Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1889-09-26
WOULD ASK HIM TO COME AGAIN.
dow Rev. Mr. Pcntecost Would Receive IA
Burglar in His House.

Burglar in His House.
People often amuse themselves by
thinking and saying what they believe
ihey would do if a burglar broke into
he house at night. OF course they
know very little about it, and FORUM
ltely very few persons are called upon
10 put their professions to the test of
actual experience. In discussions on
mch subjects, however, it is usual for
each speaker to assume aud assert that
le would act with ordinary common
jense, if not with some degree of cour-
lge. Very seldom, indeed, can a man
be found who will admit that he would
conduct himself like a miserable weak
ling in the presence of thief. Some
;lergymen, however, appear to enter
lain different ideas from common people
IN reference to matters of this sort.
Hugh o. Pentecost, missionary
preacher, made remarkable statement
in the course of a sermon at Newark as
to what he would do in case a thief got
into his dwelling, IF L knew burg
lar was i'll my house at night" he said,
i would go to him with light, un-
armed, and talk to him as | would q
friend whom L desired to help. If he
then desired to take my goods l would
make no protest, nor would | cause his
arrest. would follow him to the door
and invite him to call again" And the
reverend gentlemen went on to say that
if Mr.. Luca the Brooklyn grocer, had
acted in this manner, he would be liv-
ing to-day and his assailant would not
he in Jail.
1t is very difficult to argue with a
man who talks like this, says the Sun,
because there is no common ground of
agreement upon which the discussion
can begin. But few questions and
illustrations may serve to show the folly
Of such wishy washy utterances. Sup
pose Mr.. Pentecost was living in India,
and he wake up some fine night and
found tiger in his dwelling. Would
he take q light, like Lady Macbeth,
and go up to the tiger unarmed, and
begin then and there to try to tame and
domesticate the beast? There are
thousands of good people who think it
is just as wrong to be cruel to animals
as it is to be cruel to men; and doubt
less they are right, if the cruel treat
ment is needlessly inflicted. But
when a man meets rattlesnake III his
path he does not give the reptile an OPP
portunity to STRIKE i'll order to ascer-
tain whether the creature may not be
good enough to run away if let alone.
If he is a man of sense he takes effect
i've measures at once to avert the possi-
bility of evil, just as Marshal Nagle
did in the case of the assault upon
Judge Field. The time to argue with
burglar or would-be murderer is
when we have rendered him powerless
to do evil, and the place to reform him
is in prison. This missionary clergy
man declares that he would let his i'm
aginary burglar take his property with
out making any protest. Well, suppose
burglar, instead of coming after his
property, came after one of his children,
like the California bandit Morales,
whose abduction of beautiful young
girl from her fathers house near San
Diego was reported recently? If he
would let the burglar go so readily, or
rather with an invitation to call again,
in the one case, why not in the other?
We have no patience with so-called
Christian teaching of this kind. There
cannot be too much Christianity, but
give us the manly sort, such as Charles
Kingsley taught, and no more of this
sentimental nonSense