St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-09-24
A DEN OF THIEVES.
An Interesting Sermon From the
Text Mark XII. 10 to IS

Text Mark XII, 10 to IS.
At the Church of Christ yesterday
morning Rev.W.J. LhamOn preached an
able sermon from Mark Xi-15 to IS.
Jesus found in the temple class of
bankers and merchants, said he, that re-
sorted to force and fraud to increase
their gains. Here were worShipers from
Greece and Rome, and Egypt and Persia
and Arabia, and CappadOcia and Cyprus
and other nations. They could not
bring their offerings with them, but
were compelled to buy them in Jerusa-
lem. So there was a chance for a cor
ner on calves, and a corner on oxen,
and on goats, and heiferS, and lambs,
and doves, and pigeons, and corn and oil.
Whatever we may think of the average
unregenerate Yankee, surely the average
Jew unregenerate was too wide awake
to let such an occasion slip. The for
eign wOrShiper must have offerings.
His Jerusalem brother put up the price
to two, three, four times its market
value. Jesus called it stealing. Political
economists might call it the necessary
workings of the law of supply and de-
mand, but Jesus calls it theft. When
corporations, mOnOpOlieS, trusts and
pools take advantage of the working
mans necessities to put down wages,
and use their money power to put up
prices, what is it but a resort to force
resulting in double theft; theft from
the labOrer's earnings when he receives
his wages, and theft from his Shriv-
eled purse when he buys his bread?
The mOnOpOliSt in the Jerusalem tenn
pie said: Il own these lambs and
oxen and pigeons; if you want an offer
in 81 IAr.ioa Tho
nations majestic sugar thieves say to
the people, 81 own your sugar bar
relS; if you want to eat sugar pay our
prices" 1t may be very few dollars
that the "trust" picks out of your
pocket or mine in the course of year.
but take it all the country over and it is
magnificent piece of pocket picking.
Whenever it is not in our heart to
give "Value received :" for what we get,
let us decide that fraud is lurking there.
When chalk is sold for milk, and alum
and plaster for bread, and the sugar is
sanded, and the butter is mixed with
lard, we know that there is fraud.
When cotton is sold for wool, and paper
sOleS are on the shoes, and mud is
mixed with paint. and brass is bur-
niShed with gold, and the church
festival sells two oyster in
plilU VI MdGCl lOl 81 CCulS,
and the preachers get up a game of ball
for "sWeet charity'S" sake, let us fear
that in such things if there be not fraud
there is ignOminy. Again; Is there no
fraud in transient real estate boomS,
where land is held on options, and
traded and sold at fictitious prices?
May there not be fraud in all this deal
ing in grain with its Futures" and
''Options," and margins" and "bull-
ing" and bearing" with imaginary
grain in the crib, real grain nowhere,
and fictitious grain, millions of bushels
OF it, on paper?
While a few men are gathering and
boarding millions, too often by force
and fraud, Woodworking and honest
fathers cannot earn enough to support
their families, and the little boys must
black boots or carry papers, and the
little girls must carry cash or go into
the factories-child labor helping out
the family allowance of bread and but
ter.
''Their blood FLASHES up, o, gold-heaper,
And its purple marks your path;
Yeta child's sob curses deeper
Than strong man in his wrath
The extremes of luxury and poverty
are seen and felt, and out of the heart
of christendom there is arising a new
conscience which says: sit is not right;