The record-union., 1898-09-12

ploy. 1t means that you have adhered
to the golden rule of Christ in the get
ting it, and that you can ask God S
blessing on it.
When you come to look into it, an
honest dollar means a good deal. 1t
is as clean as though it came direct
from the golden mint of the Almighty.
The stamp on it is the superscription
of heaven. 1t is the guarantee to you
that you have with it the approval Of
God. Every man should see that his
dollars are clean dollars, and honor
ably acquired. A mans pocketbook
and bank account reveal his character
and religion as truly as his prayer
book.
Provide things. honest" is a con-
! demnation of all chance methods of
securing money Money gotten by lot
terry, by rafting, by betting, by gamb-
ling, is not honestly gotten Such
money cannot by any stretch Of con-
science be called honest money. 1t is
tainted money. The slime and stencil
of hell are on it. Getting money in
these iniquitous ways is not providing
things honest The conscience of all
right minded men condemn these meth
DDS of getting money A man OF honor
and conscience would scorn a proposal
to get money by bet, gamble or lottery.
1t is an effort to get what belongs to
others, not by honest service, but by
duplicity and deception.
The possibility of getting money in
some other way than by honest indus
try and legitimate enterprise exercises
fascinating influence over many peo-
pie, young and old, cultured and ig-
norant alike. The temptation to be-
come a professional thief, burglar, a
pickpocket, is not likely to assail you.
Such forms of money getting are odi-
Gus to you. The temptation will ap-
proach you in a less repulsive garb.
Wonder is a sack Of gold, So, $40, $20,-
600. You would not forge mans name
to get it. You would not start out, at
midnight with a Jimmy" to get it.
You would not sit down by a gamblers s
table and shuttle cards to get it. But
if you thought you could get it by buy
ing a few lottery tickets you would
secretly make the investment, and
nervously wait the day when results
were declared. The conscience Of many
people in these things is sadly dull.
AS I understand ethical problems,
the burglar, the gambler, the dealer in
lotteries and raffles are birds of one
feather, and they are blackbirds, too, or
black-legs, if you like the word better.
Money gotten by bet, or rattle, or lot
terry is tainted money, and is as dis
honestly gotten as money secured by
skillful forgery, sharp gambling, or
bold burglary The philosophy of the
w N hT1C ioh a "
to the track bet, is the same; it is
the effort to get something for moth
ing. 1t is the effort to win money
without working for it. It is the effort
to get your brothers money without
giving him a fair equivalent for it.
Whether you get the dollar by lottery,
forgery, or burglary, by rafting, bet
ting, or gambling, the ugly fact that
faces you is this, in neither case was
the money gotten honestly. It is not a
clean, honest dollar. You cannot ask
Gods blessing on it. 1t does not mean
industry, or enterprise, or conscience,
or honor, or manhood. 1t means cruel,
conscienceless greed. 1t means gratifi-
cation in another mans loss. 1t means
that you are base enough to make gain
out of your neighbors misfortune. It
means that you are mean enough to
enrich yourself at the expense of your
unfortunate brother A man with any
humanity in his soul would be ashamed
to take money from his brother-man
by any such devil-invented methods.
I have no respect, and do not want
to have, for that whole herd Of men
who are trading and fattening on the
weaknesses and follies of their fellow
men. Gamblers, forgers, swindlers,
burglars, lottery agents, pool sellers,
race track managers, brewers, dis
tillers, saloonkeepers, keepers Of
houses of prostitution, sweaters,
boodlers, and the whole scoun-
drel gang who make fat out of
the infrmities, and misfortunes, and
ignorances of their fellow-nen ought
to be held in righteous contempt, and
banished from decent society, until
they repent Of their iniquities in sack
cloth and ashes. AS you love and honor
the philanthropist, who in manifold
ways seeks to lift his brother-man to
higher levels, so you must, Of moral
necessity, despise the men who do the
reverse; who push their brother-men
to lower and still lower levels. To help
men up is God-like. To push men
down is devil-hke There is need Of
strong, plain speech on these matters.
Neither charity nor religion bids US
blind our eyes or close our lips before
such awful iniquities.
The men who represent and carry
on these businesses may be very
gentlemanly in their dress and address;
they may be arrayed in broadcloth,
and live in mansions; many Of them do,
but the fact remains they are the enc
mics of humanity Their businesses
are detrimental TO a nations progress,
They are parasites on the body polite.
They are vultures preying on the in
firmities Of their fellow-men. They
are leeches sucking the life blood out
of men and women too ignorant and
too weak to resist them.
The boy who blacks your boots, the
scavenger who cleans your streets, earn
honest money and are worthy the es-
TEEN Of all right-minded citizens. But
this other class of men are as far from
honest citizenship as hades is from
heaven. Their success and triumph
means the kingdom of hell upon earth.
They are the makers Of criminals. They
are the breeders and propagators of
those who finally find their homes in
our prisons and penitentiaries. Between
the race track, the gamblers den, the
brothel and the saloon there exists and
always has existed the closest possible
fellowship. They are leagued and in
ter-leagued for the decentralization of
society. They lead one to the other, as
naturally as a river empties into the
sea. The thief, the swindler, the gamb-
Ter, the harlot, the roue find their home
in the saloon and mingle as familiarly