The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1899-09-14

u was the beginning of n fellowship be-
tween hiln and the WORKING world. II
was the trst nLlnk laid down tn helm
bridge tie chasn between the churcn
and labor in Raymond
Alexander Powers went back 10 his
desk that afternoon rluch pleased with
his pkn and seeing y uch Il - in it for
the men. He knew where he cagli get
so;Nc good tables fiCu AZ abandoned
eating house ut one G; the gtations down
the road. and he saw bow the coffee ar
rungemeEt could he made q very at.
trGctive festure. The iLsa hGd r,apord-
&c even bsEtcr than Ne al"ic.rat,l, and
the whole thing coull not help teins
great hcT eft to theiA
He took up the routine Of u; work
with glow of sltietnCtiln. A',or all,
he wanted to DO as J e'us would, he said
to himself
II was nearly 4 O'Clock when he
opened one OF thn compary's long cnvcl-
Opes VII h'ch he supposed coY'nir ID or
ders for the purchasing Of stores, He
ran over the first page of typovritten
matter in his usual quic!: huein ssikc
manner before hn saw t''a' he was read.
ing what was not intended for his Office,
but for the superintendent of the freight
department
He turned over paga mechanically.
not meaning 10 ropd what was not I'D
dressed to him, hut before h. knew it
he was il possession Of evidence which
conclusively proved TINT the cor pany
was engaged III u systematic violation
Of the interstate commerce laws If the
United States 1t was ~ distinct and
unequivocal breaking Of law as ii n pri-
vate citizen should enter hoarc and
rob the inmates The discrimination
shown in rebates was in total contempt
of all the statutes. Under the laws OF
the state it was also distinct violation
of certain provisions recently passed by
the legislature to prevent railroad
trusts. There was no question that he
held in his hand evidence sufficient to
| convict the company of willful intelli-
gent violation OF the law Of the CON
mission and the law Of the state also.
AAc uibpRN' tait IbPNio vi LllS btSh bS
if they were poison. and instantly tho
question flashed across his mind. What
would Jesus doY" He tried to shut the
question out. He tried to reason with
himself by saying II was none Of his
business. He had supposed in Il more or
less indefinite way, as did nearly all Of
the officers Of the company. that this
had been going on right along in nearly
all the roads. He was not IN position.
owing TO his place in the shops. to prove
anything direct. and he had regarded it
all as a matter which did not concern
him at all. The papers now before him
revealed the entire affair. They had
through some carelessness in the address
come into his hands What business Of
his was It'll II he saw man entering
his neighbor's house to steal. would IL
not be his duty to inform the officers Of
the lawf Was railroad company such
a different thingr Was 1t under DIFF
ferent rule Of conduct. 10 that It could
rob the public and defy law and be un-
disturbed because II was such great
organization What would Jesus dot
Then there was his family. OF course
If he took any steps to inform the COM
mission 1t woulh mean the loss Of his
position. His wife and daughters had
always enjoyed luxury and a good place
in society. II he came out against this
lawlessness as q witness, it would drag
him into courts, his motives would be
misunderstood, and the whole thing
would end in his disgrace and the loss
of his position. Surely. it was mono Of
his business He could easily get the
papers back to the freight department
and no one be the wiser Let the iniquity
20 on. Let the law be defied. What was
it to him, He would work out his plans
for lettering the conditions just about
him. What more could a man do in
this railroad business, where there was
80 much going on anyway that made It
impossible to live by the Christian
Standard But what would Jesus do II
he knew the factsi That was the ques-
tion that confronted Alexander Powers
rs the day wore into evening.
The lights in the Office had been
turned on. The whi4 Of the great en-
gine and the crash Of the planer in the
big shop continued until clock.
Then the whistle blew, the engines
slowed down, and the men dropped
their tools and ran for the blockhouse.
Alexander Powers heard the familiar
click. click, Of the blocks as the men
filed pass the window of the blockhouse
Just outside. He said to his Clerks
"I'm not going just yet. I have some
thing extra tonight" He waited until
he heard the last man deposit his block.
The men behind tho block case went
out The engineer and his assistants
had work for half an hour. but they
went out at another door.
At 7 o'clock that evening any one
who had looked into the superintend-
ent's Office would have seen an unusual
sight He was kneeling down. and his
face was buried in his hands as he
bowed his head upon tho papers on his