The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-26
EVILS OF MODERN TIMES
A PASTOR DEPLORES TENDENCY TO-
WARD CENTRALIZED EFFORT.
"Fair Bank" Discussed-Rev. r. o.
Sermon at Tabernacle Church.

porations, Unions and Individual Charac-
ter" at the union service of his and the
First Baptist Church. His sermon dwelt
on the tendency of modern times toward
Capitalization of capital and effort. The
text was Isaiah xiii, u: Il will make
man more precious than fine gold"
Zone of the latest books on America by
an Englishman has this title, The Land of
the Dollar" said DR.. Haines. Whether
we Americans are more covetous of the
dollar than our English kinsmen
across the sea is a question.
The Anglo-Saxon race on both sides
of the Atlantic is characterized by an ex-
ceptional desire for property. 1t is one of
the qualities that has done much to build
up our British and American nations 1t is
one of the qualities which especially differ
entiates civilized races from the unprogres-
sive, barbarous tribes and nations. The
latter have not the desire for property in
sufficient measure to arouse them from
their indolent coItentment with present
conGitions not enough to inspire them to
the tabors and sacrifices that would in time
secure for them the blessings of a higher
and Weather civilization.
THE love of property, natural, divinely
implanted, is none too strong among many
people, for there is not among them too
much honest industry. But when this nat
ural desire gets feVered-when it becomes
morbid and perverted-then it works in
calculable damage. Up to a certain point
the love of gold is a useful servant, but
when that point is Overpassed, then ty-
rant of tyrantS, who drives the man to
| dogs life; impels him to resort to all sorts
| OF dishoneStieS to gain more. and even
drives him to sell the precious birthright of
| his manhood for a mess of pottage.
What a fever of excitement has swept
| over our land during the past week, caused
| by the arrival of that ship from Alaska
| with those miners and their sacks of gold
| dust! This rush of men to the Klondke
neids, Drawing priVatiOns and perlS, is full
| Oh SlBnlncances There IS in the movement
| manifestation of courage and heroism
| that eXciteS admiration. But ii reveals
| also how oVermastering is the desire in
mems hearts for sudden and great wealth
now much gold counts for with many One
! OF the supreme tests of any form OF civil
! with men. The civilizations of Babylon and
| Egypt and Rome gained uncounted
treasures of wealth, but in those
nations at their best man. the
average man, was reckoned as of
| little worth. Human life was cheap.
thousands We're sacrificed by a single king
| 10 Sfatlfy passing whim. Isaiah says:
VIII make q man more precious than
| me gold He had in view the extent of
|
IN the wars IN which that Kingdom would
| be involved the slaughter of her people
| would be so great as to produce a scarcity
| OF men, just as the campaigns of the first
] Napoleon depOpulated France to so serious
| d degree what the prophet aftirms here
| OF the value of a man in the day of the
| proVldentlal judgments of God upon one
| hdtioh Is 10 come true in a larger, deeper
| sense in the long day of divine grace
S G5hnGred INTO The world by the coming of
| When the worth of man will be felt to be
| Wholly lrreductble to terms of gold and sill
| yer. One of the great things which Christ
| brought into the world was the unspeaka-
| pie worth OF the individual man. 1t may be
sald 10 be a discovery OF His, not in the
sense mat lt was altogether unknown be-
| Iore, but like the truth of the fatherhood of
COO, 1t was but dfmly and imperfectly rec
| pgnized. Christ taught that each man,
| however loWiy, had a value that could not
| be measured by gold. We are in serious
| peril in our day of losing the realization
OF that ennobllng truth.
| PERILS OF THE HOUR.
1T is not merely that our increasing
wealth tends to blind us to the sunreme
| value of manhood, as it did the people of
the ancient civilizations, but the forms into
which our modern life is running are of
such character as to almost inevitably
minify the conception of the worth Of the
individual. One of the great movements of
our time is that toward organization-in-
| dlVldual men and women banding Them
| selves together in corporations. societies.
| unions. So swift and widespread has been
| this movement that in the last TWENTY
| 1Ve years it has changed materiaIlv the
FORM Oh our American industrial life Now
edcn man. instead of following his trade or
carrying on his business as an individual /
| mas 1t eXpedient to become member OF
| an association Il combine. a union AS ON,
CIVln2atlon advances men are more and
| more being forced out Of that isolated and
independent manner of living which they,
| followed before AssociationaI life Of mo-
| Ill the PROFESSIONS as We'll as of employers
ana employees is much more DEVELOPED and
| Of much greater Importance than it ever
was previously. And this movement in
stead OF having reached its climax, we have
redaoh 10 DeheFe, Is only fairly begun.
mere are immense advantages to be gained
| from lneSe cooperative ORGANIZATIONS They
make achievements possible which without
| them would be out of the question Thev
| cfety.
The forward movement of a disciplined
regiment as a body is OF far greater bower
| than the Independent skirmishing of the
same number OF Individual soldiers But
| these advantages are accOnpanied nv
| serious perils to those who are the members
| of these organizations. l do not refer now
| TO the loss OF liberty which modern associa-
tlon often 1nNolVeS-thie industrial slavery
which IT now and again forces upon it's
members so that man is a slave of the
combine Back of this, and of greater mo-
ment, is the influence which these forms of
cooperative action have upon individual
character. Here is a fact which as Chris
tan citizens, We need seriously to consider
for this running OF life into decorations
tends TO merge the individual man into the
mass. He no longer counts for as much
as he did before. He is in danger of losing
his individuality and the sense of it. be-
cause there is no longer a chance for the
Independent exercise of it, for now he has
gone into a procession; he is one of a
platoon and his main effort is to keep step
with the rest.
This is the natural tendency of life also
in the city, among the multitude. Out on
the farms men live to a large degree iso-
lated. They are less dependent upon others
and so individuality is more marked. 1t
sometimes develops into curious idiosyn-
cracy. Whatever the farmer may lack in
ease of manner or quickness of thought
and breadth of view that comes from con-
slant association with men, he does not
lack in independence and often in UNIQUE
individuality. He stands his own feet
and he is not afraid to stand alone and
that is a great thing. There may be edges
and angles about him which contact with
society would smooth down, but at least
he is built after his own pattern, has his
own ideas and holds to them. He is not
a weak echo of his neighbor. A man in the
city forced to be a member of this and that
and the other organization finds it difficult
to retain his own individuality.
SOME MODERN METHODS.
Formerly a clerk in a small shop or
store where he was the only helper the pro-
prietor had was of some Importance, and
had a variety of things TO do and was called
by his own name. But the small shops are
being swallowed up by the department
stores, where the clerk is known only by
a number and has one thing 10 do at a