Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-07-12
TRIALS OF BUSINESS.
REV. DR.. TALMAeE DISCUSSES A TIME
LY SUBJECT.

After Clouds of Distress There VIII Fol-
low the Sunshine of National Prosperi-
ty-what the Business Man Is Com
PEELED to Undergo-The Souls Welfare.
New YORK, July Tn his sermon
for today DR.. Talmage, who is still alb
sent on his western lecturing tour, chose
subject Of universal interest-viz,
Business Troubles es'-the text selected
being Ezekiel xvii "a, "These were
thy merchants in all sorts Of things. "
We are at the opening door Of return
ing national prosperity. The coming
crops, the establishment Of public
confidence and, above all, the blessing
IF God will turn in upon all sections Of
America the widest, greatest prosperity
this country has ever seen. But that
door Of successes is not yet fully open,
and thousands Of business men are yet
suffering from the distressing times
through which we have been passing.
Some Of the best men in the land have
faltered, men whose hearts are enlisted
In every good work and whose hands
have blessed every great charity. The
church Of God can afford to extend to
them her sympathies and plead before
heaven with all availing prayer. The
schools such men have established, the
churches they have built, the asylums
and benefcent institutions they have
fostered will be their eulogy long after
their banking institutions are forgotten.
Such men can never fail. They have
their treasures in banks that never break
and will be millionaires forever. But l
thought it would be appropriate today
and useful for me to talk about the tri-
ais and temptations Of our business men
and try to offer some curative preScrip-
tions.
Rocks of Danger.
In the first place, have to remark
that a great many Of our business men
feel ruinous trials and temptations COM
ing to them from small and limited cap
ital in business. 1t is everywhere under
stood that it takes now three or -four
times as much to do business well as
once it did. Once a few hundred dollars
were turned into goods. The merchant
would be his own stOrekeeper, his own
salesman, his own bookkeeper he would
manage all the affairs himself, and ev'
ervthing would be net profit. Wonder.
full changes have come. Costly apparatus,
extensive advertising, exOrbitant store
rents. heavy taxation, expensive agencies
are only parts Of the demand made upon
our commercial men, and when they
have found themselves in such circum
stances with small capital they have
sometimes been tempted to run against
tho rocks Of moral and financial destruc
tion. This temptation of limited capita
has ruined men in two ways. Sometimes
they have shrunk down under the temp
tation. They have yielded the battle be
fore the first shot was fired. At the frs
hard dun they surrendered. Their knees
knocked together at the fall Of the auc
tioneer's hammer They blanched at th'
financial peril. They did not understand
that there is such a thing as heroism II
merchandise and that there are Water
loos of the counter and that man cal
fight no braver battle with the SWORD
than he can with the yardstick Thei
souls melted in them because sugar
were up when they wanted TO buy anC
down when they wanted to sell, ant
unstable goods were on the shelf ant
bad debts in their ledger. The gloom o
;. their countenances overshadowed evel
their dry goods and groceries. Despond
ency. coming from limited capital
blasted them. Others have felt 1t in
different way. They have said; Here
have been trudging along. l have beel
irving to be honest all these years
find it is of no use. Now it is make o
break" " The small craft that could hav
stood the stream is put out beyond tn
lighthouse on the great sea Of specula
tion. He borrows a few thousand dollar
from friends who dare not refuse him
and he goes bartering on large scale
He reasons in this way Perhaps ma.
succeed. and if l don't will be n
worse off than am now, for SlOO, OO
taken from nothing, nothing remains.
Stocks are the dice with which h
pambles. He bought for a few dollar
vast tracts of western land. Some ma
at the east, living on fat homestead
meets this gambler Of fortune and
persuaded to trade off his estate for lot
in a western city, with large avenues
and costly palaces. and lake steamer
smoking at the wharves, and rail tram
coming down with lightning speed frol
every direction. There 1t Is all on p'
per The city has never been built nc
the railroads constructed, but everythin
points that way, and the thing Will {
done as sure as you live. Well, the ma
goes ON, stopping at no fraud or outrage
In his splendid equipage he dashes pas
while the honest laborer looks up an
wines the sweat from his brow and say
at wonder where that man got all n
money!" After awhile the bubb
bursts. Creditors rush in. The La
clutches. but finds nothing in its grasl
The men who were swindled say,
don't know how 1 could have ever bee
a deceived by that man, and the pictor
ais. in handsome woodcuts, set fort
the hero who in ten years had genl'
j. enough to fail for $50, ,OOOl
, And that is the process by which man
have been tempted through hmitatiC
of capital to rush into labyrinths fro
} which they could not be extricated.
would not want to chain honest ente
prise. l would not want to block up al
@ of the avenues for honest accumulati,
that open before young men, On u
, contrary, would like to cheer them
] and rejoice when they reach the goa
b but when there are such multitudes
men going to ruin for this life and &
life that is to come through wrong n
l tions of what are lawful spheres OF e
ternrise it is the duty Of the church
God. and the ministers Of religion, al
e the friends of all young men, to utter
!. plain, emphatic, unmistakaole prote'