The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-12
AN AGE OF DISHONESTY.
THE WORLDS DESIGNING SPIDERS
AND VICTIMIzED FLIES. 4

THE WORLDS DESIGNING SPIDERS
AND VICTIMIzBD FLIES.
Talmage Takes Text From Job
Which is Applicable to To day
Where the Blame For This State of
Affairs Lies-Calling Things BY Their
Right Name.
BROOKLYN, March 1.-THE hymn sung
at the Tabernacle this morning begins:
"a cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey;
Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge thy way"
AS, last Sabbath, the Rev. I. Dewitt
Talmage, D. D., the pastor, had baptized by
sprinkling, he this morning baptized by inn
mersion those who preferred this mode, a
baptistry having been built under the pull
pit. The subject of his sermon was: "The
Age of Swindle," and the text, Job viii, IA:
Whose trust shall be spiders web" DR..
Talmage said
The two most skillful architects in all the
world are the bee and the spider. The one
puts up sugar mandatory and the other
builds a slaughter house for flies. On a
bright summer morning when the sun comes
out and shines upon the spiders web, be-
decked with dew, the gossamer structure
seems bright enough for suspension bridge
for supernatural beings to cross on. But
alas for the poor fly, which, in the latter
part of that very day, ventures on it, and
is caught and dungeoned and destroyed.
The fly was informed that it was free
bridge, and would cost nothing, but at the
other end of the bridge the ton paid was its
own life. The next day there comes down a
strong wind, and away goes the web,
and the marauding spider and the
victimized fly. SO delicate are the
silken threads of the SPIDERS
web that many thousands of them are put
together before they become visible to the
human eye, and it takes four million of
them to make a thread as large as the human
hair. Most cruel as well as most ingenious
is the spider. A prisoner in the Bastile,
France, had one so trained that at the sound
of a violin it every day came for its meal
of flies Job, the author of my text, and
the leading scientist of his day. had no
doubt watched the vOracious process of this
one insect with another, and saw spider and
fly swept down with the same broom, or
scattered by the same wind. Alas, that the
world has so many designing spiders and
victimized flies.
There has not been a time when the utter
and black responsibility of many men
having the financial interests of others in
charge. has been more evident than in these
| last few years.
The unroofing of banks and disappearance
of administrators with the funds of large
estates, and the disorder amidst post office
accounts and deficits amid United States Of
ficials, have made pestilence of crime that
| solemnizes every thoughtful man and
woman and leads every philanthropist and
| OH istlar, TO ask. What shall be done to stay
the plaguef There is a monsoon abroad, a
| typhoon, a siroccC. | sometimes ask myself
| if it would not be better for men making
wills to bequeath the property directly to
the executors and officers of the court, and
| appoint the widows and orphans commit
| tee to see that the former got all that did
not belong to them. The simple fact is that
there are a large number of men sailing
yachts ard driving fast horses, and mem
| bers of expensive club houses and controll-
ing country seats who are not worth a dol
lar if they return to others their Just
rights. Under some sudden reverse
| they fail, and with afflicted air seem to re-
! tire from the world, and seem almost ready
| for monastic life, when in two or three years
they blossom out again, having compro-
missed with their creditors that is, paid them
nothing but regrets, and the only difference
between the second chapter of prosperity
and the first, is that their pictures are Mu-
| rllOs instead of Kensetts, and their horses
=
| predecessors, and instead of one country seat
| they have three have watched and have
| noticed that nine out of ten of those who
fail in what is called high life, have more
means after than before the failure, and in
many of the cases failure is only a strate-
gem to escape the payment of honest debts
| and put the world off the track while they
practice large swindle. There is some
thing woefully wrong in the fact that these
things are possible.
First of all, charge the blame on care
| less, Indifferent bank directors and boards
| having in charge great financial institu-
tions. 1t ought not to be possible for
President or cashier or prominent officer of
a banking institution to swindle ityear after
year without detection. | will undertake
to say that if these frauds are carried on
for two or three years without detection,
either the directors are partners in the in
fanny and pocketed part of the theft or they
are guilty Of a culpable neglect of duty, for
which God will hold them as responsible as
he holds the acknowledged detrauders.
What right have prominent business men
to allow their names to be published as di
rectors in financial institution, 50 that un-
sophisticated people are thereby induced to
deposit their money in or buy the script
thereof, when they, the published directors,
are doing nothing for the safety Of the in
stitutions 1t is a case of deception
most reprehensible. Many people with q
surplus of money, not needed for immedi-
ate use, although it may be little further
on indispensable, are without friends COM
petent TO alvise them, and they are guided
solely by the character of the men whose
names are associated with the institution.
When the crash came, and with the over
throw of the banks went the small earnings
and limited fortunes of widows and orphans,
and the helplessly aged, the directors stood
with idiotic stare, and to tie inquiry OF the
frenzied depositors and stockholders who
had lost their all, and to the arraignment Of
an indignant public had nothing TO say ex-
cept: 1--WE thought it YVES all right. We
did not know there was anything wrong
going ON II was their duty TO know
| They stood in a position which deluded
the people with the idea that they
were carefully observant. Calling
themselves directors, they did not direct.
They had opportunity of auditing accounts
aud inspecting the books. No time do sol
! Then they had no business TO accept the po-
sition. It seemed to be the pride of some
monied men TO be directors in great many
| institutions, aud all they know Is whether
| or not they get their dividends regularly
and their names are used as decoy ducks TO