Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-07-05

OIlc SIOufu ldil 10 ettlO tOE -.
woman came in confessional to a priest
and told him that she had been SIAN
dering her neighbors. The priest prom
ised her absolution on condition of her
performing a penance. He gave her
a thistle top and said, You can take
that thistle and scatter the seeds all
over the field" She went and did SO
and came back. Now" said the priest,
gather up all those seeds" She said,
81 can't" "Ah!' he said. II know you
can't! Neither can you gather up the
evil words you spoke about your neigh
bors" All good men and all good wo-
men have sometimes had detractors
after them. John Wesley's wife whis-
pered about him, whispered all over
England, kept on whispering about
that good man-as good man as ever
lived-and kept on whispering until
the connubial relation was dissolved.
Even Jesus Assafled.
Jesus Christ had these whisperers
after him, and they charged him with
drinking too much and keeping bad
company. a wine bibber and the
friend of publicans and sinners" You
take the best man that ever lived and
put detective on his track for ten
years, watching where he goes and
when he comes, and with a determina-
ton to misconstrue everything, and to
think he goes here for a bad purpose
and there for a bad purpose, with that
determination of destroying him, at the
end of the ten years he will be held
despicable in the sight of great many
people.
II it Is an outrageous thing to despOil
a mans character, how much worse Is
it to damage a woman's reputation!
Yet that evil grows from century to
century, and it is all done by whisper
ers. A suspicion is started. The next
whisperer who gets hold of it states
the suspicion as proved fact, and
many a good woman, as honorable as
your wife or your mother, has been
whispered out Of all kindly associa-
tions and whispered into the grave.
Some people say there is no hell, but If
there be no hell for such despoiler Of
womanly character 1t is high time that
some philanthropist built one. But
there Is such place established, and
what a time they will have when all
the whisperers get down there together
rehearsing things! Everlasting earni-
val of mud. Were 1t not for the un-
comfortable surroundings, you might
suppose they would be glad to get
there. In that region where they are
all bad what opportunities for expioita-
ton by these whlsperers! On earth to
despoil their neighbors sometimes they
had to lie about them, but down there
about their nelghbors and tell the
truth. Jubilee Of whisperers. Grand
gala day Of backbiters. Semiheaven Of
scandal mongers stopping their gable
about their diabolical neighbOrs only
long enough to go up to the iron gate
and ask some newcomer from the
earth, What is the last gossip in the
city on earth where we used to liver
Now, how are we to war against this
iniquity which curses every community
on earth? First by refusing to listen
to or believe whisper. Every court
Of the land has for law, and all de-
cent communities have for a law, that
you must hold people innocent until
they are proved guilty. There is only
one person worse than the whisperer,
and that is the man or woman who lis
tens without protest. The trouble ls
you hold the sack while they fill 1t.
The receiver Of stolen goods Is Just as
bad as the thief. An ancient writer de
clares that slanderer and a man who
receives the SANDER ought both to be
hanged-the one by the tongue and the
other by the ear. And ] agree with
him.
Don't Retail SANDER.
When you hear something bad about
your neighbors do not 20 all over and
ask about it. whether it is true. and
scatter it and spread it. You might as
well go to smallpox hospital and take
patient and carry him all through
the community asking people If they
really thought 1t is n case of smallpox.
That would be very bad for the patient
and for all the neighbors. Do not retail
ISLANDERS and whisperings. Do not make
yourself the inspector of warts, and
the supervisor of carbuncles, and the
commissioner for street cutters, and
the holder of stakes for a dogfght.
Can 1t be that you. an immortal man,
that you. an immortal woman, can find
no better business than TO become
gutter Inspector?
Besides that, at your family table al
low no detraction. Teach your children
to speak well of others. Show them the
difference between bee and wasp
the one gathering honey, the other
thrusting sting. | read Of family
where they kept what they called "a
SANDER Book" and when any SANDER
GUS words were uttered in the house
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS