Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-08-24
MISSION OF CITIES.
BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATION, SANS
Or. TAIMAGE.

ent, but Not More Prevalent A
Plea For Honest Living.
WASHINGTON, Aug. u From St.
Petersburg the Russian capital. where
he was cordially received by the en-
peror and empress and the empires
dowager. DR.. Talmage sends this dis
course, in which he shows the mighty
good that may be done by the cities
and also the vast evil they may DO 10y
their allurements TO the unsuspccting
and the unguarded. The text is Zech.
ariah i, Il. MY cities through pros
perity shall yet be spread abroad"
The city is no worse than the coun-
try. The vices of the metropolis are
more evident than the vices OF the
rural districts. because there are more
people to be bad. if they wish TO be.
The merchant is as good us the farmer.
There is no more cheating in town
than out Of town-no worse cheating:
IL is only on larger scale. The coun-
tryman sometimes pvcva ricates about
the age of the horse that he sells.
about the size OF the bushel with which
he measures the grain. about the
peaches ut the bottom of the basket rs
being as large as those at the top.
about the quarter of beef rs being ten
der when il is tough. and 10 rs bad an
extent as the citizen. the merchant,
prevaricates about calicocs or silks or
hardware.
And as TO villages. | think that in
some respects they are worse than the
cities, because they copy the vices OF
the cities in the mCanest shape: and as
to gossip, its heaven is n country VII
lage. Everybody knows everybody's
business better than he knows il him
self. The grocery store or the black
smith shop by day and night is the
grand depot for masculine title tattle,
and there are always in the village 4
half dozen women who have their sun
bonnets hanging near. so that at the
first item of derogatory news they can
fly out and cackle il all over the town.
Countrymen must not be too hard in
their criticism of the citizen. nor must
the pillow run too sharply against the
yardstick.
Cain was the founder of the first
city, and 1 suppose it took after him
In morals. 1t takes n 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 of
those founders. 1t will take centuries
for New York TO get over the good
influence Of the pious founders Of that
city-the founders whose prayers went
up in the streets where now banks dis
count. and brokers bargain. and COM
panies declare dividends, and Snug
glers swear custom house lies. and
above the roar of the wheels and the
crack of the auctioueer's mallet as
cends the Inscription. I'VE worship thee.
o thou almighty dollarr'
Not Necessarily Had.
Cities are not evil necessarily, as
some have argued. They have been
the birthplace OF civilization. In them
popular liberty 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 I'm Europe were TO be
occupied by Asiatics: the cities ia Asia
were 10 be occupied. according TO his
plans. by Europeans. and so there
should be commlngling and a fra
ternity and Kindness and good will
between the continents and between
the cities SO there always ought TO
be. The strangest thing in my COM
prehension is that there should be
chickering's aud rivnlrics among our
American cities. New York must stop
caricaturing Philadelphia, and Phila-
delpha must stop picking at New
York. and certainly the contincntNis
large enough for 81. Paul and Miuncap-
oils. What is good for one city is good
for all the cities. Here is the great
highway of our national prosperity.
On that highway OF national prosperity
walk the cities.
A city with large forehead and great
brain-that Is Boston: city with de-
liberate step and calm manner-that
is Philadelphia: n city with its pocket
full OF change-that is New York: two
cities going with n rush that astounds
the continent-they are 81. Louis and
Chicago; a city that takes its wife and
children along with it-that is Brook
lyn. Cincinnati, Louisville. Pittsburg.
all the cities Of the north. and all the F.
cities OF the south, some distinguished
for one thing. some for another. one
for professional ability. another for !
afiluence, another for fashion. but not !
one TO be spared. What advantages |
one advantages ALL What damages |
Boston Common damages Washington
square. Laurel Hin. Mount Auburn.
Greenwood. weep over the same grief. |
The statue OF Benjamin Franklin in |
New York greeting the bronze statue |
OF Edward Everett in Boston. All the |
cities a cOnfraternity. | cannot under |
stand how there should so on bicker- |
lngs and rivOlrieS. plead for high |
er style Of brotherhood or sisterhood |
among the cities
scenes OF Toll
But while there are great differences
in some respects. have 10 tell you
that all cities Impress upon me- and |
ought 10 Impress upon you, three or |
four very important lessons. all of !
them agreeing in the same thing. 1t
does not make any difference In what |
part of the country we walk the streets |
OF great city, there is one lesson | |
think which ought 10 strike every ill., |
teiligent Christian man, and that is,
that the world is a scene OF toll and |
struggle. Here and there you find a |
man In the street VINO has his arms |
folded and who seems TO have no par |
ticular errand: hut if you will stand
at the corner OF the street and watch |
the eouutenances of those who go by. |
you will see in most Instances there is |
an intimation that they are on an en-
rand which must be executed at the
earliest moment possible; so you are
1ostied hither and thither by business
men, up this ladder with u he'd OF
bricks, out of this bank with a roll of
bills, digging cellar. shingling a roof.
binding a book, mending n watch
Work, with its thousand eyes and
thousand feet and thousand arms, goes
on singing IFS SonO