The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1898-05-06

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and wrong. You say to some one about
merchant, sis he honest?" "Oh,
yes, )" the man says, che is honest, but
he grlnds the faces of his clerks. He is
honest, but he exaggerates the value of
his goods. He is honest, but he loans
money on bond and mortgage with the
understanding that the mortgage can
lie quiet for ten years, but as soon as
he gets the mortgage he records it and
begins foreclosure suit and the sher-
If writ comes down, and the day of
sale arrives, and away goes the home
stead, and the creditor buys it in at
half price" Honest? When he loaned
the money, he knew that he would get
the homestead at half price. Honest?
But he goes to the insurance office to get
a policy on his life and tells the doctor
that he is we'll when he knows that for
ten years he has had but one lung
Honest? Though he sells property by the
map, forgetting to tell the purchaser
that the ground is all under water; but
it is generous in him to do that, for he
throws the water into the bargain.
Standard of Right and Wrong.
All, my friends, there is but one
standard of the everlasting right and of
the everlastingly wrong, and that is
the Bible, and when that principle
shall get its pry under our commercial
houses l believe that one-half of them
will go over. The ruin will begin at
one end of the street, and it will be
crash, crash, crash all the way down
to the docks. "What is the matter?
Has there been fall in gold?" ooh,
no." "Has there been a new tariff"
emo" "Has there been a failure in
orops?" "No. F." "Has there been an I'M
accountable panic?" "No." This is the
secret The Lord God has set up his
throne of Judgment in the exchange.
He has summoned the righteous and
the wicked to come before him. What
was 1887? A day of Judgment. What
was 1867? A day of Judgment. What
was the extreme depression of two years
ago? A day of judgment. Do you think
that God is going to wait until he has
burned the world up before he rights
these wrongs? I tell you, nay. Every
day is day of Judgment.
The fraudulent man piles up his
gains bond above bond, United States
above United States security,
above emolument, until his
property has become great pyramid,
and as he stands looking at it he thinks
it can never be destroyed, but the Lord
God comes, and with his little finger
pushes it all over.
You build house, and you put into
it a rotten beam. A mechanic standing
by says, cit will never do to put that
beam in; it will ruin your whole build
ing" But you put it in. The house is
Soon it begins to rock. You
call in the mechanic and ask, "What is
the matter with this door? What is the
matter with this wall? Everything
seems to be giving out" Says the
"You put a rotten beam into
that structure, and the whole thing has
got to come down." Here is an estate
that seems to be all right now. 1t has
been building great many years. But
Is years ago there was dishonest
transaction in that commercial house.
That one dishonest transaction will
keep on working ruin in the whole
structure until down the estate will
come in wreck and ruin about the pos
sessor's ears-one dishonest dollar in
the estate demolishing all his possess
sions. | have seen it again and again,
and SO have you.
Here is your money safe. The manu-
'acturer and yourself only know how it
IAN be opened. You have the key. You
;ouoh the lock, and the ponderous door
swings back. But let me tell you that
however firmly barred and bolted your
money safe may be you cannot keep
God out. He will come, some day, into
your counting room, and he will de-
nand: "Where did that note of hand |
,ome from? How do you account for
his security? Where did you get that
mortgage from? What does this mean?"
f it is all right, God will say: "Well |
lone, good and faithful servant. Be |
in this world. Be happy in |
he world to come. If it is all wrong, |
10 Will say DCpaIG u, y6 CuES6u' D6 |
for your iniquities in this
ife, and then go down and spend your
eternity with thieves and horse Jockeys
nd pickpookets.
You have an old photograph of the
igns on your street. Why have those
igns nearly all changed within the
asst 20 years? Does the passing away of
generation account for it? Oh, no.
Does the fact that there are hundreds of
onest men who go down every year &C.
cunt for it? Oh, no. This is the secret:
he Lord God has been walking through
he commercial streets of our great
tiles, and he has been adjusting things
ccording to the principles of eternal
The time will come when, through
be revolutionary power of this gospel,
falsehood instead of being called ex-
operation, equivocation or evasion
ill be branded lie, and stealings
nat now sometimes go under the head
percentages and commissions and
onuses will be put into the catalogue
f state prison offensesl Society will be