Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-02-09

en--A Scrmon ON Dishoncsty.
Copyright, 1859. 10y American Press Asso-
Ciatioul
WASHINGTON, Feb. This like many
of DR. Talmagc's discourses, recommends
preparation for the heavenly world Text
Job viii, II, Whose trust shall be u
spiders web.
The two most skillful architects in all
The world are the bee and the spider. The
ono puts up u sugar mandatory and the
other builds n slaughter house for flies
On - bright summer morning, when the
sun comes out and shines upon the
spider web, Ecdeckcd with dew, the gos-
snmcr structure seems bright enough for
a suspension bridge for aerial beings to
cross on But alns for the poor fly which
in the latter part Of that very day ventures
on if and is caught and dunRconed and
destroyed! The fly wa informed that it
WAS u free bridge and would cost nothing,
but at the other end of the bridge the toll
paid was il, own life The next day there
comes down strong wind, and away
go the web and the marauding spider
and the victimi2cd fly. 30 delicate are the
sillcn threads Of the spiders web that
many thousands of them are put together
before they become visible to the human
eye. and il takes 1000, 600 of them to
make thread rs large as the human
hair Most cruel a. well al most ingenious
j. the spider \ prisoner in the BaStillc
France, had one 50 trained that at the
sound OF the violin it every day came for
its meal of flies The author of my text,
who was u leading scientist Of his day,
had no doubt watched he NoraciOuS proc
ess of this one insect with another and
saw spider and fly swept down with the
same broom or scattered by the same
wind. Alas that the world has so many
designing spiders and Nictimizcd flies,
There has not been "a time when the utter
ana black responsibility Of many men
having tho financial interests of Others in
charge has hrcu more evident than in
these last fCN years. The bankruptcy of
banks and disappearance OF administrators
with the funds of large estates and the
diSordcrcd accounts Of United states oil
cals have sometimes made pestilcnce of
crime that socnnizes every thoughtful
man anu woman and leads every philan-
throp,t and Christian to ask, What shah
be done 10 stay the plague?
There is ever and anon a monsoon of
swndlo abroad, typhoon, u sirocco. J
sometimes ask myself if it would not be
better for men making wills to hoquca;h
the property directly to the executors and
officers of the ccut and appoint III.
widows and orphans u committee TO ~c'
that the former got all that did not be
long to them The simple fact j. thar
there are large number of men sailing
yachts and driving fast horses and mcm
bcrs of expensive ClubhOuscs and control
ling country seats who are not worth Il
dollar ii they return to others their j:lsi
rights. Under some sudden reverse they
fail, and with afflicted air seem to retire
from the world, and seem almost ready
for mOnastc life when in two or three
years they blossom out again, havil =
compromised with their crcditurs-that l..
paid them nothing but regret-and the
only difference between the second chap
ter of prosperity and the first is that their
pictures are Murillos instead Of konsetts.
and their horse. 60 "A mile in 90 seconds
less than their predecessors, and instead
of one country seat they have three
have watched and have noticed that nine
out Of ten of those who fail in what is
called high life have more means afte,
than before the failure. and in many OF
the cases failure il only stratagem TO cs
cape the payment Of honest debts and put
the world oil the track while they prac-
ticc a large swindle. There is something
wocfully wrong in the fac that these
thin@> arc possible.
Partners In Tnfamy.
First OF all, ! charge the blame on care
less, indifferent bank directors and board,
having in charge great financial institu
tiunS II ought not to be possible for q
president or cashier or prominent officer OF
a banking institution to swindle it veal
after year without detection. l will
undertake to say that if these frauds are
carried on for two or three years without
detection either the directors are partner,
in the infamy and pocket part of tn,
theft or they are guilty of culpable neg
lcct of duty, for which God will hold then
as responsible rs he holds the acknow1
edged defraudcrs. What right hav,
prominent business men to allow theil
names to be published as directors in :
financial institution, SO that Unsophisti
Gated people are thereby induced to de
posit their money in or buy the scriI
thereof when they, the published directors
are doing nothing for the safety of the in
hlltullOI. III IL IL case Oh Inception mos
rcprchcnsble.
Many people with "a surplus of money
not needed for Immediate use, although
II may be II little further on Indispensable
are without friends competent to adyis'
them, and they are guided solely by thu
character of the men whose names ar,
associated with the institution. When tn
crash came and with the overthrow Of tn
banks went the small earnings and limit
ed fortunes of widows and orphans ant
the helplcssly aged, the directors stoo,
with idiOtlc stare, and to the inquiry Of tn
frcnzed depositors and stockholders VIII
had lost their all and to the arraignmcn
of an indignant public had nothing To sa,
except I'VE thought it was all right W
hid not know there was anything wrOn;
going on. 1t was their duty to know
They stood i'll II position which delude,
the people with the idea that they wer
carefully Obcryant, Calling thCmsclyc
directors, they did not direct. They ha,
opportunity Of auditing accounts and il
speeding the books No time TO do 50
Then they had no business TO accept tn
position. 1t seems to bc the pride of som
moncycd men to be directors in grca
many Institutions, and all they know J
whether or not they get their dividend
regularly, and their names are used Il
dccoy ducks TO bring others near enoug
70 be made game Of What first of all i
needed is that 800 bank directors and in
surancc company directors resign or at
tend to their business as directors TIL
business world will be fun Of fraud jus
as long aS fraud is so easy. When yo