The Progress., 1897-12-04
DESTRUCTIVE CLASSES.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Discourses on
Those Who Prey Upon Society.
Professional Criminals. Catrustworthy ON.
cials. the Idle ana Oppressed Poor
Remedy suggested for the
Great Evils.

I
In the following sermon Rev. Dr..
Talmage speaks of the dangers mon
scing the people of our great cities,
| and points to the remedy. The text is:
The boar out OF the wood doth waste 1t, and
! the wild beast Of the field doth devour it.
! Psalm Xxx, Is
| by this homely but expressive figure
David sets forth the bad influences
which in oldsn time broke in upon
| Gods heritage, as with swine's foot
tramp1ing, and as with swine's snout
uprooting the vineyards of prosperity.
What was true then is true DOW. There
have been enough trees of righteous
| ness planted to overshadow the whole
earth. had it not been for the ax-men
who hewed them down. The temple of
! truth would long ago have been COM
ciasts who defaced the walls and bat
tered down the pillars. The whole
earth would have been an Eschol of
ripened clus ters had it not been that
the boar has wasted it and the wild
beast of the field devoured it,
l propose to point out to you those
whom consider to be the destructive
classes of society. First, the public
criminals. You ought not to be sur
prised that these people make up a
large proportion of many communities,
In 1859, Of the 40, 900 persons who were,
ancarcerated in the prisons of the coun-
try, $1,000 were of foreign birth.
Many OF them were the very despera-
does OF society. oozing into the slumsI
OF our cities, waiting for IN oppor-
tunity to riot and steal and debnuch,
joining the large gang OF American
thugs and cut-throats. There are in
our cities people whose entire business
In life Ia to commit crime. That Is as
much their business as Jurisprudence
or medicine or merchandise is your
business To it they bring all their
energies OF body, mind and soul, and
they look upon the interreRnums which
they spend in prison as SO much unfor-t
tunate loss OF time, just as you look
upon an attack OF influenza or
rheumatism which fastens you
In the house for a few
days. It is their life time business to
pick pockets, aud blow up safes, and
shoplift, and ply the panel game, and
they have rs much pride of skill In
their business as you have in yours
when you upset the argument of an
opposing counsel or cure a gunshot
fracture which other surgeons have
given up. or foresee q turn in the mar
ket SO You buy goods just before they
go up 70 per cent. It is their business
TO commit crime, and do not suppose
that once in year the thought Of the
strikes them. Added to
these professional criminals, American
and foreign, there is large claas of
men who are more or less industrious in
crime. Drunkenness is responsible for
much OF the theft, since it confuses q
mans ideas of property, and he gets
ms hands on things that do not belong
70 him Rum is responsible for much
Oh the assault and battery, inspiring
men 70 sudden bravery, which they
% must demonstrate. though it be ON the
race OF the next gentleman.
You help to pay the board of every
criminal. from the sneak thief who
snatches spool of cotton up to some
man who enacts a ssBIaclx Fridnvn