Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-08-15
OUR NEIGHBORS TONGUES.
Gossip Has Ruined Many Fair Repu-
tatiOnS.

We take pleasure in republishing the
following article taken from the Monday
Sentinel. 1t contains many valuable
thoughts for consideration by our local
gossips and those quite prone to gossip:
''Our Neighbors' Tongues" was the
subject of a sermon delivered by the
Rev. VIM. Hunsberger last night at the
Grand Avenue Methodist church. With
emphasis he rebuked the tendency on
the part of the people of his country to
gossip, and he said that many fair rep
utation had been blasted by the idle
words of some gossip, who little needed
when the SANDER was spoken the effect
which it would produce. Mr.. Huns
berger said:
'Whatever some may say about our
telligent thinker claims that the gift of
the croak of frog. The ancients well
understood the value of speech, and
though the Egytians worshipped Har-
pocrats, the God of silence, they knew
how to exalt their orators and experts
in the use Of words. Speech stepped in
understanding is valuable, useful, ele-
waiting and ennobling. but without
being stepped in understanding is evil,
dangerous, debasing and full of peril to
many. The bible is profuse and en-
phatic in its injunctions to be guarded
in speech and to be watchful in the use
OF this great blessing which can so easily
become great danger. They are base
and dangerous indeed who turn speech
into profanity, obscenity and the darker
forms Of evil it can SO easily assume.
ABUSE OF THE TONGUE.
"One of the worst abuses of the
tongue is that which uses it for detrac-
ton, habitual evil speaking, the retail
ing and rehashing of chronic gossip.
Those who use it thus are assassins of
character, and the Christian should
speak evil of no man or woman unless
necessary in the interests of truth, or to
warn others honestly against evil and
dangerous men or women, who might
otherwise thrive upon false pretenses
and a false character. At most, how
ever, SANDER can but kill reputation,
real character it cannot KILL character
being what we are while reputation is
simply what our neighbors report us to
be. An old college professor once illus
trated the danger of tale bearing. Said
he: L hold secret and for that | make
one short perpendicular mark with my
pencil. If [ tell my wife that is second
and | make another mark. If she tells
somebody else that is three and | make
third mark. These together become
one hundred and eleven 111) and that
is about the number of people who
would soon know about it..
BAsENEss OF SCANDAL MoNGERs.
Chronic gossips, scandal mongers,
those who delight in slander and de-
traction, are among the basest class in
my community, and if there be another
SO base it consists of those who incline
their ears greedily to such tales, and
gladly receive them. The receivers of
such goods are as bad as the makers of
them. Far better the assassin who
creeps dagger in hand to stab sleeping
victim than the woman who deliberate
ly and knowing its untruth distributes
SANDER and venom. The woman who
dies in the brothel, really deceiving
nobody, is better than her so-called
respectable sister who, in costly raiment.
stabs with false words and falser insinu-
ations. For these the exterminating
angel should be armed with whip of
scorpoins, for their deeds are evil and
should perish.