Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-01-04
LIFE OF USEFULNESS.
DR.. Talmage Points the Way to It
in a Sermon.
The Power OF One Word-Destiny May
BE Changed by a Fifty Spoken
Sentence Sympathy for
the Troubled.

Sentence Sympathy for
the Troubled
copyright, 1900. by Louis Klopsch. N. "
Washington. Dec. 80.
In this discourse DIR. Talmage shows
an open door for anyone who desires to
be useful, and illustrates how little
thing may decide ones destiny. The
text is Proverbs 25:11 (revised YER
sion): "a word fifty spoken is like ap-
pies of gold in baskets of silver"
A filigree basket loaded with fruit is
put before us in the text. What is ordi-
narily translated pictures" ought to
be baskets" Here is silver network
basket containing ripe and golden APP
pies, pippins or rennets. You know how
such apples glow through the openings
of a basket of silver network. You
have seen such basket of fruit on many
a table, It whets the appetite as well
as regales the vision. Solomon was evil
IDENTIFY fond of apples. because he so
often speaks of them. While he writes
in glowing terms of pomgranates and
figs and grapes and mandrakes, he
seems to find solace as well as luscious
ness in apples, calling out for supply
of them when he says in another place:
Comfort me with apples" Now you
see the meaning of my text, "a word
fifty spoken is like apples of gold in
baskets of silver"
You see the wise man eulogizes just
one word. Plenty of recognition has
there been for great orations. Cicero's
arraignment of Catalina, the philippics
of Demosthenes, the five days argu-
ment of Edmund Burke against War
rem Hastings, Edward Irving's dis
courses on the Bible, and libraries full
of prolonged utterance, but my text
controls the power of one word when it
refers to ga word fifty spoken"
This may mean single word or a
small collection of words-something
you can utter in one breath, something
that you can compact into one sentence.
"a word fifty spoken"-an encourag-
ing word, kind word, timely word,
a sympathetic word, an appropriate
word. I can pass right down the aisle
of any church and find between pulpit
and front door men whose temporal and
eternal destinies have been decided by
a word.
I tell you what is a great crisis in
when he is entering an occupation or
profession. He is opposed by men in
middle life. because they do not want
any more rivals, and by some of the
aged, because they fear being crowded
off and their places being taken by
younger men. Hear the often severe
and unfair examin tions of young law
yers by old lawyers, of young doctors
nf Sf nv
old ministers. Hear some of the old
merchants talk about the young mer-
chants. Trowels and hammers and
scales often are jealous of new trowels
and new hammers and new scales.
Then it is so difficult to get introduced
How long time has many a physician
had his sign out before he had got a
call for his services, and the attorney
before he got a case? Who wants to
risk the life of his family to young
physician who got his diploma only
last spring, and who may not know
measles from scarletina, or to risk the
obtaining of a verdict for 0,C0O to an
attorney who only three years ago read
the first page of Blackstone?
How is the young merchant to COM
pete with his next door bargain
maker, who can afford to underse,l
some things because he can more
than make it up by the profit on other
things, or has failed three times and
had more money after each failure?
How is that mechanic to make liveli-
hood when there are twice as many
men in that trade as can in hard times
find occupation? There are this very
moment thousands of men who are
just starting life for themselves, and
they need encouragement. Not long
harangue, not quotation from pro-
found book. not page, not a para
graph, but a word, one word fifty
spoken.
Why does not that old merchant,
who has been 40 years in business, go
into that young merchants store and
say: "Courage!" He needs only that
one word, although, of course. you will
illustrate it by telling your own ex-
perience, and how long you waited
for customers, and how the first two
years you lost money, and how the
next year, though you did better,
Illness in your household swamped the
surplus with doctors bills. Why does
not that old lawyer go into that
young lawyers office just after he has
broken down in making his first plea
before jury and say that word with
only two sy1lables: "Courage!" He
needs only that one word, although,
of course, you will illustrate it by
telling him how you broke down in
one of your first cases and got laughed
at by court and bar and jury, and how
Disraeli broke down at the start. and
how hundreds of the most successful
lawyers at the start broke down.
Why do not the successful men 90
right away and tell those who are