The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1900-07-31


watched MIN all through vii give him
higher seat and better mansion. and a
gfaudsr eternity than many a man who
mad oH earth. before his name, The VOID
honorable, and after his name LII ID.
and r x. s.
TsiuE One Talent Wen.
Christ said in Luke, the sixth chapter
that tn heaven some who had It hari
here would laugh there. And / think =
laugh OF delight and congratulatlon will
run around the heavenly circles when
this humble one q whom I spoke shall
90 Up and take the precedence OF many
Christians. who, In this world. felt
themselves 20 be Of - per cent. more i'm
pOrtance. The whisper VIII 90 round the
galleries OF the upper temple: Can IL be
possible that that was the weigher in our
store Can IL be possible that that was
the caT-dT.ver on our stTeetT Can 10 be
possible that that was the sexton OF our
church" Can il be possible that thst is
the man who heaved coal into our Gel
lar% 1 never could have thought g.
What reversal Of things! We were clear
ahead OF him on earth, but he is clear
ahead Of Us in heaven. Why, We had ten
times more brains than he had; We had
thousand times more money than he had :.
we bad social position d mile higher than
he had We had lnnumerable ODpOrtuni-
dies more than he had. but II seems now
that he accomplished more with his one
talent than We did with our ten While
Solomon, standing among the thrones.
overhears the whisper. and sees the won
ccrmcnt and will. with benlgndnt and all
suggestive smile. say: Yes: II is as I
told the world many centuries ago-bet-
ter IS small faculty actively used, than
great talent unemployed-better is a liy-
Ing dog than a dead lion
The simple fact Is that the world has
been. ana the world Is now, full of dead
lions. They are people OF great capacity
aHd large opportunity, doing nothing for
the Improvement Of society. nothing for
the overthrow Of evil. nothing for the
salvation Of souls. Some OF them are
monetary Hons. They have accumulated
50 many hundreds Of thousands OF dol
lars that YOU can feel their tread when
they walk through any street or come
into any circle. They can by one financial
move upset the money market. Instead
OF the 10 per cent of their income which
the Bible laws down as the proper pro
portion OF their contribution to the cause
OF God, they DO not give , per cent. or
per cent. or per cent. or ! per cent or
haf per cent. or quarter per cent.
That they are lions no one doubts When
they roar Wall street. State street Lom-
-Al q |Fts anu the lbDlI~t ftUDLE.
Rich Doing Good While Alive.
In few years they will lie down and
die. They viii have great funeral and
long row Of fine carriages and mightiest
requiems will roll from the organ and
polished shaft Of Aberdeen granite viii
indicate where their dust lies. but for ali
use 10 the world that man might a. well
have never lived. As an experiment as
TO how much he can carry with him. put
ten-cent piece in the palm Of his dead
hand. and five years after open the tomb
and you Will find that he has dropped
even the ten-cent piece A lioni Yes.
but dead liOni He left all his treasures
on earth and has no treasures in heaven.
What shall the stOnecutter put upon the
obelisk over him? | suggest, let it be the
mans name. then the date OF his birth,
then the date of his death, then the ap-
prOpriate Scripture passage: Better is a
living dog than n dead lion
"Hut | thank God that we are having
Just now an outburst Of splendid benefi-
Cence that is to increase until the earth
Is Sirdled with il. Ii is spreading with
all the speed Of an epidemic, but with
just the opposite effect of an epidemic.
DO you not notice how wealthy men are
OItAllS lltf liDl aries ana DQilUlng
churches in their native villages? Have
you not seen how men of large means,
instead OF leaving great philanthrOpies
in their wills for disappointed heirs to
quarrel about, and the orphan courts 10
swamp, are becoming their own execu-
tors and administrators? After putting
aside enough for their families, for he
thar prOvideth not for his own, ana es-
peCidiiy those OF his own household is
worse than an infidel.' they are saving:
What can | do. not after | am dead but
while living, and in full possession of my
faculties, to properly direct the building
Of the churches or the hospitals or the
colleges or the libraries that | design for
the public welfare and while Vet / have
full Capacity to enjoy the satisfaction Of
seeing the good Accomplished? There
are bad fashions and good fashions. and,
whether good or bad, fashions are
mighty. one Of the good fashions now
starring will sweep the earth-the fash
ion for wealthy men TO distribute, while
yet alive. their surplus accumulation. Ii
is being helped by the fact that so many
large estates have, Immediately after the
teStator'S death gone into litigation. Al
torneyS with large fees are employed on
both sides, and the case goes on month
after month, and year after year and
after one court decides, the case aScends
TO another court and is decided IN the
opposite direction, and then new evidence
is found. and the trials are all repeated.
The children, who, at the fathers fu-
neral. seemed to have an uncomfortable
grief after the will is read go into elab-
crate process TO prove that the father
was crazy. and therefore incompetent 10
make a viii And there are men On the
Jury who think that the fact that the
testatOr gave 50 much of his money 10
he Bible society and the missionary So
CietV or the opening of free library.
is proof positive that he was insane, and
that he knew not what he was signing
when he subscribed to the words: In
the name of God. Amen. /, being of
sound mind, 10 make this my last will
and testament
PosI-morIem Praise Is ValueIess.
"The torn wills, the fraudulent wills
the broken wills have recently been made
such a spectacle TO angels and TO men
that all over the land successful men are
calling in architects and saying TO them:
How much would il cost for me to build
a picture gallery for our town. or What
plans can you draw me for a concert
hauT or I am specially interested in the
incurable. and how large a building would
accommodate 900 Of such patients? or
The church of God has been a great
! help 10 lie all my life, and / want you
TO draw me a plan for church, commO-
dious, beautiful. well ventilated, and with
plenty of windows 10 let in the light, /
want you 10 get right at work in making
out plans for such building. for, though
! am well now, life is uncertain. and be-
fore / leave the world ! want To see some
thing done that will be an appropriate ac-
Acknowledgements Of the goodness OF God to
me and mine. Now. when can / hear
from your
we have in all parts Of ChristendOm
such examples. All honor to such a man.
| DO not say so when he is dead; say il
now. 1t would be a good thing if some Of
the eulogies We chisel on tOmbstOnes were
written on paper in time Tor the philan-
| thropists TO read them while yet they are
alive. Less pOst-mortem praise, and more
aUte-mOTtem.
"A poor Scotch lad came 10 America at
[ twelve years of age, and went TO Pitts
/ burg lie looked around for work and be
came an engineer IN a cellar. then rose to
become o telegraph messenger boy. then
rose 10 a position in q railroad Ofhce. then
d