene pie
lures. and complimentary biographies of thugs
aud assassins; but not one Testament, not one
of Wesley's hymn books, not one Roman Catho-
u IN