The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-06

public building IN New York cost millions
of dollars more than il ought to have cost
when you lind that the man who gave oul
I the contracts paid more than five thou
sand dollars for his daughters wedding
dress. Cashmeres of a thousand dollars
each are not rare on Broadway. IL is
estimated that there are ten thousand
women in these two cities who have eX-
pended on their personal array four thou
sand dollars year.
What are men TO do in order to keep uE
such home wardrObes2 Steal-that is the
only respectable thing they can DO! Dur
ing the last fifteen years there have been
lnnumera bic fine businesses shipwTecked
on the wardrobe The temptation comes
In this way: A man thinks more of his
family than Of all the world outside. and
II they spend the evening in desert Ding 10
him the superior wardrobe of the family
across the street, that they cannot bear
the sight of, the man is thrown on his
gallantry and on his pride of family. and,
without translating his feelings into plain
language, he goes into extortion and
issuing of false stock, and sKillful pen
manshlp in writing somebody eise's name
at the foot OF a prOmissOry note; and
they all 20 down tOgether-the husband
to the prison, the wife 10 the sewing ma
chine the children TO be taken care of by
those VINO were called Door relations. o.
for some new Shakespeare to arise and
write the tragedy of human clothes.
Act the first of the tragedy.-A plain
but beautiful home. Enter, the newly
married pair. Enter, simplicity of man
ner and behavior. Enter, as much hap
piness as is ever found in one home
Act the second. Discomfort with the
humble home. Enter. envy. Enter, ieal-
Ousy. Enter, desire OF display.
Act the ird.-Enlargement of ex-
penses. Enter all the queenly dress
makers. Enter, the French milliners.
Act the fourth.-The tip-top of society.
Enter, princes and princesses of high life
Enter, magnificent plate and equipage.
Enter, everything splendid.
Act the fifth, and last.-Winding I'D Of
the scene. Enter, the assignee Enter,
the sheriff. Enter. the creditors. Enter.
humiliation. Enter, the wrath of God.
Enter, the contempt of society. Enter,
death. Now, let the silk curtain drop on
the stage. The farce is ended, and the
lights are out.
VIII you forgive me if I say in tersest
shape possible that some of the men have
to forge and to perjure and to swindle to
pay for their wives dresses / will say
1t, whether you forgive me or not
Again. 1nordinate fashion is the foe of
all Christian alms-giving. Men and women
put so much in personal display that they
often have nothing for God and the ca use
Of suffering humanity. A Christian man
cracking his Palais Royal glove across the
back by shutting up his hand TO hide the
one cent he puts into the poor-box, A
Christian woman, at the story of the Hot
tentots, crying copious tears into a
twenty-five dollar handkerchief, and then
giving two-cent piece to the collection,
thrusting it down under the bills so peo-
pie will not know but IL was a ten-dollar
gold piece! One hundred dollars for in
cense to fashion; two cents for God. God
gives US ninety cents out of every dollar.
The other ten cents by command of his
Bible belong to him. Is not God liberal
according to this tithing system laid down
in the Old Testament-is not Cod liberal
in giving us ninety cents out of dollar
when he takes but ten2 We do not Xix e
that. We want to have ninety-nine cents
for ourselves and one for God.
Now, l would a great deal rather steal
ten cents from you than from God | think
one reason why a great many people do
not get along in worldly accumulation
faster is because they do not observe this
divine rule. God says: well. if that
man is not satisfied with ninety cents of a
dollar, then l will take the whole dollar,
and l will give it to the man or woman
who Is honest with me-" The greatest OBJ
stacle to charity in the Christian church
to-day is the fact that men expend SO
much money on their table. and women so
much on their dress, they have got moth
ing left for the work of God and the
worlds betterment. In my first settle
ment at Belleville, n. j., the cause of
missions was being presented one Sabbath.
and plea for the charity of the people
was being made, when an old Christian
man in the audience lost his balance and
said right out in the midst of the sermon
. Mr.. Talmage, how are we to give liber-
ally to these grand and glorious causes
when our families dress as they do2n I
did not answer that question. 1t was the
only time in my life when l had nothing
TO say.
Again. inordinate fashion is distraction
to public worship. You know very well
there are good many people who come
TO church just as they go to the races, to
see who will come out first What a
fiutter it makes in church when some
woman with extraordinary display of
fashion comes in. What a love of a
bonnet - says some one. what per-
feet fright" say five hundred For the
most merclless critics in the world are
fashion critics. Men and women with
souls to be saved passing the hour in
wondering where that man got his cravat.
on what store that woman patronizes. In
many or our churches the preliminary
are taken up with the dis
cussion of wardrobes. 1t is pilable Is
IL not wonderful that the Lord does not
strike the meeting houses with lightning!
What distraction of public worship
Dying men and women, whose bodies are
soon to be turned into dust, yet before
three worlds strutting like peacocks, the
awful question of the souls destiny sub
merged by the question of navy blue vel
vet and long fan-train skirt, long enough
to drag up the church aisle, the husbands
store, office, shop, factory, fortune, and
the admiration of half the people in the
building. Men and women come late to
church to show their clothes. People sit
ting down in pew or taking up a hymn
book, all absorbed at the same time in
array, to sing:
Rise, my soul and stretch thy wing,
Thy better portion trace;
Rise from transtory things,
Toward heaven, thy native place.
I adopt the Episcopalian prayer and
say: Good Lord deliver u.s."
lnsatiate fashion also belittles the in
tellect Our minds are enlarged or they
dwindle just in proportion to the impor-
lance of the subject on which
we constantly dwell. Can you imagine
anything more dwarfiing to the
human intellect than the study of
fashion, ] see men on the street who,
Judging from their elaboration. / think
must have taken two hours to arrange
their apparel. After a few years of that
hind n Z q beprptSop ,rb;.b s,,a 90 NJ. A tt;,