The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-03-16

kept in the vaults; Bank Of England,
started by William Patterson In 1912,
up TO this day managing the stupendous
debt Of England; Bank Of Scotland, founded
In 1886; Bank Of Ireland, 1888; Bank of
North America, plagued by Robert Morris,
III, without whose financial help all the
bravery Of our grandfathers would not have
achieved American independence. But now
we have banks in all our cities and towns,
thousands and thousands On their shoulders
are the interests of private individuals and
great corporations. In them are the great
arteries through which run the currents of
the nations life. They have been the re-
sources of the thousands Of financiers In DAYS
OF business exigency. They stand for ac-
commodation, for facility, for individual.
state and national relief At their head and
in their management there is as much in
terest and moral worth as IN any class of
men-perhaps more. How nefarious, then,
the behavior Of those who bring direpute
upon this venerable, benignant and God
honored institution.
We also deplore abuse of trust funds, be-
cause they fly in the face of that divine good
ness which seems determined to bless this
land. We are having the eighth year of un-
exampled national harvest. The wheat
gamblers get hold of the wheat, and the corn
gamblers get hold of the corn. The full tide
of Gods mercy toward this land is put back
by those great dykes of dishonest resistance.
When God provides enough food and clothing
to feed and apparel this whole nation like
princes, the scramble of dishonest men to get
more than their share, and get it at all
hazards, keeps everything shaking with un-
certainty and everybody asking: "What
nextp Every week makes new revela-
tions How many more bank presi-
dents and bank cashiers have been specu-
lating with other peoples money, and
how many more bank directors are in
imbecile silence letting the perfidy go on, the
great and patient God only knows! Nv
opinion is that we have got near the bottom.
The wind has been pricked from the great
bubble of American speculation. The men
who thought that the Judgment day was at
least 5000 years off, found it in 1888, 1887 and
1886; and this nation has been taught that
men must keep their hands out of other peo-
pies pockets. Great businesses built on Dor
rowed capital have been obliterated, and men
who had nothing have lost all they had.
believe we are started on a higher career of
prosperity than this land has ever seen, if,
and if, and if.
If the first men, and especially Christian
men, will learn never tospeculate upon Dor
rowed capital. If you have a mind to take
your own money and turn. it all into kites, to
fly them over every commons in the United
States, you do society no wrong except when
you tumble your helpless children into the
poor house for the public to take care of.
But you have no right to take the money of
others and turn it into kites There is one
word that has deluded more people into bank
ruptcy and state prison and perdition than
any other word in commercial life, and that
is the word borrow; that one word is respon-
sible for all the defalcations, and embezzle-
ments, and financial consternations of the
last twenty years. When executors conclude
to speculate with the funds of an estate COM
mitted to their charge, they do not purloin,
they say they only borrow; when banker
makes an overdraught upon his institution,
he does not commit theft, he only borrows
When the officer of a company, by flaming ad-
yertisement in some religious papers, and gilt
certificates of stock, gets multitude of
country people to put their small earnings
into an enterprise for carrying on some I'M
developed nothing, he does not fraudulently
take their money, he only borrows. When a
young man with easy access to his employers
money drawer, or the confidential clerk by
close propinquity to the account books, takes
a few dollars for Wall street excursion, he
expects to put it back; he will put it all
back; he will put it all back very soon. He
only borrows. What is needed is some man
Of gigantic limbs to take his place at the
curbstone in front of Trinity church, and
when that word borrow comes bounding
along, kick it clean through to Wall street
ferry boat, and if, striking on that, it bounds
clear over till it strikes Brooklyn heights OF
Brooklyn hill, it will be well for the City of
Churches. .
Why, when you are going to do wrong
pronounce so long a word as borrow, a word
of six letters, when you can get shorter
word more descriptive of the reality, a word
of only five letters, the word steal3
There are times when we all borrow, and
borrow legltimately, and borrow with the
divine blessing, for Christ in his sermon on
the mount enjoins, ''From him that would
borrow of thee turn not thou awayn A
young man rightly borrows money to get
his education. Purchasing a house and not
able to pay all down in cash, the purchaser
rightly borrows it on mortgage. Crises
come in business when it would be wrong
for man not to borrow. But roll this
warning through all these aisles, over the
backs of all these pews, never borrow to
speculate; not a dollar, not cent, not a
farthing. Young men, young men, I warn
you by your worldly prospects and the value
of your immortal souls, do not do it. There
are breakers distinguished for their ship
wrecks the Hanways, the Needles, the
Caskets, the Douvers, the Anderlos, the
Skarries-and many a craft has gone to
pieces on those rocks; but have to tell you
that all the Hanways, and the Needles, and
the Caskets, and the Skerries are as nothing
compared with the long line of breakers
north, south, east and west with the white
foam of their despair and the dirge of their
damnation-the breakers of borrow
If had only worldly weapon to use on
this subject would give you the fact fresh
from the highest authority, that 80 per cent.
of those who go into speculation in Wall
street lose all, but / have a better warning
than a worldly warning. From the place
where men have perished-body, mind and
soul stand off, stand off Abstract pulpit
discussion must aside ON this question. Faith
and repentance are absolutely necessary, but
faith and repentance are no more doctrines
of the Bible than commercial integrity. Rem
der to all their dues. Owe no man anything
And while l mean to preach faith and re-
pentance, more and more to preach them,
do not mean to spend any time
in chasing the Hittites and Jebu-
sites and Girgashites of Bible times,
when there are so many evils right around
US destroying men and women for time and
for eternity. The greatest evangelistic
preacher the world ever saw, a man who
died for his evangelisn-peerless Paul
wrote to the Romans: provide things hon
est in the sight of all menu wrote to the
Corinthians: "Do that which is honest"
wrote to the Philippians: whatsoever
things are honest;n wrote to the Hebrews:
"Willing in all things to live honestly The
Bible says that faith without works is dead,
which being literally translated, means that
if your business life does not correspond
with your profession, your religion is a hum
bug
Here is something that needs to be sounded
into the ears of all the young men of Amer
lea, and iterated and reiterated, If this coun-
try is ever to be delivered from its calami-
ties, and commercial prosperity is TO be
established and perpetuated: Live within
your means.
I have the highest commercial authority
for saying that when the memorable trouble.
broke out in Wall street four years ago
there were s225 900 in suspense which
had already been spent Spend no more
than you make And let<us adjust all our
business and our homes by the principles of
the Christian religion.
Our religion ought to mean just as much
on Saturday and Monday as ON the day be-
tween, and not as mere periphraSis of sane
tity. Our religion ought TO first clean our
hearts, and then it ought to clean our lives.
Religion is not, as some seem to think, sort
of church delectation, kind of confection-
cry, sort Of spiritual caramel or holy gum
dr.n, or. sn,,otifiod ,,r,,,or,,,i,,A o.. 4i,i..i