Connecticut western news., 1896-09-17
them blaze and expire.
The Cleanssd Cities.


 The CIeansed Cities.
 In that day of which speak do you believe there will be any midnight ca- rousal? Will there be any kicking of from the marble steps of shivering men, dicants? Will there be any unwashed, unfed, uncombed children? Will there be any blasphemies in the streets? Will there be any inebriates staggering pastP No. No wine stores. No lager beer sa- looms. No distilleries, where they make the three Ks. No bloodshot eye. No bloated cheek. No instruments of ruin and destruction. No fist pounded fore head. The grandchildren of that wom- an who goes down the street with a curse, stoned by the boys that follow her, will be the reformers and philan- thropists and the Christian men and the honest merchants of our cities.
 Then what municipal governments. too, we will have in all the cities. Some cities are worse than others, but in many of our cities you just walk down by the city halls and look in at some of the rooms occupied by politicians, and see to what a sensual, loathsome, igno- rant, besotted crew city politics is often abandoned. Or they stand around the oity hall picking their teeth, waiting for some emoluments of crumbs to fall to their feet, waiting all day long, and waiting all night long.
 Who are those wretched women taken up for drunkenness, and carried up to the courts, and put in prison, of course? What will you do with the grog shops that make them drink? Nothing. Who are those prisoners in jail? One of them stole pair of shoes. That boy stole 8 dollar. This girl snatched purse. All of them crimes damaging society less than $20 or $50. But what will you do with the gambler who last night robbed What shall be done with that one who breaks through and destroys the purity of Christian home, and with an adroit- ness and perfidy that beat the strategy of hell, filings 8 shrinking, shrieking soul into ruin? Nothing. What will you do with those who feeced that young man, getting him to purloin large sums of money from his semployer-the young man who came to an officer of my church and told the story and frantically asked what he should doP Nothing.
 An, we do we'll to punish small crimes, but have sometimes thought it would be better in some of our cities if the officials would only turn out from the jails the petty criminals, the little offenders, $10 desperadoes, and put in their places some of the monsters of in- iquity who drive their roan span through the streets so swiftly that honest men have to leap to get out of the way of be- ing run overl Oh, the damnable schemes that professed Christian men will some- times engage in until God puts the fin- ger of his retribution into the collar of their robe of hypocrisy and rips it clear to the bottom But all these wrongs will be righted. I expect to live to see the day. think hear in the distance the rum mbling of the King 8 chariot. Not always in the minority is the church of God going to be, or are good men going to be. The streets are going to be filled with regenerated populations. Three hundred and sixty bells rang in Moscow when one prince was married, but when and peace kiss each other in all the earth 10000 times 10, 900 bells shall strike the jubilee. Poverty enriched. Hunger fed. Crime banished. Ignorance enlightened All the cities saved. Is not this cause worth work ing inp
 Oh, you think sometimes 1t does not amount to munhl You toll on in your different spheres, sometimes with great Encouragement. People have not faith and say: "It does not amount to any thing. You might as we'll quit that" Why, when Moses stretched his hand mean anything especially. People came out, suppose, and said, "Ahap Some of them found out what he wanted to do. He wanted the sea parted. It did not amount to anything, this stretching out of his hand over the sea. But, after awhile, the wind blew all night from the east, and the waters were gathered into glittering palisaSp on either side, and the pillows reared as God pulled back on their crystal bits. Wheel into line, O Israeli March, marchl Pearls crashed under feet. Flying spray gathers into rainbow arch of victory for the Ooh40OAO2o ho udAOh ouOut OA hosts on the beach answering the shout of hosts amid sea- And when the last line of Israelites reach the beach, the cymbals clap, and the shields clang, and the waters rush over the pursuers, and the swift fingered winds on the white keys of the foam play the grand march of Israel delivered and the awful dirge of Egyptian overthrow.
 So you and I go forth, and all the people of God go forth, and they stretch forth their hand over the sea, the boil ing sea of crime and sin and wretched- ness. ''It doesnt't amount to anything people say. Doesn't it? Gods winds of help will, after awhile, begin to blow. A path will be cleared for the army of Christian philanthropists The path will be lined with the treasures of Christian benefcence, and we shall be greeted to the other beach by the clapping of all heavens cymbals, while those who pur- sued us and derided us and tried to de- stroy us will go down under the sea, and all that will be left of them will be cast high and dry upon the beach, the splintered wheel of chariot, or thrust out from the foam, the breathless nos fyrs1 <Nf. ,-.1 -E