The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-10-01


combed children? Will there be any blasphe-
mics in the streets? VIII there be any ine-
briates staggering past? No. No wine stores.
No lager beer saloons. No distlleries, where
they make the three rs. No bloodshot eye.
No bloated cheek. No instruments of ruin
and destruction. No f1st-pounded forehead.
The grandchildren Of that woman who goes
down the street with curse, stoned by the
boys that fellow her, will be the reformerI
and philanthropists 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 hall
and look In at some OF the rooms occupied
| by politicians and see to what sensual,
| loathsome, ignorant, besotted crew city
politics is often abandoned. Or they stand
| around the City Hall picking their teeth,
waiting for some emoluments of crumbs to
fall to their feet, waiting all day long. and
waiting ali 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 grogshops that make
them drink? Nothing. Who are those
prisoners in jail? One OF them stole pair
of shoes. That boy stole dollar. This girl
snatched a purse. All Of them crimes dam
| aging society less than twenty or thirty dol
lars. But what will you do with the gam
bier who last night robbed the young man OF
thousand dollars? Nothing. What shall
bA done with that one who breaks through
and destroys the purity Of a Christian home,
and with an adroitne5S and pert1dy that
beats the strategy OF hell filings a shrinking,
Shrieking soul into ruin? Nothing. What
will you do with those who heeced that
young man. getting him to purloin large
sums Of money from his employer-the
! who 70
church and told the story, and frantIcally
asked what he should do? Nothing.
All! we do well to punish small crimes; but
I have sometimes thought it would be better
in some of our cities If the officials would
only turn out from the jais the petty crimi-
mails, the little offenders. ten-dollar de5pera-
does, and put in their places some Of the
monsters of iniquity who drive their roam
| span through the streets 90 swiftly that hon
est men have to leap to get out of the way OF
being run over. Oh. the damnable schemes
| that professed Christian men will some
| time2 engage in until God puts the finger 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. ex-
! pect to live TO see the day. think hear in
the distance the rumbling Of the Kings
| 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
! righteousness and peace kiss each other In
! all the EARTH ten thousand times ten thou
! sand bells shall strike the jubilee. Poverty
/ enriched. Hunger fed. Crime banished.
! Ignorance enlightened Allthe cities saved.
Is notthis cause worth working in?
Oh. you think sometimes it does not
amount to much! You toll on in your diff
! cnIa r-i+b not tic
enlargement. People have no faith and say:
( 1T does not amount to anything; you might
s.. we'll quit that" Why, when Moses
stretched his hand over the Red Sea. It did
| not seem to mean ANYTHING especially. Pe"-
| pie came out, suppose, and said: Aha!
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 while.
the wind blew all night from the east, and
the waters were gathered into gittering
| palisade on either side, and the pillows
reared as God pulled back on their crystal
hits Wheel into line, o, Israel! march!
| march! Pearls crashed under feet. Flying
| spray gathers into rainbow arch Of victory
! for the oonquerors to march under. Shouts
OF hosts on the beach answering the shouts
Of hosts amid sea. And when the last line of
Israel1tes reach the beach the cymbals clap,
and tho shields c,aug, and the waters rush
over the pursuers, and the swift-fngered
wings 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. AMI all the people
IT God 60 forse, and they stretch forth their
hand over the sea. the boiling sea of crime
and sin and wretchedness. at don't amount
to anything" people say. Don't ii? Gods
winds of help will, after while, begin to
blow. A path will be cleared for the army
Of Christian philanthropists. The path Will
he lined with the treasures OF Christian
heneticence, and We shall be greeted to the
other beach by the clappins of all OF heaven
cymbals, while those who pursued us and
derided Us and tried to destroy US will 50
down under the sea and all that will be left
Of them will be cast high and dry upon the
beach. the .piintered wheel Of chariot, or
thrust out from the foam the breathless nCs-
trl of u riderless charger.