Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-07-09
TALMAGE'S SERMON
INTERESTING THEME ny THE
WASHINGTON PREACHER.
tie Discusses Prom a Moral and Religions
Standpoint the Welfare ot All the
Towns aud cities of our Country
Points the WAY to Municipal Purity.


TIKI: 20. thou that ART situate at the
eHtr. II the sea. Ezekiel xviii, 3.
This is part Of an imprisoned a2os-
trnphe To- the city IT Tyre. II was beau
tiful city-a majestic city. At the east end
Of the Mediterranean II sat. with one hand
reckoning the inland trade and with the
other the commerce Of foreign nations. II
swung n monstrous boom across its harhor
To- shut out foreign enemies, and then
swung back that boom to let In its friends.
The air of the desert was fragrant with th"
spices brought by caravans To her fairs.
and all seas were cleft into foam 10y the
keels Of her laden merchantmen: Her
markets were rich with horses and mules
and camels from Togarmah, with uphol-
stery and ebony and ivory from Dedan,
with emeralds and agate ana coral from
Syria, with wine from Helbon, with finest
nepdlework from Ashur and ChilInad. Talk
about the splendid stateroous OF your
Cunard and Iuman md White star lines Of
International steamprs-why. the benches
Of the staterooms in those Tyrian ships
were all ivory, and instead Of our coarse
canvas on the masts Of the shipping they
had the finest linen. quilted together and
inwrOught with emhroiderieS almost mirac-
ulous for beauty. Its columns overshadowed
all nations. Distant empires felt its heart
beat. Majestic city, situate at the entry
of the sea-
But where now is the CLEAN Of her
towers. the roar Of her chariots. the masts
of her shipping? Let the fishermen who
dry their nets on the place where she once
stood: let the sea that rushcs upon the bar
renness where she once challenged the adj
miration of all nations; let the barbarians
who build their huts on the place where
her palaces glttered, answer the question.
Blotted out forevcrl She forgot God, and
God forgot her. And while our modern
cities admire her glory, let them take warn
ing at her awful doom.
Cain was the founder of the first city.
and suppose it took after him IN morals.
It is a long while before a city can get over
| the character of those who founded it.
| Where they are criminal eXileS, the filth,
| and the prisons, and the debaucherv are the
! shadows of such founders. New York will
not for 200 or 800 years escape from the
| good influences of its founders. the pious
settlers whose prayers went up from the
| very streets where now banks discount and
| brokers shave and companies declare divi-
dends, and smugSlers swear custom house
! lies, and ahove the roar of the drayS and the
! crack OF the auctiOneers' mallets is heard
! the ascriptiOn, 1--WE worship thee, o thou
! almighty dollar" The church that oncs
| stood on Wall street still throws its bless
| ing over all the scene of traAlc and upon
! the ships that fold their white wings in the
! harbOr. Originally men gathered in cities
| from necessity, 1t was to escape the in
/ cendlary's torch or the assassin's dagger.
Only the very poor lived in the country,
those who had nothing that could be
! stolen, or vagabOnds who wanted to be
neartheir place of business, but since civ
| fllZatiOn and religion have made it safe for
men to live almost anywhere men congre-
! gate IN cities because of the opportunity
| for rapid gain. Cities are not necessarily
| evils ms has sometimes been argued. They
| nave been the birthplace of civilization. In
them popular liberty has lifted up its voice
Witness Genoa and Pisa and Venice. The
entrance OF the representatives of the cities
| IN the legislatures of Europe was the death
| blow to fcudal kingdoms. Cities are the
! patronizers OF art and lit.rature-architec-
ture pointing to its British Museum in
London, its Royal Library in Paris, its
Vatican i'll Rome. Cities hold the worlds
| scepter. Africa was Carthage, Greece was
Athens, England is London, France is Paris
! Italy is Rome, and the cities in which God
has cast our lot will yet decide the destiny
ofthe American people.
AT this season of the year | have thought
! II might be useful to talk a little while
about the moral responsibility resting upon
the office bearers in all our cities, a theme
as appropriate to those who are governed
as 10 the governors. The moral character of
tnose VINO rule city has much to do with
the character of the city itself. Men, women
! ana children are all interested in national
politics. When the great Presidential elec.
tlon comes, every patriot wants to be found
| at the ballot box. We are all interested in
! the discussion of national finance national
| ueDt, ana we read the laws of Congress,
ana we are wondering who will sit next in
the Presidential chair. Now, that may be
an very wells very well, but is high
time that we TOOK some OF the attention
Wnich we nave been devoting to national
aialrs and brought it to the study of mu-
| hlclpal government. Ihis, 1t seems to me
now, Is the chief point to be taken. Make
the clties htand the nation will be right.
1 nave noticed that according to their OPP
poftuhltles there has already been more cor
ruptloh IN municipal governments in this
country than in the State and national
legislatures. Now, is there no hope? With
the mlghtest agent in our land, the glori-
Gus gospel OF Jesus Christ, shall not all our
Gltles be reformed and purified and re-
ueemed: l believe the day will come. |
am IN 1ull sympathy with those who are
opposed to carrying politics into religion,
pul our cities will never be reformed and
| purlned until we carry religion into poll
tles' L lood over our cities and l see that
oil great interests are to be affected in the
future, as they have been affected in the
past, by the character of those who in the
dlfterent departments rule over us, and |
propose to classify some of these interests
In the first place, | remark commercial
ethics are always affected by the moral or
immoral character of those who have NUM-
clpal supremacy. officials that wink at
fraud, and that have neither censure nor
arraiSnment for glitterng dishonesties
always weaken the pulse Of commercial