The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-09-16

Wnllc some one was IuIlllllS u loulld
and round and the man holding the ak
bore on it harder and harded, while
the water dropped from the grindstone
and the edge Of the ak from being
| round and dull got keener n keener.
SO / have seen men who were put
against the grindstone Of hardship.
and while one turned the crank anoth-
or would press the unfortunate harder
down and harder down until he was
ground away thinner and thinner-his
comforts thinner, his prospects thin
ner and his face thinner. And Isaiah
shrieks out, What mean ye hat ye
grind the faces of the poor?
BATTLE FOR BREAD.
1t is an awful thing to be hungry. 1t
is an easy thing for US to be in good
humOr with all the world when We
have no lack. But let hunger take full
possession of US and We would ali turn
into barbarians and cannibals and
tends. Suppose that some of the ener-
ey we are expending in useless and
unavailing talk abOu the bread Ques-
ton should be expended in merciful al
leviations. / have read hat the bat
tlefield on which more troops mel than
on any other in the worlds history
was the battlefield Of Leipsic-160, 900
men under Napoleon, $50, 900 men under
| Schwarzeberg. No, no. The greatest
and most terrific battle is now being
fought all the world over. 1t is the
battle for bread. The ground tone of
the finest passage in n of the great
musical masterpieces, the artist says,
was suggested to him by the cry Of the
| hungry populace of Vienna as the king
rode through and they shouted:
Bread, Give us bread" And all
through the great harmonies of must
! cal academy and cathedral | hear the
| pathos, the ground tone, the tragedy,
of u~ncounted multitudes, who, with
| streaming yes and wan cheeks and
broken hearts, in behalf of themselves
and their families, are pleading for
bread.
Let US take another look around to
see how we may serve our generation.
Let US see as far as possible that they
| have enough to wear. God looks upon
the human race and knows just how
many inhabitants the world has. The
statistics Of the worlds population are
| carefully taken in civilized lands, n
| every few years officers of government
go through the land and count how
many people there are in the United
! States or England, and great accuracy
is reached. But when peOple tell us
how many inhabitants there are in
! Asia or Africa at best it must be a
wild guess. Yet God knows the exact
number Of people on our planet, and
| ne mas Hdue enough dpDdfel LOT edcH,
and if there be fifteen hundred Million,
fifteen thousand, fifteen hundred and
fifteen people then there is enough APP
parel for fifteen hundred million, fiji
teen thousand, fifteen hundred and fif-
teen. Not slOuchy apparel, not ragged
apparel, not insufficient apparel. but
appropriate apparel. At least two suits
for every being on earth, a summer
suit and q winter suit. A good pair Of
shoes for every living mortal. A good
coat, a good hat or a good bonnet, and
a good shawl and a complete maScu-
line or feminine outfit Of apparel A
wardrobe for all nations, adapted to
all chimes, and not a string or a, but
ton or a pin or a hook and an eye
wanting.
REDISTRIBUTION.
But, alas, where are the good clothes
for three-fOurths of the human race?
The other One-fourth have appropriate
ed them. The fact is, there needs to
be and will be a redistribution. Not by
anarachistic violence. If OutlaWry had
it's way, it would rend and tear and
diminish until, instead of three-fourths
of the world not properly attired, four
fOurths would be in rags l will let
you know how the redistribution will
take place. By generosity on the par
Of those who lave a surplus and in
creased industry on the part of those
suffering from deficit. Not all, but the
large majority of cases of poverty in
this country are a result of idleness
or drunkenness, either on the part OF
the present sufferers or their ancestors.
In most cases the rum jug is the mael-
strOm nat has swallowed down the
livelihood of those who are in rags.
But things will change, and by gen.
crosby on the part of the crowded
wardrObes and industry and SObriety
on the part of the empty ~wardrobes,
there will be enough for all to wear.
God has done His part toward the
dressing of the human race. He grows
a surplus of wool on the sleeps back
and f1OCkS roam the Mountains and
valleys with a burden of warmth in
tended for transference to human com
fort, when the ShuttleS of the factories
reaching all the way from Chattahoo.
chez to the Merrimac, shall have spun
and woven it. In white letters OF
snowy fleece God has been writing fol-
a thousand years His wish that Their
might be warmth for all nations. While
others are discussing the effect of higf
or low tariff or no tariff at all on WOO
you and | a better see if in Oul
WardrObes we have nothing that We
can spare for the suffering or pick GU
some poor lad Of the street and tax,
him down to a clothing store and fl
nlHl out LOT the season. GOSpel o
shoes. Gospel of hats, Gospel o
clothes for the naked.
FOOD FOR SOULS.
Again, let us look around and Sc.
how we may serve our generation
!, What shOrtsighted mortals we woul,
be If We were anxious to clOthe an
; feed only the most insignificant par
/ of a man-namely. his body-while w,
put forth no effort to clothe and fee
and save his soul. Time is a littl
piece broken off a great eternity. Wha
are we doing for the souls of this pres
2 ent generation? Let me say it is
generation worth saving. Most mag
niticent men and women are in it. W
/ make a great ado about the improve
ments in navigation, and in locomotiol
= and in art and machinery. We remarl
what wonders of telegraph and tele
phone and the stethoscope. What i'm
provement is electric light over a tai
lOw candle. But all these improve
| ments are insignificant compared wit
| the Improvement in the human race
\ In Olden times once in awhile a praa