The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-23
REPLY TO DIR. CoNwELL.
Editor OF The uibune.

REPLY TO DIR. CoNWELL'
Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: / have just read your report OF
DR. ConwClls lecture delivered IN the
high school auditC rum In the city OF
Scranton on thc evening of Nov. 49, IT
seems like presumption, for one so OBJ
scurc as myself to offer any criticism
upon the utteraiCes of one 80 noted as
the learned and world famed philadelphia
divine; and yet truth is truth, and right
is right let II come from what source II
viii. lie il said to have made this QUO
tation from the Scriptures, that the
righteous man shall gather riches fail
TO md any such declaration In the Bible
and can hardly believe that such quota
tton was made. IL made, 1t certainly con-
Neys an erroneous idea concerning Scrip
ture truth, both as onunCiated by the Dl-
vine Spirit, and as cxempliied in tho lives
Of many OF Gods dearest children. In the
sevCnty-third Psalm we have recorded
sad lament over Il covetous desire, per
mtted for n time TO find lodgment in the
heart OF one of Gods own, as he behcld
| the prosperity of-not the rlghteous-but
of the wicked MY feet were almost
gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. for
! was envious at the foolish when l saw
the prosperity of the wicked Sc
hold, these are the ungodly, who prosper
IN the world; they increase In nches.
Mark, the foolish, the ungodly. these arc
they that Increase in riches" not the
righteous.
Jesus unpcn n certain occasion said 10
His disciples, Verify | say unto you, that
rich man shall hardly enter into the
Kingdom of heaven" and adds, 1t is
easier for camel to go through the eye
of a needle than for n rich man to enter
| into tho kingdom of God" Matthew XIX,
1924 And again the same great teacher,
upon another occasion pronounced
blessing upon the poor, and woe upon
the rich, blessed be We poor, FOR your
Ia the Kingdom Of Cod "But woe
| unto you that are rich; for ye have re-
ceired your consolation" Luke vi, 2O-2t.
Go to now, ye rich men," says the Apo5.
tie James, weep and howl for your mis-
cries that shall come upon you folr
| riches are corrupted, and your garments
are moth-eaten. Your gold and your Sill
yer is cankerod: and the rust of them
shall be a witness against you. and shall
! cast your flesh as 1t were fire. Ne have
| heaped treasure together for the last
days" James Y. Is
The whole tenor Of Scripture Is against
| the heaping up of riches. and certainly
| In the lives of those In whom the prin-
| ciples of righteousness were most proml-
| nent, poverty was their portion, under the
| old dispeisation. Let me mention a few
names which will suffice to prove my dec
|
| Ezekiel. Under the gospel dispcnsation,
| Peter and Paul and all the apostles. Luz
| ther and MalanCthon, Calvin and Knox.
| Cramer and Cobcrly, Bunyan, the old
| Bedford tinker and Williams, of Rhode
| Island, these were righteous men, but not
| rich men in the sense that they pos
sessed much of this worlds good.
| The doctor Is further reparted as say
| ing that he did not believe that more
| than one man in Il thousand got rich dis
| honestly" That is simply his belief ana
he has a perfect right to it, but / GER
| tainly believe that he is very, very wide
| of the mark. shall not quarrel with him
over that simple declaration of his opin-
| ion, but when he asserts that lin this
world n man gets just what he is worth.
| with iare exceptions" l certainly take
| exceptions to such a statement and thank
| God that His measure of worth is not
| that Of my brother Conwelis. Such a
| statement dlshonorS a vast multitude or
the most noble men that walk God >
| earth, men whose lives have been conse-
| Grated to the service of God. and whose
| desire at the end of their days is to be
| able to declare even as Jesus declared Il
| have glorified Thee on the earth: ] have
| finished the work which thou gavest me
| to do John xvii I. The average salary.
so 1t is stated by those who have gathered
| statistics, of the ministers of Jesus Christ
| Is about 800. Will DR.. Conwell say that
| these men get all that they are worth
| while the base bail player and the bar
| keeper get two or three times that
| amount? Another multitude of the most
noble of earth's pilgrims are also dishcn-
| ored by such Il statsx ent, l refer to the
| great Amy of publIC schooS teachers,
| whose pay is paltry when compared with
| the war politician who has "A pull with his
| party and lives as the parasite lives. The
| miner that dclVes in the earth, and dra IS
| out a miserable existence while his ma >
| ter is clothed in purple and fine linen and
| fares SumptuCusly every day--docs he.
dear doctor, get all he is worth? l think
| not. Did the 200 900 brave soldiers who
| made possible tho erection of Grant ;
| monument, and to whom reference was
made in the address, get all that they
| were worth, when they were paid twelve
| or fifteen dollars a month? l might null
| tply these questions al infinitum, but
| forbear. Surely the doctor Is at fault in
| his statement.
| This world is not the friend of right
| eousness, neither of tho righteous. The
man who could keep a store in Scranton
| for twenty years and at the end of that
period show but $1,000 ought not TO be
| driven from the city in disgrace, as the
| doctor declared he should be because he
| had not taken from the people profit
man, but should he held up, and cherished
as an example for others to follow. Such
| business methods SAVIOR of the spirit OF
| the gospel of Jesus Christ, while greedi.
| ness Of gain GrieVes Almighty God and
| Grinds and oppresses Gods poor, poor In
the things of this world but yet rich, be-
ing heirs of all things.
j. l.. Williams,
Pastor of Forest City Baptist Church