The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-04-24

DANGER AHEADt
CONTEMPT FOR THE POOR.
Signs of Decadence-Will the Re.
public Live?
EXTRACT FROM A SERMON OF REV
MYRON REED, AT DULUTH.

EXTRACT FROM SERMON OF REV.
MYRON REED, AT DULUTH.
1.-THE signers of the Declaration of
Independence looked one another
over and took courage. Jefferson
looked at Adams and Franklin and
Lee, and said to himself, We are Ca
pable of this enterprise. We are men
enough to go alone; King George can
do us no good; we are tired of kings
"These men asserted that man was
able to be the captain of his soul. He
was able to govern himself. It was
new attitude of man toward man and
man toward God. He was thereafter
to look at men with level eyes, not up
at men or down on men. He was to
be neither lord nor cockney; he was to
be reverent toward God, but not
cringing.
The fear of hell's hangman's whip
To b aud the wretch in order.
Man was to be a wretch no longer.
It never helped us any to call our
selves worms of the DUST The sign
ers of the Declaration paid a great
compliment to the people of the thir-
teen colonies. They assumed that
they were equal to the greatest task
ever laid On men. You are familiar
with the history of the republic up to
date. Thomas Carlyle heard of our
civil war and said that we were
shooting Niagara Government by
the people was about to perish from
the earth. After 1865 men said
government that had survived such
war is immortal. After great trou-
BILE gone through with. man thinks,
now that settles it; and things are 60
ing to be easy with me all the days of
my life, and he drops shield and
sword. But he has to get on guard
again. There are men who say that
the republic is still an experiment.
Abraham Lincoln was not as sanguine
as most of us. He said: Monarchy
itself is sometimes limited at as posi-
BILE refuge from the power of the peo-
pie. In my present position would
scarcely be justified were l to omit
raising warning voice against this
approach of returning despotism.'
"The bearer of ill-news is not well
come. l myself have particular dis
like to the disagreeable. but there are
some unsatisfactory things in plain
sight. There are plenty Of Ameri-
| cans who think that the signers of
the declaration expected too much;
that they pitched human nature alto
| h; ;~h H.
| of Americans, native born, who dis
trust the people. l hear it said often
that there is too much freedom, free
dom of Speech freedom of the press,
freedom generally; not enough battle
ships, not enough soldiers, not enough
strong government So far as this
means anything, it means a retreat
back to the old world methods.
SIN The Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens sets down the things
that provoked the French revolu-
| tion.' There was an unnecessary inso-
lence OF the rich; insulting parade Of
wealth. l have been reading The
Amateur Emigrant.' The writer,
Louis Stevenson, crossed the Atlantic
| in the second cabin of an ocean
steamer. He spent most of his time
| in the steerage. He describes the
ca bin passengers. They used to saun-
| ter down, now and then, on visit of
| curiosity; their manner was the Occa-
sion of much profanity. In spite Of
| the fact that he was Robert Louis
| Stevenson, the best story-teller of this
generation, and that he was in the
| steerage from choice, and altopether
| the most considerable passenger
| abroad, he came to share the common
steerage feeling toward the FORUM
ates of the first cabin. In the story
| before mentioned, Charles Dickens
notes the Indifference of the FORUM
ate. They drove furiously and reck-
| lessly through the street; ran over
people. One duke or something hav-
| ing run over child, flung the father
| some silver. l have not time to tell
| the story; sufficient to Say that the
duke did not run over any more chill
dren nor drive fast any more. The
next ride he took was at a walk in a
| hearse.
II note some degree of this inso-
| lence and Indifference in this country.
| In 1898, 26.262 men employed in rail-
| road service in this country were
killed and wounded while on duty.
General Harrison, while president,
twice recommended the passage Of a
law to enforce the use by railroads OF
self-coupling appliance. The only
| objection is that it is expensive. Men
are being cheapcned. The indict-
ment of one dead nation by an old
prophet of God reads: 'Ye have de-
spised the poor
II have been reading of the
slaughter in the Red Canon mine in
| Wyoming. Sixty-one men killed
fifty-one of them men with families.
II have not heard yet Of any sneak
ing behind the Overworked phrase
'dispensation Of Cod This is dis
pensation of corporation. Modern
science is able to make mine reason
ably safe. The only objection is that
| it is expensive. This is No. of the
Central Pacific mines. This is the
| third explosion in the vicinity. A
while ago No 2, killed 40 men, and
soon after No. 4, killed 13 men. That
means only three more to go off.
Here are ia men blown or burned to
death in one neighborhood Of this re-
public-114 of the dangerous class
gone. It seems to me that this kind
of massacre is happening somewhere
in this country every week. They do
a good deal of coal mining in Eng
| land hut, do not hear of so much