The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1900-09-20
CITY AND COUNTRY.
Dr.. Talmage Talks of the Good
Done by the Former.
NE Says II In the Birthplace of Civil.
EatiOn and Not Necessarily
Evil-S0me Advice to
the Young.

GAttOn ana NOT Necessaflly
Evil-Some Advice to
the Young.
copyright. 1900. by Louis Klopsch.l
Washington.
From St. Petersburg, the Russian
capital, where he was cordially re-
ceived by the emperor and empress
and the empress dowager, DIR. Tai
mage sends this discourse, in which he
shows the mighty good that may be
done by the cities, and also the vast
evil they may do by their allurements
to the unsuspecting and the unguard-
ed. The text is Zechariah 1:17: 'My
cities through prosperity 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 ru-
raj districts because there are more
to be bad if they wish to be. The
merchant is as good as the farmer.
There is no more cheating in town
than out of town-no worse cheating;
it is only on larger scale. The coun-
the age of the horse that he sells,
about the size of the bushel with
which he measures the grain, about
the peaches at the bottom of the
basket as being as large as those at
the top, about quarter of beef as
being tender when it is tough, and to
as bad an extent as the citizen, the
merchant prevaricates about calicoes
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 meanest shape, and
as to gossip it's heaven is country
village. Everybody knows everybody's
business better than he knows it him
self. The grocery store or the black
smith shop in day and night is the
grand depot for masculine little tat
tie, and there are always in the vii
lage a half dozen women who have
their sunbonnets hanging near, so
that at the first item of derogatory
news they can fly out and cackle it 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 I suppose it took after him
in morals. It takes city a long
time to escape from the character of a
founder. Where the founders of q
city are criminal exiles, the filth, the
vice, the prisons, are the shadow of
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 discount and brokers bargain
and companies declare dividends and
smugglers swear custom house lies,
and above the roar of the wheels and
the crack of the auctioneer's mallet
ascends the ascription: "We worship
thee, o almighty dollar!" The old
church that used to stand on Wall
street is to this day throwing its
blessing on the scene Of traffic and on
all the ships folding their white wings
in the harbor. In other days people
gatheredin cities for defense-none but
the poor, who had nothing to be
stolen, lived in the country, but in
these times, when through civilization
and Christianity it is safe to live any
where, people gather in the cities fol
purposes of rapid gain.
Cities are not evil necessarily, al
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 ex
tensive plans of cities. some to be
built. in Europe, some to be built IL
Asia. The cities inEurope were to b,
occupied by Asiatics; the cites in Asia
were to be occupied, according to hi
plans, by Europeans, and 80 ther,
| should be commingling and q fra
ternity and q kindness and q goot
will between the continents and be
tween the cities. So there alway,
ought to be. The strangest thing i,
my comprehension is that ther'
should be chickering's and rivalrie
among our American cities. New Yorl
must stop caricaturing Philadelphia
and Philadelphia must stop picking a
New York, and certainly the cont
nent is large enough for st. Paul an,
Minneapolis. What is good for on
city is good for all the cities. Her
is the great highway OF our nationa
prosperity. On that highway Of ns
tional prosperity walk the cities.
| A city with large forehead an
great brain-that II Boston; . cit
with deliberate step and calm manne
| that is Philadelphia; city with II
pocket full Of changs-that is Ne,
York; two cities going with rus
that astounds the continent-they Al
| st. Louis and Chicago; city tbs
| takes its wife and children along wit
it-that IL Brooklyn. Cincinnati
Louisville, Pittsburgh, all the citis