The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-09-15
TALMAGE SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE ABlF Di.
HiklE

|
ViNE
Subjects Tho Mission Of chies-Mora,,y
They Are 10 Worse Than tie Country
-Vice IL More Apparent, oct Not More
Prevalent--A Plea For Ionsst Living.
copyright lsool
| WASHINGTON, D. C.-From St Peters
burg, the Russian capital, where he was
Cordially received by the Emperor and
1aimage sends this discourse, in which he
shows the mighty good that may be done
oy the cities and also the vast evil they
may do by their alurements to the unsus-
Rectlng and the unguarded. The text is
Zechariah j, II: my cities through pros
perity shall yet be spread abroad
Ahe city Ia no worse than the country.
The vices Of the metropolis are m ore evi.
dent than the vices Of the rural districts,
because there are more people to be bad,
II they wish to be. The merchant is as
good as the farmer There is no more
cheating in town than ont Of town-no
worse cheating; it is only on . larger
| scale. The countryman sometimes preva.
ricates about the age Of the horse that no
sells, about the size Of the bushel with
which he measures the grain, about the
|
being as large as those at the top, about
| the quarter Of beef as being tender when
It is tough, and to as bad an extent as the
citizen, the merchant, prevarcates about
calicoes OF silks or hardware.
! And as t, villages, think that in some
respects they are worse than the cities,
because they copy the vices Of the cities
heaven Is country village! Everybody
knows everybrdy's business better than
he knows it himself. The grocery store
| Or the blacksmith shop by day and night
| % the grand depot for masculine little tat.
| tie, and there are always in the village
| half dozen women who have their> sum
bonnets hanging near, so that at the first
| item of derogatory news they can fly out
| and cackle 1t all over the town. Country.
men msst not be too hard in their criti-
eisrn OF the citizen, nor must the plow run
| 100 sharply against the yardstick
Cain was the founder of the first city,
end suppose it took after him in morals.
It takes city long while to escape from
the character Of the founder. Where the
founders of city are criminal exiles, the
filth, the vice, the prisons, are the shadow
for New York to get over the good inAu-
ence Of the pious founders of that city
the founders whose prayers went up in
the streets where now banks discount,
and brokers bargain, and companies de-
clare dividends, and smugglers swear Gus
tom house lies, and above the roar Of the
wheels and the crack Of the auctioreer's
mellet ascend, the ascriiption,, I'VE wor-
ship thee, 0 thou almighty dollar!"
Cities are not evil necessarily, as some
have argued They have been the birth
PLACE OF civilization. In them popular lib.
trty has lifted its voice. Witness Genoa
and Pisa and Venice. After the death Of
Alexander the Great among his papers
were found extensive plans OF cities, some
to be built in Europe, some to be built IN
Asia. The cities in Europe were to be
were to be occupied, according to his
plans, by Europeans, and so there should
be commingling and fraternity and a
kindness and good will between the con-
tinents and between the cities. So there
always ought to be. The strangest thing
In my comprehension is that there should
be chickering's and rivalries among our
American cities, New York must stop
caricaturing Philadelphia, and Philadsl,
certainly the continent is large enough
for St Paul and Minneapolis. What is
good for one city is good for all the cities.
Here is the great highway OF our nationa!
prosperity. On that highway Of national
prosperity walk the cities.
A city with large forehead and great
brain-that is Boston; a city with delib-
crate step and calm manner-that is Phil.
adelphia; city with its pocket full OF
change--that is New York; two cities
gong with rush that astounds the con.
tinent-they are St. Louis and Chicago;
city that takes its wife and children along
with it--that is Brooklyn. Cincinnati,
Louisville, Pittsburg, all the cities of the
north, and all the cities of the south,
some distinguished for one thing, some
for another, one for professional ability,
but not ore to be spared. What. advan-
tages one advantages all. What damages
Boston Common damages Washington
square. Laurel Hill, Mount Auburn,
Greenwood weep over the same grief.
The statue 0. Benjamin Franklin in New
York greeting the bropze statue OF Ed
ward Everett in Boston. All the cities a
confraternity. l cannot understand how
ries. i plead for higher style of brother
hood or sisterhood among the cities.
Again, in all cities am impressed with
the fact tat all classes and conditions OF
society must comming.e. We sometimes
cultivate wicked exclusiveness. Intel
lect despises ignorance. Refinement Will
have nothing to do with boorlshness
Gloves hate the sunburned hand, and the
nlRl lOTSlltdu 2tSliSes tic lidl ieop, Hiio
the trim hedgerow will have nothing to
do with the wild copsewood, and Athens
hates Nazareth. This ought not SO to be.
| like this democratic principle Of the Cos
pei OF Jesus Christ which recognizes the
fact that we stand before God on one
and the same platform. Do not take on
any airs. Whatever position you lave
gained in society, you are nothing b"t
man. born OF the same Parent, regener-
ated by the same Spirit, cieansed IN the
same blood. to lie down in the same dust,
to get up in the same resurrection IL IS
high tine that we al! acknowledged not
ONLY the Fathcrhood Of God, but the
brotherhood OF man. -;
Again, III all cities | am impressed with
the fact that it is very hard thing tor a
man to keep his heart right and to get 10
heaven. Infinite temptations sp1lnS upon
us from places OF public conrourse. Amid
90 much afiluence, how much temptation
to covetousress and to be discontented
with our humble lot, Amid 50 many OPP
por.unities fo- overreaching, what temp
tation to vanity Amid so many SALOONS
Of strong drink. what a!lurcments to dis,
sipation. In the ,maelstroms and he;l
oates of the street, how many make quick
and eternal shipwreck' II Inan-at-warI
comes back from battle, ard is to"en
into the navy yard, We 60 down to loci
az the spintered spars and count the bnl-
let holes. and lock with patriotic admlra-
t;on on the flag that iioatel in victory
{ror, the masthead. But that man is