The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-07

of the Bible; yet few of the scriptura
 writers deserve a higher place. It ma,
 give his words n special weight witt
 workingmen to recall that he was {
 workingman. He says of himself, "l
 was no prophet. neither was pro
 phets son: but was . herdsman and q
 dresser of sycamore figs. and Jehovah
 took me from following the noek and
 said unto me. ''Go prophecy unto my
 people Israel" But though educated
 neither in court circles or theological
 schools. and though he had no models
 to initiate. for he was the earliest oi
 all the prophets. brief records of his
 prophecies show that he was literary
 genius and orator of the first rank. that
 he had n wide knowledge of geography and history. and that he was one, oi the profoundest and most original oi thinkers in theology and on social pro-
 blems. Is 1t not n shame that this priceless book of the Bible should be Sc neglected or regarded monotonous se- ries of terrible threats?
 Ihave already pointed out how admir- ably our text C'The land-for this shall rise up and be troubled and sink again like the river of Egypt') describes the fluctuations of the modern business world. Of course Amos did not have in uttering these words precisely the same phenomena in mind. What he antici- pated in Israel was defeat and captivi- ty by some foreign power like Ninevah. | But this difference is due only to changed circumstances. not to change of principle. The business of the an- cient world was war. Wealth was gained by conquest rather than by com | merce, and lost by defeat. Large crops. increasing wealth, meant greater mill | tary strength. and so increased wealth in booty. Now Amos lived in the peri | cd when Israel attained the height of its prosperity. Under Jerebown Second the domain of the northern kingdom equaled that of Solomon; victories over Damascus and other enemies had en- riched Israel by the spells of war, and by an internal peace which enabled the teeming population to produce great wealth from the fertile soil in full se- curity As a result Israel was enjoying what we would call to-day business boom. Magnificent buildings were go- ing up in the cities, there was great de mand for articles of luxury like wines and perfumes. couches of silk and ivory, musical instruments and country villas i; while against the foreign foe large ar mics, Actresses and favorable alliances gave confidence. The nation had risen like the river of Egypt on flood of prosperity! But Amos prophetic eye discerned the coming .reaction-crip- pied financial resources, which in those days meant crippled military strength, defeat, and if it continued. captivity.
 Conditions, say, are different to-day. The modern world knows comparative ly little of military conflict; but individ- uals by competitor and nations by their hostile tariffs are engaged in a commer- cial war equally real and almost as bit ter. The same great social laws that in Amos time led to national subjuga- tion to foreign powers, in these times lead to commercial panics. So do not think that it is pressing the meaning of our text to interpret it as stating the great social law which causes these fluctuations of prosperity.
 What then is that law? Our text says, Shall not the land tremble for his?" "This" refers to the preceding verses. and to them we must turn to discover Amos theory of the cause. Let us reread the passage: Hear this, O ye that would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail saying. When will the new moon be gone that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath that we may set forth wheat? making the ephah small and the shekel great and dealing with balances of de- ceit: that we may buy the poor for sil- yer and the needy for a pair of shoes and sell the refuse of the wheat, Je- hovah hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, surely will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land trem- ble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? Yea. it shall rise up wholly like the river. and it shall be troubled and sink again like the river of Egypt"
 Thus Amos asserts that the cause of the decline of prosperity is moral, that it is the false conception of business which men have, which leads them first to put business above their moral and religious life-saying When shall the new moon, the Sabbath, be gone that we may sell wheat; second, to sell in business the highest possible profit, making the bushel small and the dol lar great" third, as an inevitable con- sequence, to sell profits dishonestly, dealing with balances of deceit" "sell- ing the refuse of the wheat, land fourth ly, since in such a struggle the weakest must go to the wall, to oppress the poor, until careless of everything but their own profits, they are ready to buy the poor for a piece of silver and the needy for pair of shoes" Or, in other words, the reason why feverish specu- lation and panics periodically occur in the business world, the reason why, in spite of abundant resources and advan- cling civilization. gaunt misery stalks by the side of luxury is nothing else than the competitive system of busi- ness, the theory that all exchange of commodities is and must be battle, or at least game in which each party is striving to gain profit at the others ex- pense. This prevailing idea is one of the devils lies! It inevitably results in devils world such as we see to-day. (Only honest exchange, no profit, ad- vantage to both.)
 We cannot doubt the applicability of Amos words to our times, for if I tried, how could I describe better than by quoting the passage have just read, the absorbing passion for money get ting, which makes the American mer- chant of to-day sacrifice everything, family as well as religion, to his busi-