Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1892-12-29
ABOUT RAILROADS.
\ sub cvl in which Hal, ofsixt,
millions OF People Are
Interested.
This Is an Age Of Railroads.
Some Very Valuable and
Pointed Lessons.

Pointed Lessons.
he not afraid, my sermon shall not
have as many minutes as my subject
has miles. Nor yet as many heads rs
railroads have dcad-hcads. | am not
going to say anything as to gross
earnings" nor the long haul and the
short haul, nor as to railroads bccom-
ing governmental Institutions, nor
even a word as to their Sunday traffic.
These aresmooted and disputed com
monplaccs. shall say nothing as to
how tosccurc them, for the South
Dakotan above everything else and
everybody else knows how this is
done. Chaunccy NJ. Depew says, ''of
the GO,OO0,0oo people in the United
States, onc-half of them are living
upon the railroad" If this is true
then there is no secular subject in
which Shmany millions are interested
as the one ] have chosen. Colonel
lngcrSo!l once declared: Most far
mcrs think they are dcvourcd by
monopol!cs, especially by railroads.
or course the railroads are indebted
to the farmers for their prosperity,
and the farmers are indebted to the
railroads.
The railroads are your friends.
They are your partners. To make
war uponthc railroad is a short
sighted policy. They should be
treated fairly and should be taxed by
the same standard tina, farms are
taxed, and in no other way. Put
down local frcights: put them down
10 the lowest rate, if YOU can. to the
lowest possible figure. and let through
irclglltS take care of themselves.
This much Of a purely secular cEarac-
ter. deemed best ought to be said
tonight, but no more. Dickens tells
us OF MIR. Dick who could not speak
or Writco Of anything or anybody I'M
less he brought in Charles the First.
All ministers and theolo.ians seem
likewise affected towards Niagara
Falls and railroads. Nearly all men
are inclined to think that the rail
road is a,ycry modern invention but
IalMlge thinks it very ancient one.
tic quotes Nahum 2: 4. "The char
lots shall rage in the streets, they
shall joske against one another in
the broad ways; they shall seem like
torches, they shall run like the light
nings, and then says: ''If that be
notan express rail-train under full
Roadway at night, what is it? The
llseof steam may have been one of
the lost arts, Robert Fulton and
James Watts recovering what Nahum
the prophet had known centuries
before" Ancient or modern, the wear
1896 witnessed the building of more
railroads than any year before or
since. That year our country WAS
Wild over them, the air impregnatcd
with enthusiasm for them. AS that
was the year oe my birth. | seem most
naturally toShave come by unlimited
admiration for them. We're not a
minister the gospel should be an
engineer on some great trunk line.
we are inclined to think that the
Slaughter of infants by Ilcrod at the
birth OF the Christ was a unique oc-
currencc. Joseph Parker feels differ
entity. 1T is the mystery Of civiliza-
ton; tits true of all departments of
life. You could not introduce the
locomotive engine into your civilian
ton without great massacre of inno-
cents. Wheiithe locomotive engine
took his brc3th AND gave his first
utterance intb the startled air, what
Il slaughter there was all over the,
country OF innocent spectators,
innocent investors, innocent people
of all kinds" Christ came into the
world asall men come, and his com
ing was like the coming of every
upward teMency of progress. If the
introdlction'fsof the railway was
SAVIOR Of death to some, it WAS a SAVIOR
of lite to many. And it's destructive
power is but drop into the bucket
of its gencrative power for good.
Horace Bushnell says: nThis is an
age OF ronds. The dark ages built
castles on HE Inaccessible peaks Of
mountains, to get away from enemies;
we build cottages, on public roads.
which we like to have as perfect as
possible, to facilitate access and
motion. The Egyptians built pyra-
mids over the dead, wetibuild roads
to give life and swiftness to the liy-
ing. The Chinese crccta wall toshut
themselves in: we open roads, that
we may 60 cycrywhcrcand behold the
coming of all people. The roads arc
schools; by them mems narrow, local
prejudiccs arc worn off, their super
stitions arc forgotten.M The railroad
So III, D,.,,1 o..S