The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1899-07-22

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stock, and then waters the stock and
makes $4,000 appear Ike $4,000.
He Only stole $4,000 by the operation
Many Of the men o. fortune made their
wealth in that way.
One Of those men engaged in such IN
righteous acts that evening. the evening
Of the very day when be wstered the
stock, will find = wharf rat stealing 6
daily paper from the basement doorway
and viii go out and catch the urchin by
ths collar and twist the collsr 20 tightly
the poor fellow has no power to say that
# was thirst for knowledge that led him
70 the dishonest act, but grip the collar
tighter and tighter, saying: Il have
been looking for you = long while. You
stole ny paper four or FIVE times,
haven't yoB, you miserable wretchf'
And then the old stock gambler, with =
voice they can hear three blocks, will
cry out: Police, pobee!" That same
man the evening Of the day in which be
wEtered the stock will kneel with his
family in prayers and thank God for the
prosperity Of the day, then kiss his chill
dren good night with an air which
seems to say; Il hope you al win grow
up to be as good as your father" Pris-
ons for sins insectile in size, but palaces
for crimes dromedariAn. No mercy for
sins Animsleule In proportion, but great
leniency for msstodOn iniquity. A poor
boy slyly takes from the basket Of q
market wonan 9 choke p~ear-Ssvfng
some one else from the eholera-and
you smother him In the horrible at
mosphere Of Raymond street jail or
New York tOmbs, while his cousin, who
has been Sdllful enough TO steal S 1000
from the city. you make a candidate for
the state legislature.
There is a good deal Of uneasiness
and nervousness now among some peo-
pie IN our time who have got UPRIGHT
eOus fortunes-a great deal Of uDeak-
ness about dynamite. / tell them that
God will put under their unrighteous
fortunes something more explosive than
dyuamite-ths earthquake Of His IN
nipotent indignation. 1t is time that
we learn in America that sin IL not ex-
cusable in proportion as II declares
large dividends and has outriders In
equipage. Many a man Is riding to per-
dition, position ahead and lackey be-
hind. To steal one copy Of q newspa-
per is a gnat; to steal many thousands
Of dollars Is q camel. There Is many q
fruit dealer who would not consent to
steal a basket Of peaches from a neigh
boris stall, but who would not scruple
20 depress the fruit market, and as long
as / can remember we have heard every
summer the peach crop Of Maryland is
a failure, and by the time the crop
comes in the Misrepresentation makes
a difference Of millions Of dollars. A
man who would not steal one basket Of
peaches steals $1,000 baskets Of peaches.
Go down into the public library, In
the reading-rooms, and see the newspa-
per reports Of the crops from all parts
Of the country, and their p~hraSeologyis
very much the same, and the same men
wrote them, methodically and infs-
mously carrying out the huge lying
about the grain crop from year 10 year
and for a score Of years. After awhile
there will be a corner" In the wheat
market, and the men who had a con
tempt for petty theft will burglarize
the wheat bin Of a nation and commit
larceny upon the American corn crib.
And someof the men will sit in churches
and In reformstory institutions trying
to strain out the small gnats Of scoun-
dreIsm, while in their grain elevators
and In their s%torehouses they are fat
tening large camels which they expect
after awhile 10 swallow. Society has to
be entirely reconstructed on this sub
ject. We are 10 find that a sin Is mex
cusable in proportion as II Ia great. /
know In our time the tendency ia 10
charge religious frauds upon good men.
They say: "0h, what a host Of frauds
you have In the church Of God in this
dayl" And when the elder Of a church,
OF a deacon, or a minister Of the Gospel,
or a superintendent Of a Sabbath school
turns out a defaulteF, what display
heads there are ia many Of the newApa-
pers! Great primer type. Hye-lipe
plea. Another Saint Absoonded,'
Clerical scoundrelism, {" Religion at q
Discount" "5hame on the Churches
while there are q thousand s~conndrelI
outside the church TO one inside the
: church, and the misbehavior OF those
. who never see the inside Of q church
= is 30 great that II Ia enough to temp
= a man 10 become q Christian 10 get oui
! Of their company. But In all circles
! religious and irreligious, the tendency
lh 10 excuse sin in proportion az It II
mammoth. Even John Milton In hii
paradise Lost" while he condemns
E Satan, gives such a grand description o.
him you have hard work 10 withhold
your admiration. Oh, this Etraininl
out Of small sins like gnats and THU
gulping down great iniquites like cam
= elEi
= This subject does not give the picturI
e Of one or two persons, but ia a gallery II
which thousands Of people may SCI
: their likenesses. For instance, all thos,
people who, while they would not rol
/ their neighbors Of a f~arthing, appropri
ate the money and the treasure Of th,
{ public. A man has q house TO sell, anC
i he tells his customer IL Is worth $50,
900. Next day the assessor come
around and the owner says II Ia wortl
$4,000. The government Of the Unite
e States took of the tax from persona
e income, among other reasons, becaus'
80 few people would tell the truth, AM
Z many a man with an income Of hun
dreds Of dollars q day made statement
which seemed TO imply he was about u
be banded over 70 The QyersesrS Of III