The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-13
VALUE OF MORAL CAPITAL.
DR.. Pullman Speaks mt the Church
of Our Enfher.

| DR.. Pullman Speaks mt the Church
| of Our Father.
| Tho Rev. DR.. James NJ. Pullman, pastor
| of the First UniversaIist Church of Lynn,
| Mass. who is in Washington attending
| the Charities ard Corrections Convention
| occupied the pulpit at the Church of Our
| Father yesterday morning He is a broth
| er of the late George NJ Pullman, the
sleeping-car magnate. Announcement
| was made that the physical condition of
the Rev. John Van Schaick, jr. pastor of
| the church. was such that his physician
| had forbidden his leaving the house
| DR. Pullman announced as his subject
THE Moral Capital of the World" and
drew his text from Mark, kills.; What
| shall it profit a man If he gain the whole
world and lose his own soul" 1--WE
come into this life out of darkness" he
began, I'VE play our little parts and We
| pass out again into the darkness. Our
welfare here depends upon our obedience
| to certain laws. The enterprises of the
world are carried on upon three kinds of
capital; material capital intellectual cap
| ital, and moral capital.
Moral capital is the result of the ac-
cnmulation and transmission of the ex-
| perience of mankind in the moods of pro-
| gress. 1t is such capital of which men
and women are built. This capital is the
| result of the requirement of correct
| habits. 1t is amassed by that eff
| fort which has been the chief business
| of man on this globe, after providing for
| his immediate wants-social desire. 1t is
the chief product of mans activity. Moral
| capital is invested first I'm external insti-
| tutions, and secondly In internal structure
| 1t is laid UP in laws, customs, manners.
| and habits. The habit of respecting law is
| moral capital. Inc great race catastrophe
| was founded on series of facts. Since then
the first attempts at progress were fail
ures owing TO the lack of moral capital.
| Ancient nations had no such capital, no
habits of foresight and of self-control.
| Earth was .tlisd with violence
THE greatest difference between the
| savage and the civilized man is the ability
| of the latter to look ahead, first for that
| which Is natural, and then for that which
| is spiritual. Originally all the forces of ma
| ture controlled man, but with the accumu-
| lation of moral capital the perponderance
| of brutism has given way to prepond-
erance of humanism.
''An material wealth springs from the
power to multiply. Moral wealth is ac
quired by the power of reflex action pos
| sessed by the nerves. First, the exertion
| of the will is necessary for progressive
| thought or action, but eventually it be-
| comes a matter of habit. This habit is
| moral capital, and is a legacy to be trans
mitted to our descendants.
The power of habit is exenplified in
| the development of the soldier. The re-
cruit finds difficulty in executing the sim
pliest drill, but after constant practice
| he executes the order given without
thought and almost involuntarily. L have
been told of the old soldier, who had
not been in the ranks for years, but, who,
| on being .saluted by a former officer, with
the command, Attention" dropped into
| the gutter the packages which he was
carrying and~inStinctVely oOeyed the or
der.
'.The progress of mankind is evidenced
| in the improved moral structure of the
modern man, and on its right develop
ment depends the future of our descend
ants II you were to go upon the roof
| of the New York Stock Exchange, you
would find countless wires radiatlng IN
every direction, the nerve centres OF mod
ern life This pleXuS of iron nerves is all
| the development of the past fifteen years.
and has been demanded by mans pro-
gress 1t is the outward and visible evil
dence of the difference between the an
| cient and the modern man. Each genera
| tion becomes more sensitive and this
| sensitiveness is cnly preliminary to future
great knowledge.
| The existence of God was formerly
matter of faith; 1t is now a matter of
knowledge Only about one-fifth of the
human race is in the line OF progress.
| The highest and most progressive teach
ers have been objects of persecution, as
| is evidenced in the CrosS or Calvary. The
| church of the Middle Ages killed off and
| eailed the best thought OF the time and
| encouraged celibacy, thus making the
| brute element the parents of the time.
| The high development of the nervous sys-
1 ley TO he 90
| length of life has nearly doubled in the
past 200 years. Life has also been in
| tensified to a greater variety of sensa-
| tions in one year than were formerly eX
perienced in a lifetime. The brain and
spinal cord are finer and more delicate.
"The modern man is the real Methu-
selah. He can live thousand years In a
thousand hours. You have often heard of
| the contagior of example. 1t is more prop
| erly called moral induction. Induction is
| greater than heredity; 1t is often strong
Religion is based upon moral induction,
| and the strong are responsible for their
| influence upon the weak If you are not
well born you can be born again. as re-
generation is a possibility. 1t is the pro
cess of education and inspiration.
Upon visiting pump house which
supplied the waterworks of n city in New
York State, the first thing that attracted
INV attention was big dial, around
which a large hand revolVed. As | asked
what it was / heard the fire bells ring
hand on the dial revolved until IL reached
nearly zero. The moment it began to
move the stokers jumped to their feet,
| closed The furnace doors. and stirred the
dres. The big engines began to pump
and throb until the necessary water was
forced into the mains and the dial again
showed that the supply was sufficient. |
asked the engineer how sensitive the in
dIcator was. He replied that he believed
that every time anyone opened a spigot
| i'm The CITY to wash his hands IL was
shown on the indicator.
.iDo you believe that this mere mechan-
| lam Is more sensitive than the ties that
| hind ms 10 God? As the little child kneels
| nj its mothers knee and offers up its
evening prayer, so certainly Will the AL
ngfrhty's means of conveying knowledge
| he eo1al TO the demand which is made
upon it. This planet of ours is but
| suburb of the-great city of God, and each
year through death. we export thirty
| three millions of minds to that city. In
ai,sentjng ourselves from church We cut
| OF the cords of induction from higher
orga nism and e+entually we are sent
| hack to the melting not to be nodded
| over. With the strength of moral capital
| to support us the man Will do what is
] right whether he feels like 1t or not"