The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-07-28
CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION

NhtpOTt lOT CldSS + ny H. L. W.
Do we dwell in a Christian age, in an age when
the ethics of Christ find an important factor in
individual, collective. and national life? There
can be but one answer to this question. and that
is no. l do believe that there few people in
this world who Christians in the true sense of
the word and have always noticed. in what lit.
tie experience have had in travelling around this
country, that you will in nine out of ten cases find
them among the poorer classes of the people. To
be sure the rich claim to be Christians but have
never been able to upon what they base this
claim, whether it is because they give few dollars
of their surplus wealth for the erection. of
church. or to some foreign missionary society, or
because they go to some Of the fashionable
churches upon the Sabbath. while on the remain.
ing six days of the week they serve the devil of
competition, and are willing to lie and cheat in
order to rob the poor man of his hard earned dol.
lar. and the wife and children Of the necessaries
of life. Still these men called Christians. and
in this nineteenth century men and women EN-.
braced by the demon Of insanity. go down in the
everlasting whirlpool of death, dishonor. and
shame. Statistics reveal the fact that there are
now 1928 persons confined in the penitentiaries
of our grand republic. 1888 in jails, 1886
children are in reformatores, and 73O45 persons
cation that breeds criminals and produces misery2
People who have studied the history of ancient
civilization, seem to have great reverence for the
pyramids of Egypt considering them monu-
ments of a nations greatness 1t may be that
am not possessed of much reverence as some
people. for certainly do not look upon them in
any such light but consider them as monuments
of nations shame. The greatest pyramid of
all 10 nh nd foot <bo
sides. and the base eleven acres of ground.
many of the stones 60 feet in length and there
are POS layers. 1t built by $4,000 slaves and
still people look upon it a credit to that
country. 1t is now about quarter of a century
since the negro was set free in this country, and
it cost this government billions of dollars. and
our country hundreds of thousands of lives before
it was accomplished. Yet do not see where it
any worse for the southern planter to have
negro slaves, than it is to allow the capitalists
and mon opoIsts of this country to make slaves of
the whites. That they doing this cannot be
denied. Many of US have heard of the Ponpon
Phosphate Mining Co. of South Carolina where
men have to work in the mines all day for 81 rs
per day, buy all goods of the company store
where they are charged excessive prices for them
so that after working month they are in debt to
the company, and are guarded by armed men so
that they cannot escape, and if they lag at their
work they are cruelty beaten. This is only one
case among many could name. defy any man
in the whole world to show in all the histories
of the past picture more fendishly despotic than
this, SO say, no, our civilization is not even
moral let alone Christian. 1 think it was Emerson
who said civilization depends on morality. Over
1000 years ago Ovidius wrote what is true to-day.
He said money nowadays is in high repute; it con.
fers Offices Of state, procures friendship. Every
where the poor man is despised. When Rome
reached the zenith of her glory. and before she
fell. 1900 Of her people owned the then known
world; when Egyptian civilization fell per cent.