The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-12-31

sHEe energy put forth for the world
could be put forth fer God! Oh, if a
thousand men IN these great cities who
nave achieved a.fortuue could see it their
duty TO do all business lor Christ and the
alienation nf the worlds suffering.
Again, remark, that business life is
school of patience. In your everyday
lie how many things 10 annoy and to
dsqulcu Bargains will rub. Coolmcr-
clal men will sometimes fail to meet
thelr engagements. Cash book and
money drawer will sometimes quarrel
Goods ordered for special emergency
VIII come too late or ne dauaoed III the
transportation. People intending no
harm Will 90 shopping. without any inten-
tlon OF purchase, oVerturn!ng great
sotcks Of goods and insisting that YOU
break the dozen. More bad debts on
the ledger. More counterfeit bills IN the
drawer. More debts to pay for other
people. More meannesscs on the part
OF partners in business. Annoyance af-
ter annoyance, veXatiou after vcXation
and loss after loss. All that pro cess
Will either break you down or brighten
you up. 1t is school Of patience. Oh,
that amid the turmoil and ANXIETY and
eXasperation Of everyday life you n,ight
hear the voice of God saying SIN patti
ence possess your soul. Let patience
have her perfect work"
remark again that business lite is n
school Of useful knowledge. Merchants
10 not read many books and do not
study lcXicons. They do not dive into
proiounds OF learning, and yet nearly all
| through their occupations come to un-
derstand questions of finance and poll
tics and geography and jurisprudence
and ethics. Business ia q severe school
mistress. IT pupils will not learn, she
| strikes them over the head and the heart
with severe losses. You put $4,000
into an enterprise. 1t is all gone. You
say, THAT is a dead loss" Oh, no.
You are paying the schooling. That
was only tuition, very large tuiton-I
| told you it was severe choolmistrcss
but it was worth it. You learned
things under that process you would not
nave learned ia any other way.
traders IN gram come 10 know sOme-
thlng about foreign harvests; traders in
lru't come TO know something about the
prospects OF tropical production; manu-
iacturers Of American goods com, TO
understand the tarif1 on imported arti-
| cles; publishers OF books must come 10
understand the new law of copyright:
oWHers OF ships must come to know
winds and shoals and navigation; and
every bale Of cotton, and every raisin
cask, and every tea box, and every clus.
ter OF bananas is 80 much literature for
business man. Now, my brother.
what are you gong to do with the in
telllgence? DO you suppose God put
| you In this school of information merely
That you might be sharper in a trade,
lhat you might be more successful as q
Worldlng? Oh, 10; it was that Won
might take that useful information and
use 1t for Jesus Christ.
remark, also, that business life is a
school Tor integrity. No man knows
what he will do when he is ternptcd
lhere are thousands Of men who have
kept their integrity merely because they
never have been tested. A man was
elected treasurer Of the state Of Name
some years ago. lie was distinguished
lol hls honesty, usefulness and upright
ness, but before one year had passed he
mad taken OF the public funds for his
own private use, and Was hurled out of
o1hce III disgrace. Distinguished for vir-
Tue before. Distinguished for crime al.
ter. You can call over the names OF
men just like that, in whose honesty YOU
had complete confidence, but placed in
certain crises cf temptation they went
overheard
Never 50 many temp; atlons 10 scom.
drellsm as now. Not q law on the stat,
ute bsok but has some back door through
which mlscreant can ESCAPE. AL
now many deceptlons in the fabric OF
goods; SO much plundc! ing in commer-
cial life, that il man talk about livir.
lie Of complete commercial accuracy
there arc those who ascribe it to green
ness and lack OF tact. More nerd Of
honesty now than ever before e-tricd
honesty, complete honesty, more than
IN those times when business was a
plain affair, and woolens were woolens
ana silks were silks and men were meu.
Low many men do you suppose there
are IN commercial life who could say
lruthlullY, "ln all the sales l have ever
maze nave never OVerStated the value
OF goods; IN all the sales | have ever
maze nave never covered up IN i'm
perfection in the fabric; of all the thous-
ands OF dollars l have ever made | have
not taken ono dishonest farthing?"
Ihcre arc men, however, who can say
lI-hundreds who can say il. thOus;, ads
VINO can say it. They are more honest
Than when they sold their first ticrce Of
rice, or their first 1irkin Of but. r.. be-
cause tnar honesty and integrity have
peen tested, tried and carried out trium.
phant. But they remember time when
tlcy could have robbed partner, or
nave abscOndcd with the funds Of q bank.
or sprung snap Judgment, or made
false assignment, or borrowed illmitap-
~ without any effort at payment, or got
man into sharp corner and fecGcd
him. But they never took one step on
that pathway Of hell fire. They can say
their prayers without hearing the chnk
OF dishonest dsllars. They can read
their Bible without thinking of the time
when, with a lie on their soul, in the
custom house they kissed the Book.
They cas think OF death and the judg-
ment tlao comes after it without any
linching-that day when all charlatans
and cheats and jockeys and frauds shall
be UOuDlV damned I docs NOT ,Ooko u