The Monitor-register., 1897-07-23
BEHIND THE COUNTER
REV. DR.. TALMAGE TO statesmen AND
SALESWOMEN.

REV. DR.. TALMAGE TO statesmen AND
SALESWOMeN.
He Would Inspire Them With a Healthy
Ambition and Allay Many of Their An
noyances - Some Practical Advice and
Eloquent Exhortation.
WASHINGTON, July 18.-This sermon
Of Dr. Talmage, addressed to the great
host of clerks in stores and offices and
factories, will inspire such persons with
healthful ambition and allay many of
their annoyances. Text, Acts xvi, IA,
And certain woman named Lydia, a
seller of purple, of the city Of Thyatira,
which worshiped God, heard US, whose
heart tho Lord opened" Proverbs xii,
20, "Seest thou man diligent in his
businessy He shall stand before kings.
The first passage introduces to you
Lydia, q Christian merchantess. Her
business is to deal in purple cloths or
silks She is not giggling nonentity,
but practical woman, not ashamed to
work for her living. All the other wo-
men of Philippi and Thyatira have been
forgotten, but God has made immortal
in our text Lydia, the Christian sales
woman The other text shows you
man With head and hand and heart and
foot all busy toiling on up until he
gains princely success "Seest thou q
man diligent in his business? He shall
stand before kings"
Great encouragement in these two
passages for men and women who will
be busy, but no solace for those who are
waiting for good luck to show them, at
the foot of the rainbow. oasket of
buried gold. 1t is folly for anybody in
this world to swait for something to
turn up. 1t will turn down. The law
of thrift is as inexorable as the law of
the tides. Fortune, the magician, may
wave her wand in that direction until
castles and palaces come, but she will
after awhile invert the same wand, and
all the splendors will vanish into thin
air.
There are certain styles of behavior
which lead to usefulness, honor and
permanent success, and there are GER
tain styles of behavior which lead to
dust, dishonor and moral default. I
would like to fire the ambition of young
people / have no sympathy with those
who would prepare young folks for life
by whiting down their expectations.
That man or woman will be worth moth
ing to church or state who begins life
cowed down The business of Christian
ity is not to quench but to direct human
ambition. Therefore it is that 1 utter
words Of encouragement to those who
are occupied as clerks in the stores and
shops aud banking houses Of the coun-
try. They are not an exceptional class.
They belong to great company of tens
Of thousads who are in this country,
amid circumstances which will either
make or break them for time and for
eternity. Many of these people have al
ready achieved Christian manliness
and Christian womanliness which will
be their passport to any position. have
seen their trials. have watched their
perplexities. There are evils abroad
which need to be hunted down and
dragged out into the MONDAY light
Patience and Diligence.
In the first place, counsel clerks to
remember that for the most part their
clerksEip is only school from which
they are to be graduated. 1t takes about
eight years to get into one of the learn
ed professions 1t takes about eight
years to get to be merchant. Some of
you will be clerks all your lives, but
the vast majority of you are only in
transient position. After awhile, some
December day, the head men of the
firm will call you into the back office.
and they will say to you: "Now, you
nave done well by us, we are going to
do we'll ly you. We invite you to have
an interest in Our concern" You will
bow to that cdict very gracefully Get
ting into street car to go home, an
old comrade will meet you and say,
What makes you look SO happy to-
night?' oh" You will say, 'tuoth-
ing, nothing" But in few days your
name will blossom on the sign. Either
in the store Or bank where you are now,
or in some other store Or bank, you will
take higher position than that which
you now occupy. So l feel l am now
addressing people who will yet have
their hand Oh the helm of the worlds
commerce and you will turn it this way
or that. Now clerks, but to be bankers,
importers, insurance company directors,
shippers, contractors, superintendents
of railroads-your voice mighty ION
Change standing foremost in the
great financial and religious enterprises
of the day. For, though we who are in
the professions may, on the platform,
plead for the philanthropies, after all,
the merchants must come forward with
their millions 10 sustain the movement.
BE therefore patient and diligent in
this transient position. You are now
where you can learn things you can
never learn in any other place. What
you consider your disadvantages are
your grand opportunity. You see an
affiuent father some day come down a
prominent street with his son who has
just graduated from the university and
establishing him in business, putting
500. 900 Of capital in the store. Well,
you are envious. You say: "Oh, if l
only had chance like that young mani
II only had father to put $50, 900 in
business for me, then l would have
some chance i'll the world'' Be not en-
vious. You have advantages over that
young man which he has not over you.
AS we'll might / come down to the
docks when Il vessel is about to sail for
Valparaiso and say, "Let me pilot this
ship out to sea-" Why, 1 would sink
crew and cargo before l got out of the
harbor simply because l know nothing
about pilotage. Wealthy sea captains
put their sons before the mast for the
reason that they know it is the only
place where they can learn to be sue
cessful sailors. 1t is only under drill
that people get to understand pilotage
and navigation, and want you to un-
derstand that it takes no more skill to
conduct a vessel out of harbor and
seross the sea than to steer CONNER
cial establishment clear of the rocks.
You see every day the folly of people
going into business they know moth
ing about. A man makes fortune in
one business, thinks there is another
occupation more comfortable, goes into
il and sinks all Many of the CONNER
cinl establishments of our cities are Civ
ing their clerks mercantile education
as thorough as Yale or Harvard or
Princeton are giving scientific attain
ment to the students matriculated. The
reason there are SO many men founder
ing in business from year to year is be-
cause their early mercantile education
was neglected. Ask the men in high
commercial circles, and they will tell
you they thank God for this severe dis
cipline of their early clerkship. You