The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1889-03-22
TALMAGE's SERMON.
The Wrong Uses Of Money! and
the Danger Therein.
The Sin Of the Hour the Diversion of
Money From It's Legitimate Uses to
Channels OF Corrupt, Dishonest
and Vicious Expenditures.

AAOuegi from winch ne evolved the tOl-
lowing pointed discourse. His text was:
They that viii be rich fall into temptation
and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful
lusts, which drown men IN destruction and per
ditiOn.-lI Timothy, vi, Of
That is the Niagara Falls, over which
rush multitude Of souls, namely, the de-
termination TO have money anyhow, right
or wrong. Tell me how q man gets his
money and what he does with Il, and I
will tell you his character and what win
be his destiny In this world and the next.
/ propose to speak this morning about
some Of the ruinous modes Of getting
money.
We recently passed through National
election, in which il has been estimated
that thirty million dollars were expend-
ed / think about twenty million dollars
OF IL were spent in out and-Out bribery.
Both parties raised all they could for this
purpose. But that was only on q large
scale what has been done on a smaller
scale for fifty years and in all depart
ments.
Politics, from being the science Of good
government has often been bedraggled
into the synonym for truculency and
turpitude. A monster sin, plausible, po-
tent, pestiferOus, has gone forth to do
its dreadful work in all ages. Its two
hands are rotten with leprOsy. It keeps
its right hand hidden in a deep pocket.
The left hand is clenched, and with its
ichorOus knuckle it taps at the door OF the
courtroom, the legislative hall, the Con-
gress and the Parliament. The door
swings open and the monster enters and
glides through the aisle Of the council
chamber as softly as o slppered page,
and then it takes its right hand from its
deep pocket and offers it to judge or legis.
lator. If that hand be taken and the palm
OF the intruder crosses the palm OF the
official, the leprosy crosses from palm to
palm in a round blotch, round as q gold
eagle, and the virus spreads, and the
doom is fixed, and the victim perishes.
Let bribery, accursed OF God and man,
stand up for trial.
The Bible arraigns IL again and again.
Samuel says OF hts two sons who became
judges; ''rhey took brides and perverted
Judgment" David says OF some of his
pursuers: "Their right hand is full Of
bribes." Amos says Of some men in his
day: ''They take a bride and turn aside
the poor in the gate.D Eliphaz foretells
the crushing blows Of Gods indignation,
declaring: ''Fire shall consume the tab
ernacles of bribery"
It is no light temptation. The mightiest
have fallen under it. Sir Francis Bacon.
Lord Chancellor o. England, founder of
our modern philosophy, author Of "No-
yum Organum," and a whole library Of
-
so prOcOcious that when a little child he
was asked by Queen Elizabeth; chow old
are yOuS" He responded; 81 am two
years younger than your MRlesty's happy
reign" Of whose oratOry Ben Johnson
wrote; ''The fear Of every man that heard
him was that he should make an end, "
having an income which you would sup
pose would have put him beyond the
temptation of bribery-thirty-s thOusad
n fsrt~s nhnvr nrav-fu
gift and princely estates in Herfordshire
and GOrhambury-yet under this tempta-
ton to bribery, falling fat into ruin, and
ON his confession or taking brides,
giving his excuse that all his pre-
decessors took them; he was fined two
hundred thousand dollars. or what cor
responds with our two hundred thousand
dollars, and imprisoned in London
Tower. SO also Lord Chancellor Maccles-
field fell; so also Lord Chancellor Water
bury persisted. The black chapter in En-
gliah, Irish, French and American politics
is the chapter OF bribery. Some Of you
remember the Pacific Mail subsidies.
Most of you remembe T the awful tragedy
of the Credit Mobilier. Under the tempta-
ton to bribery Benedict Arnold sold the
fort in the Highlands for thirtY-On
thousand five hundred and seventy
five dollars. For this ain GOrgey
betrayed Hungary, AhithOphel for
sock David and Judas kissed Christ
When / see 50 many OF the illustrious GO
ing down under this temptation, it makes
me think OF the red dragon spoken Of in
Revelation, with seven heads and ten
horns and seven crowns, drawing third
part Of the stars OF Heaven down after
him. The Hobbies of the Legislatures OF
this country control the country. The
land Is drunk with bribery.
ooh" says some one, ''there's no need
of talking against bribery by promise OF
by dollars, because every man has his
price" do not believe 1t. Even heathen-
ism and the Dark Ages have furnished
specimens Of incOrruptibility. A cadi OF
Smyrna had a case brought before him on
trial. A man gave him FIVE hundred ducats
in bribery. The case came on. The bribeT
had many witnesses. The poor man on
the other had no witnesses. AT the close
OF the case the cadi said:
This poor man has no witnesses, he
thinks; l shall produce In his behalf five
hundred witnesses against the other
side"
And then pulling out the bag of ducats
from under tho ottoman, he dashed Il
down at the feet OF the briber, saying;
81 give my decision against you"
Fpaminondas, offered q bride, said:
al will do this thing IL it be right, and Il
il be wrong all your goods can not per-
suade me-"
Fabricius, Of the Roman Senate, was
offered bride by Pyrrhus Of Macedon
Fabrioius answered:
'What an example this would be TO the
Roman people; you keep your riches and
will keep my poverty and reputation"
The President Of the American Con
gress, during the American revolution
General Reed, was offered ten thousand
guineas by foreign commissioners If he
would betray this country. He replied:
Gentlemen, am very poor man, bu
tell your King he is not rich enough &
buy me-"
But why go so far, when you and l, il
we move in honorable society, know mer
and women who by all the concentrated
force Of earth and hell could not be
bribed. They would no more be bribet
than YOU would think OF tempting an ange
Of light to exchange Heaven for the pit
To offer a bride is villainy, but ii is a very
poor compliment to the man to W HON i
is offered.
Ibave not much faith In those people
who go about Dragging how much they
could get If they would only sell out
Those women who claim that they are
very often insulted need to understand
that there IS something in their carriage
60 invite insult. There are men at Al
bany and at Harrisburg aud at Washing
ton who would no more be approached by
a bride than a pirate boat with a few cut
lasses would dare to attack British
man-of-war with two banks OF guns on
each side loaded to the touch hole. They
are incorruptble men, and they are the
few men who are TO save the city
and save the land. Meanwhile, my adj
vice is to all people to keep ont o.
politics unless you are invulnerable L
this style Of temptations. Indeed, II yoJ
are naturally stong, You need religious
Rtfffvaa1fuw Nnfhfvsr BrsA -. u-rnaa n