New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-14
THE PROBLEM OF POVERTY.
SHADOWS OF THE CITY.
SERMON BY THE REV THOMAS DIXON, JR.,
OF THE TwESTYTHIRD STREET
BAPTIST CHURCH

!
BAPTIST CHURCH
series Of Sunday morning sermons on Shadows OF
! tho city - is being preached by the Rev Thomas
Dixon, IT,, the pastor Of the Twenty third Street
Baptist Church. The third OF this series was preached
yesteray Mr.. Dixon is OF a family of preachers
His father and brothers are also Baptist clergy
men, He was born in Shelby, North Carolina, in
1854. He was ordained at Wake Forest College Just
three years ago. After the sermon yesterday he
announced that owing to the crowds that over
I'LL the church each sunday, the congregation would
leave It's present snug home and seek more connections
quarters. beginning with November l. Association
Hail. one block distant from the church. will be used
ior all the Sunday services, and the audiences still
continue to increase, the trustees Of tho church Will
IN ali probability take active to have large
new church building erected for the people The sub.
Jet of the sermon yesterday The Almshouse'
The text was from Judges v, 90 The stars In their
courses fought against Sisera.5 Mr. Dixon said In
part:
. Inc idea presented 10 us in this text, while highly
nguIatNe, Is stun very simple one Slsera was the
holdng israel in the chains OF slavery. the day OF
decisive battle approached Nature joined forces
me army OF israel and the chosen people celebrated
great triumph. The river KishOn oveIiowed its banks
and engued the army Of Sisera with his 800 charios,
this once proud General carried from his couch
with nall driven through his head.
-, me stars In their courses fought against Sisera.
mat Is 10 say the forces OF Nature league with
the eternal principles OF truth and righteousness
gctnGr they are working out the salvation OF the world
kv by IT'S own nature and deeds exhausts and destroys
Itself Good by its own nature increases and must
TENS that clash with truth and right have gone down,
are going down, must 90 down
these facts, and, exploring the depths of this dark
problem OF poverty, we shall see the signs Of
l; We. find first that the very blackness of tho
shadow OF poverty IS the harbinger Of coming day.
inexorable necessity for light. The more intolerabo
ms darkness becomes the more speedy must relief
come The greater its terors, the greater will be the
exerions Of men 10 avoid it,
p In the gloom Of this shadow we stumble
failures bring nearer to the day of salvation.
We look at our charitable Institutions to-day over
meet the demands of the situation. We see paupersm
apparently increasing instead Of diminishing under
their influence: We give quarter to the fearful,
pleading wretch, and return In that
quarter has Frustrated him on the waysde drunk.
But we do not espalr. No, We will find the way
hy-and-by. Wen might Keper excialm, o Almighty
Cod, am thinking Thy thoughts after Thee. So
problem of problems is found Failures Oh, yes, we
make then-but then success is built on failures
THE COMPLEX CAUSES OF POVERTY.
8. An examination OF the complex of poverty
also gives us the promise of better things These
causes divide into two classes-internsl and external
(a.) Internal such arise from within man and
for which he IS solely responsible. 1 give only
two Illustrations of this principle. First take the
case OF virtue and vice. Each has its own reward.
God, and Nature echoes them. Whatsoever a man
soWs that shall he also reap. The man who wastes his
must come 10 want and misery. The stars have said
It, Vice carries IN its bosom the dagger with which
seed that will sprout and blossom the grave of its
victim. Yes, l walk along the highways Of life and
thousands dead and dying. Who they These
are the men and women who have fallen in mad
battle with the stars Of Heaven! Ignorance and vice
can never reap the rewards OF virtue and intelligence
No cOntryance Of government, scheme of socialism,
or Communism, or Anarchsm, or Nj sm can ever
table with virtue. No. truth is eternal and can never
get ant.quated. Truth IS not milestone that can be
passed Dy me engine OF progress. truth Is the end
less circle that girts the universe, and all progress
must be made along the track of truth
The plain fact is that there scores and scores
of people who are poor because they worthless
ioaers They do not care if they are, and they do
not want TO be anything else. You might take
Rm su % & h'9 IN Sse
thing but the bird-shot. If you could find that shot
in line, the transaction would be all profit and no
loss to society. You could not lasso such man and
drag him into heaven though you should hitch
Corlss engine TO him. At the last moment he would
SIP the rope off his worthless neck and fall into per
God has decreed that in the sweat Of his face man
decree Of Industry can not complain II he have no
do External causes are those that press upon man
from without and belong TO his social environment
Now If poverty solely the product Of human de-
pravty, this problem would be very simple one.
But. alas see many things about us that over
whclm Us with the conviction that there other
causes at work which the victim has no control
mother with a babe IA her arms came to the door Of
a Christian one day in one Of our great
SS TGs aGa a' That t I' ho0Weyed hungry
babe, which the lady thought TOO young 10
hand piece and downed it like some wild starving
animal! We are not surprised that the lady was over
come by the ptiable sight, and burst into tears. The
sorrowing mother went her way TO be driven to the
wa at last The mad crush Of the world about her
Yes. they found another one dead the other day The
clelnly swept everything IN perfect ORDER,
even the clean bed on which the dead body lay. On
the table short note that simply said Friends,
forgive me. The struggle IS too hard / cannot Ell,
things as these will make thoughtful men and women
stcrny ask Il society I. not somewhere IN co9ilict
with these same eternal laws Of which we have
spoken. Should such things be possible In Nation
ten years ago-we were worth S44 600 600 600 moro
than enough to buy the Russian and Turkish Empires
the Kingdoms Of Sweden ana Norway Denmark , and nd
Italy, together with Australia, South Africa and all
South AmericalandS. mines. cities, palaces factories
ships, hocks. herds, jewels, moneys thrones scepres
dlademS and a-the entire possessions OF lIIoOoOOO
people, In short We could buy hemisphere, and
stll have capital enough lett with When TO care
wealth and much want and misery, i Is a
serIous question the social reformer puts, Is our
society ideal one ~
FORCES AT WORK IN CIVILIZATION.
Let Us examine for a moment some of the forces
now at work in our civilization, and see If we do not
find IN them the hope of better things.
(al Take the rise and development Of corporations
Their creation was a great blessing 10 society. But
The power vested In them abused by unscrplous
men WRONGS were committed These wrongs gave
birth 10 elements that threaten the very life OF the
Institution. strikes and bOycOits were the fruits OF
such aluses strikes and boycotts have failed TO solve
the question because they contain principles IN CON
h.ct with Justice and right, and are therefore IN con-
Hirt with the stars Again and again have they re-
acted with fearful rebound upon their projectors.
Corporations have been crippled and faiel because
thet clashed with righteousness. Strikes and boy
colts have failed because they have FLASHED with
rghteousness ont OF these conflicts and failures truth
and right viii emerge triumphant AZ last.
DO Take the principle Of competition now at work
The fundamental principle OF our social and economic
fe /, conn . 1t OF. independence, indiyidual,m. To
mi, priuciue we owe the marvellous development or
the age Put W. about us the evidences OF tho
fact that this principle IN economic life. has been over
reaching itself and therefore digging It's own grave
In many quarters the struggle for precedence has
become mad fight for lie.