The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1897-08-07
TAI.MAGEs SERMON.
prescriptions for the Alienation
of Financial Distress.
Pointers for CrOskers Who Infest the
Country-CheeFful Behavior and
Conversation One Of tho
! Panaoeas.

lowing sermon, shows how all may
help restore good times. The text is:
Wherefore doth living man complain?-La-
mentatiOns, ILL, 81.
melancholy book of the Bible! Jere-
miah wrote 30 many sad things that
we have word named after him, and
when anything is surcharged with
,erief and complaint we call 1t jere.
:miad. But in my text, Jeremiah, "a
by sudden jolt, wakens us to thank
full spirit.
Our blessings are SO much more nu'
'merous than our deserts that he is sur.
.prised that anybody should ever find
fault. Having life, and with it thou
sand blessings, it ought to hush into
perpetual silence everything like crit
.icism of the dealings of God. ''Where-
fore doth living man complaint"
While everything In our national
finances is Frightening, for the last
flew years the land has been set to the
tune of ..Naomi." There has been
here and there . cheerful soloist, but
1.-THE grand chorus has been one of LAM
entation accompanied by dirges over
Frustrated commerce. silent manufac-
tories, unemployed mechanism. and
lall those disorders described by the
1.-TWO short words. "hard times" The
fact is that we have been paying for
the bloody luxury of war, more than
SO years ago. There were great ma
tional differences, and we had not
enough Christian character to settle
them by arbitration and treaty, and
SO we went into battle, expanding life
and treasure, and we'll nigh swamping
the national finances; and north and
south, east and west have ever since
been paying for those tour years in
diligence in barbarism. But the time
has come when this depression ought
to end-yea. when it will end
If the people are willing to do
two or three things by way Of
financial medicament, for the people
MS we'll as congress must join in the
work Of recuperatiOn. The best po-
litical economists tell us that there is
no good reason for continued prostra-
ton. Plenty of money awaiting in
vestment. The national health with
never SO strong an arm or SO clear q
brain. Yet we go on grooming, groan-
ing, grooming, rs though God had put
this nation upon Cruel, and allowed US
but one decent breakfast in six months.
The fact is the habit of complaining
has become chronic in this country,
and after all these years of whimper
and wailing snd objurgation, we are
under such momentum OF swivel that
we cannot stop.
There are three prescriptions by
which believe that our individual and
national finances may be cured of their
present depression. The first is cheer
full conversation and behavior. I have
noticed that the people who are most
vociferous against the day in which we
live arc those who are in comfortable
circumstances. I hAve made inquiry
of those persons who are violent in
their jersmiads against these times,
and have asked them: Nov. after
all, are you not making = iving?"
After some hesitation and coughing,
clearing their throat three or four
times they say, stammeringly: Yes"
So that with great multitude
of people it il not = question of getting
n livelihood. but they are unhappy and
dissatisfied because they can not make
ma muCh mOnAv N thew would like tn