Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-07-18

| for which there is no reasonable cxpccta-
ton they will ever he able to pny Now,
if YOU have become Obvious of honesty
and mean to dcfraud, why not save the
| merchant as much as you CAM Why not
go some day to his store and when no.
body is looking just shoulder the ham or
the sparcrib and in modest silence steal
away? That would be less criminal, be-
cause in the other way you take not only
| the mans goods. but you take the time OF
the merchant and the time Of his account
ant, and you take the time of the lues-
sengcr who brought you the goods Now,
if you must steal. steal in why TO do rs
little damage to the trader as possible.
John Randolph arose in the American
senate when II question Of national
finance was being discussed. and stretch
ing himself to his full height. in a shrill
voice he cried out, "NTr. Chairman, |
have discovered the philosophers stone,
which turns everything into eod-pay
as you go,' Society has got 10 hr recon
structcd on this subject or the seasons Of
dcfalcation will continue to repeat them
selves You have no right to ride in n
carriage for which you are hopc.essly in
debt To- the whcolwright who furnished
the landau. and to the horse dealer who
provided the blooded span, and to the
harness maker who capariSoncd the gay
stccds, aud TO the livcrymIu who has
provided the >tahlng, and 10 the driver
who, with rosctted hat, sits on the coach
box.
oh, ! am so glad it is not the absolute
necessities of life which send people out
into dishonostcs and ding them into mis-
fortunes. 1t is almost always the supertlui-
ties. God has promised us house, but
not a palace; raIncnt, hut not chinChilla;
food. but not canvashacl duck. I am yet
TO see one Of these great dcfa cations
which is not connected in some WY with
extravaganza.
EXtrayagance accounts for the dis
turhancc Of national finances. lggrcca-
tiouS are made mp Of units, and " hen one
half Of the people of this country owe the
other half how can we expect financial
prosperity? Again and again at the ma
tional election we have had spasm Of
virtue. aud we said. "Out with one ad-
miniStration and in with another and let
us have new deal Of things and then we
will get all over our perturbation" | do
not care who is president or who is sec
rotary Of the treasury or how much
hreadstuffs go out OF the country or how
much gold is imported until we learn to
pay our debts and it becomes a general
theory in this country that men must buy
no more than tboy can pay for. Until
that time comes there will be no per-
manent prosperity. Look at the PERM
cious extravaganza Take the one fact
that New York every year pays $1,000
900 for thcatrical amusemcnts. While
once in awhile a Henry Irving or an Ed
win Booth or a Joseph jefferson thrills
a !, !.
az well as | do that the vast majority of
the theaters are as dehaScd as debascd
they can be, as unclean as unclean they
cnn be and as damnable as damnuble
they can be. Three million dollars, the
vast majority of those dollars going in
the wrong direction.
Harmful and Unnecessary Expcnse,
Over a hundred millions paid in this
country for cigars and tobacco year.
About 2,0000pO, 600 paid for strong
drink in one year in this country. With
such extravaganza, peruicious extrava-
gance, can there be any permanent pros
perity? Business men, cool headed bust
ness men, is such q thing a possibility?
These eXtravagances also account, as |
have already limited, for the positive
crimes, the forgeries, the abScondugs of
the business street swamped by the resi-
donce on the fashionable avenue Tie
fathers. the husbands craft cupsizcd by
carrying too much domestic sail. That
is what springs the lcak in the merchants
money till. That is what cracks the pis-
tolls of the suicides. That is what tears
down the banks. That is what stops in
surance companies. That is what halts
this nation again and again in its tri-
umphal march NJ prosperity. In the pres
cnco Of the American people so far as
can get their attention want TO arraign
this monster curse Of extravaganza, and
want you to prlt il with your scorn and
hurl at it your anathema.
How many fortunes every year wreck
ed on the wardrobe. Things have got to
such a pass that when we cry over orr
sins in church we wipe the tears away
with $50 pocket handkerchief | show
you a domestic tragedy in five acts:
Act the frst-A home, plain and beauti
ful. Enter newly married pair, Enter
contcntmrnt Enter as much happiness
as ever gets in one home.
Act the Secoud-Enter discomfort. En-
ter desire for larger expenditure. Enter
envy. Enter jealousy.
Act the third Enter the qucenly dress
makers. Enter the French millners. En-
ter all costly plate and all great extrava-
gaucoS.
Act the fourth-'Tiptop of society
Princes and princesses of upper tendon
floating in and out. Everything on a
large ana magnificent scale. Enter con-
tempt for other people.
Act the fifth and last-Euter the as
signee Enter the sheriff. Enter the
creditors, Enter humiliation. Enter the
wrath Of God. Enter the contempt of So
ciety. Enter ruin and death. Now drop
the curtain. The play is ended, aud the
lights are out.
! called it tragedy. That is a mis-
homer. II is farce
extravaganza counts for much of the
pauperism. Who are these people whom
you have to help? Many Of them are the
children of parents who had plenty, lived
in luxury, had more than they needed,
spent all they had, spent MORE too; then
died and lett their families in poverty.
Some Of those who call on you now for
aid had all ancestry that supped on bur
Rundy and woodcock. | could name a
score Of men who have every luxury.
They smoke the best cigars, and they
drink the finest wines, aud they have the
grandest surroundings, and when they
die their families will 20 on the cold char
ity Of the world Now, the death Of such
a man is q grand larceny. He swindcs
the world as he goes into his coffin and
he deserves to have his bones sold to the