Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-04-18
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
snhiert, Mrh. Plarue ~ rr,n....,

suh}ectt "The Plague of Cribse,s
TEXT: "Au the ,oaters chat toere in the
river ,cere turned to blood. Exodus vii,
90
Among all the Egyptian plaques none could
have been worse than this The Nile il che
wealth of Egypt. Its fish the feed, its waters
the irrigation of garden and fields. Its con-
dition decides the prosperity or the doom Of
the empire: What happens to the Nile hap
pens to all Egypt. And now in the text that
great river IS incarnadined Il red cash
across an empire. In poetic license we speak
OF wars which turn the rivers into blood
But my text is not poetic license. 1t was
TACT great crimson, appalling condition
described. The Nile rolling deep of blood
Can you imagine more awful piagues
The modern plague which nearest CORE
spends with that is the plague of crime in
all our cities II hats not for bloodshed.
1t shrinks from no carnage. 1t bruises and
cuts and strikes down and destroys. 1t re-
wells in the blood of body and soul, this plague
OF crime rampant for ages and never holder
or more rampant than now
The annual police reports of these cities as
examine them are TO me more suggestive
than Dante's Inferno, ard all Christ an people
aswell as re'ormers need to awaken to pres
ent and tremendous duty. If you want this
plague OF Crime" to stop there are several
kinds of persons you need to consider First.
surprised that these people make up large
portion in many communities. The vast
majority of the criminals who take ship from
| Europe come into our own port. In 1862 Of
the forty-nine thousand people who were in
generated in the prisons Of the country
thirty-two thousand were of foreign birth
Many of them were the very desperadoes of
society. oozing into the slums of our city.
waiting for an opportunity to riot and steal
, and debauch, joining the large gang of
American thugs and eut-throats.
There are in this cluster of cities-New
York, Jersey City and Brooklyn-four
thousand people whose entire business in
life is to commit suicide. That is as much
their business as Jurisprudence or medicine
or merchandise is your business To it they
bring all their energies Of body, mind and
soul, and they look upon the intervals which
they spend in prison as so much unfortunate
loss of time, just as you look Il pom an attack
of influenza and rheumatism which fastens
you in the house for a few days. 1t is their
lifetime business to pick pockets and blow
up safes and shoplift and ply the panel game,
and they have as much pride of skill in their
business as you have in yours when you up
set the argument OF an opposing counsel, or
cure gunshot fracture which other sur
geons have given up, or foresee a turn in the
market as you buy goods just before they go
up twenty per cent. 1t is their business to
once in year the thought of the immortality
strikes them
Added TO these professional criminals,
American and foreign, there are a large
class Of men who are more or1ess industrious
In crime. In one year the police in this
cluster of cities arrested ten thousand people
for theft, and ten thousand for assault and
ba terry, and fifty thousand for iutoxication.
Drunkenness is responsible for much of the
thett, since it confuses a mans ideas of
property, and be gets his hands on things
that do not belong to him. Rum is respons-
bic for much of the assault and battery, in
spring men to sudden bravery, which they
must demonstrate though it be on the face
Of the next gentleman.
Ten million dollars worth of property
stolen in this cluster of cities In one year!
j gu cannot as good citizens, be independent
Of that fact 1t will touch your pocket, since
have 10 give you the fact that these three
cities pey about eight million dollars worth
OF taxes year to arraign, try and support
the criminal population. You help to pay
the board Of every criminal, from the sneak
thief that snatches a spool of cotton up to
some man who swamps a bank. More than
that, 1t touches your heart in the moral de-
preston of the community You might as
well think to stand in a closely confined
room where there are fifty people and yet
not breathe the vitiated air. as to stand in
\
multitude of the depraved without some
what being contaminated. What is the fire
that burns your store down compared with
the conaagration which consumes your
morals2 What is the theft of the gold and
silver from your money safe compared with
the theft of your chidren's virtue?
We are all ready to afraign criminals.
| We shout at the top of our voice, stop
thietP' and when the police get on the track
we come out, hatless aud in our slippers, and
assist in the arrest. We come around the
bawling rufiian and hustle him off to Justice,
and when he gets in prison what do we do for
him? With great gusto we put GU the hand
cuffs and the hopples; but what preparation
are we making for the day when the hand
cuffs and the hopples come off? Society
seems to say to these criminals, william, 60
in there and rot" when 1t ought to say
You are an offender against the law, but
we mean to give you an opportunity to re-
pent; we mean to help you. Here are Bibles
and tracts and Christian influences. Christ
died for you. Lock and live"
Vast improvements have been made by
introducing industries into the prison; but
We want something more than hammers
and shoe lasts to reclaim these people. Aye
we want more than sermons on the Sabbath
day. Society must impress these men with
the fact that it Goes not enjoy their suf-
feriDg, and that it is attempting to reform
U
ais suppose that society has grgdge against
them, and they in turn have grudge against
society.
They are harder in heart and more infuri-
ate when they come out of Jail than when
they went IN, Many Of the people, who go
70 prison go again and again and again.
some years ago, OF hIteen hundred prisoners
VINO curing the year had been IN sing Sing,
Eouf hundred mad been there before. In
mouse OF correction IN the country: where
aurlpg certain reach OF time tbefH had
Deen hve thousand people, more than taree
thousand had been there before, SO, IN one
case the prison, and IN the other the house. OF
correction, lett them just as bad they were
before
lie secretary OF che OF the benevolent
societies of New York says q lad fifteen years
of age had spent three years of his life in
prison. ana he said TO the lad, What have
they done for you to make you better"
well replied the lad, 'the first time
vas brought up before the judge he said,
.i tou uenI 10 . oe u9ialheu OIL yeofSsl' Anu
- i'iis and va
oSsHv up 1917 ine saiue 9uuge' auu u9
Saiu, ;. .o9 Iascai Anu ulier WINE
tt-. - - sN'is ''Het eii,nei uiit l N1s
PTougnt before the same ludge, ana he SAID,
a. ou uus1C 70 oe hahseu- uaI was an
leu "ui,e 10 niui "a Iie way Vi
.lon anu saiEaCion, N you say tnese
9ne ~ - 81 eh t,
ele nun leIs % persons I9ls gay lying Ia we
prison punks VINO would leap up at me
Pl9speGI Oh Leioru'alloh II so3lety No'u9
T rrr.1 Ven ''' ''''' Ns'-'iN' Gun
-, :,
=, OD, you say; 1 nave no patience with
tnese Lo3ues. GsE you IN reply, now
ibuSh uSt1ti NoNlt you nave Dseu unueT tns