The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1899-09-08

cometh. and in addition 70 the horror
and condemnation of outraged COM
munities the curse of God viii come.
blow after blow. Gods law forever and
forever is the only standard of right
and wrong and not commercial ethics.
Young business man, avoid the first
business dishonor, and you will avoid
all the rest. The captain of "a vessel
was walking near the mouth of river
when the tide was low, and there was a
long, stout anchor chain, into one of
\ the great links of which his foo.
slipped, and il began to swell, and he
could not withdraw it. The tide began
to rise. The chain could not be loos-
oncd nor filed of in time, and a surgeon
was called TO amputate the limb. but
! before the work could be done the tide
rolled over the victim, and his life was
gone. have to tell you, young man,
that just one wrong into which you
slip may be a link of long chain of cir
cumstances from which you cannot be
extricatcd by any ingenuity of your
/ own or any help from others. and the
| tides will roll over you as they have
over many. When Pompey, the war
rior wanted TO take possession Of
city and they would not open the gates,
| he persuaded them to admit sick sol
/ der. But the sick soldier after awhile
got well and strong, and ne threw open
the gates and let the devastating army
come in One wrong admitted into the
soul may gain in strength until after
awhile it filings open ali the gates TO the
attack Of sin, and the ruin is complete.
Again, business men are sometimes
tempted to throw off personal respon-
sibilities, shifting it to the institution
to which they belong. Directors in
banks and railroad and insurance COM
panies sometimes shirk responsibility
underneath the action of the corpora
ton. and how often when some bank
ing house or financial institution eX-
plodes through fraud, respectable men
in the board of directors say: why, /
thought all was going on in an honest
way, and / am utterly confounded with
this demeanorl" The banks and the
fire and life and marine insurance COM
panies and the railroad companies Will
not stand up for judgment in the last
day, but those who in them acted
righteously will receive, each for HIM
self, a reward, and those who acted the
part of neglect or trickery will. each
for himself, receive a condemnation.
Unlawful dividends are not clean be-
fore God because there are those asso-
ciated with you who grab just as big a
pile as you do. lie who countenances
the dishonesty of the firm or of the cor
poration or association takes upon HIM
self all the moral liabilities. If the
financial institution steals, he steals.
If they 90 into wild speculations, he
himself is a gambler. If they needless
" embarass a creditor, he himself is
guilty of cruelty. If they swindle the
uninitiated. he himself is a defrauder.
No financial institution ever had a
money vault strong enough, or credit
stanch enough, or dividends large
enough, or policy acute enough TO hide
the individual sins of its members. The
old adage that corporations have no
souls is misleading. Every corpora
ton has as many souls as it has mem
bers.
Again, many business men have been
tempted to postpone their enjoyments
and duties to future season OF entire
leisure. What sedative the Christian
religion would be TO all our business
men if instead of postponing its uses
to old age or death they would take 1t
into the store or factory or worldly en-
gagements now It is folly to go amid
the uncertainties of business life with
no God TO help A merchant in New
England village was standing by a
horse. and the horse lifted its foot 10
stamp it in a pool of water, and-the
merchant. TO escape the splash, stepped
into the door of an insurance agent
and the agent said: 81 suppose you
have come 10 renew your fire insur-
ance." "Oh!" said the merchant. Il
had forgotten that" The insurance
was renewed, and the next day the
house that had been insured was
burned. Was il all accidental that the
merchant. to escape a splash from a
horses foot stepped into the insurance
Office? 10, it was providentiaL And
what a mighty solace for business
man 10 feel that things are providen'
tall
Many. although now comparatively
straiehtened in worldly circumstances
have goodly establishment in the iu
ture planned out. They have an i'm
acination built, about 20 years ahead
q house in the country not ditidilt o.
access from the great town, for they
will often have business or old accounts
to settle or investments TO look aiter
The house is large enough to accommo
date all their friends. The halls arc
wide and hung with pictures of hunt
inc scenes and a branch Of antiers an'
are comfortable with chairs that car
mo rolled out on the yeranda when th'
weather is inviting or set out unuel
some OF the oaks that stand sentine
about the house, rustling in the coo
breeze and songful with the ROBINS
There is lust land enough TO keep then
interested. and its crops Of almost taD
ulous richness springlng up under ap
nlieation of the best theories 10 o'
found in the agricultural journals lh'
farm is well stocked with cattle an'
horses and sheep that know the voice