Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-05-06
SPIRIT OF FAIRNESS.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Discourses on
Criticism of Human Conduct.
circumstances We should Take Into Con-
sideration in Estimating the short
comlngs of Others Meas
ure for Measure.

Rev, I. Dewitt Talmage, in the fol-
lowing sermon, talks upon the prevail
ing disposition to measure others by
ones own yardstick. The text is:
With what measure ye metc, it shall be
measured to you again, Matthew vii, g
In the greatest sermon ever preached
"a sermon about Is minutes long, ac-
cording to the ordinary rate of speech
"a sermon on the Mount of Olives, the
Preacher, sitting while He spoke, ac-
cording to the ancient mode of oratory,
the people We're given to understand
that the same yardsticlS that they en-
ployed upon others would be employed
upon themselves. Measure others by a
harsh rule, and you will be measured
by a harsh rule. Measure others by n
charitable rule, and you will be meas
urol by charitable rule. Give no
mercy to Others and no mercy will be
given to you. "With what measures
We mete, it shall be measured to you
again"
There is great deal of unfairness
in criticism in human conduct. 1t was
to smte that unfairness that Christ
uttered the words of the text, and my
sermon will be a re-echo of the Divine
sentiment. In estimating the misbe-
havior of others, we must take into
consideration the pressure of circum.
stances. 1t is never right to do wrong,
but there are degrees of culpability.
When men misbehave or commit some
atrocious wiclSedness we are disposed
Unfortunately to tumble them all
over the bank of condemnation. Suf-
fer they ought and suffer they must,
but in difference of degree.
In the first place, in estimating the
misdoings of others, we must take into
calculation the hereditary tendency.
There is such n thing as good blood,
and there is such thing as bad blood.
There are families that have moral
twist in them for hundred years
back. They have not been careful to
keep the family record in that regard.
There have been escapades, and ma
raudings, and scoundrelism, and moral
deficits all the way back, whether you
call it kleptomania, or pyromania, or
dipsomania, or whether it be in mild
er form, and amount to no mania at all.
The strong probability is that the pres
ent criminal started life with nerve,
muscle and bone contaminated. As
some start life with a natural tendency
to nobility and generosity and kind
ness and truthfulness, there are others
who start life with just the opposite
tendency, and they are born liars, OF
BON malcontents, or born outlaws, OF
born swindlers.
There is in England n school that is
J called the Princess Mary school. AL
the children in that school are the
children of convicts. The school is TN
der high patronage. had the pleas
ure of being present at one of their an
niversaries, presided over by the ear
of Kintore. BY wise law in England
after parents have committed certain
number of crimes, and thereby showr
themselves incompetent rightly Il
bring up their children, the little ones
are taken from under pernicious intlu
ences and put in reformatory schools
where all gracious and kindly infu
ences shall be brought upon them o
course, the experiment is young, anC
it has got to be demonstrated how
large percentage of the children o
convicts may be brought up to respect
ability and usefulness. But we al
know that it is more difficult for chill
dren of bad parentage to do right thar
for children of good parentagc.
In this country we are taught by tn
Declaration of American independence
that all people are born equal. Their
never was greater misrepresentation
put in one sentence than in that sen
tencc which implies that we are al
born equal. You mag as well say tina
flowers are born equal or trees ar
born equal or animals are born equo'
Why does one horse cost 500 and ar
other horse cost 5000? Why does on
sheep cost $40 and another sheep COS
$500? Difference in blood We ar
wise enough to recognize it in horses
in cattle, in sheep, but we are not wis
enough to make allowance for the di
ference in the human blood. Now
demand by the law of eternal fairnes
that you be more lenient in your crit
cism of those who were born wrong
in whose ancestral line there was
hangman's knot, or who came from
tree the fruit of which for centurie
has been gnarlcd and worm-eaten.
DR.. Harris, reformer, gave SON
marvellous statistics in his story of
woman he called Margaret, the Motht
of Criminals. Ninety years ago 81
lived in a village in upper New Yor
state. She was not only poor, but sh
was vicious. She was not well pre-
vided for. There were no almshous,
there. The public, however, som
what looked after her, but chief
scoffed at her and derided her, an
pushed her farther down in her Grim
That was 80 years ago. The
have been 623 persons in tn;
ancestral line, 200 of the
criminals. In one branch OF that far
lily there were 20, and nine of the
have been in state prison, and near
all OF the others have turned out ba
~. II is estimated that that fami
cost the county and state 100000,
say nothing of the property they d
stroyed. Are you not willing, as sens
; BILE, fair people, to acknowledge that
} is fearful disaster to be born in su,
! an ancestral line? Does it not make
! great difference whether one descen
; from Margaret, the mother of Grin
mails, or from some mother in lsrae
whether you aye the son Of Ahab or t
/ son of Joshua?
1t is very different thing to swi
, | with the current, tom what it is