Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-06-12


greatest cataracts and the longest rivers.
sad. OF course, we had 10 have the larg-
est swindle. One. would have thought
that the nation had seen enough in that
direction during the nIorus muitieaulis
excitement, when almost every man had
bunch Of crawling ,silkworms in his
house, out OF which he expected to make
fortune. Bur all this excitement was
as nothing compared with what took
place in 1864 when man mar Ttusville.
Pa digging for a well struck Oil Twelve
hundred oil companies call for bill
ion of stock, l'romipent members of
churches, as soon as a certain amount OF
stock was assigned them, SAN. it was
their privilege 70 become presidents or
secretaries Or members OF the board Of
direction. Sgnle of these companies new
er had foet Of ground. never expected
to have. Their entire equipment was a
map of region where oil might be and
two yials of grease, crude and clarified.
People rushed down from all parts of the
country by the first train, and put their
hard earnings in the gulf. A young man
came down from the oil region Of Penn
sylyania utterly demented, having sold
his farm AT fabulous price because it
was supposed there miSh, be oil there
coming to hotel in Philadelphia at the
time | was living there, throwing down
$1,000 check to pay for his MONDAY
meal and saying he did not care any
thing about the cha a, Then he step
ped back TO the gas burner to light his
cigar with a 1000 note Utterly insane
The good Christian people said, This
4. L 4 l.r
So-and-so is president of it. and Elder
So-and-so is secretary of it. and then
there are three or four highly respected
processing Christians in the board of di-
rectors." They lid not know that when
a profound Gin stian goes into stock
gambling he lies like sin But alas for
the country. 1t became tragedy, and a
thousand million dollars were swamped.
There are families to-day sitting in the
shadow of restitution who but for that
great national outrage would have had
their cottages and their homesteads.
hold up before the young men these four
great stock gambling schemes that they
may see to what length men will go smit-
ten to this passion, and | want to show
them how all the best interests of society
are against it, and God is against it and
will condemn it for time and condemn ii
for eternity. | do not dwell upon the
frenzied speculationa in Wall street last
month. You all havs enough remem-
brance of that financial horror | only
want you TO know that it was in a process
sion of monetary frenzies. some of which
have passed and others are to come.
Prayer for Success.
0 men of Wall street and of all
streets, stand back from nefarious enter
prises, join that great company of Chris
tian men who are maintaining their integ
rity, notwithstanding all the pressure of
temptation. In the morning, when you
open business in the brokers' office or in
the banking house, ask Gods blessing,
and when you close it pronounce a bene-
diction upon it, A kind of business that
men cannt engage in without prayer is
no business for you | pray upon you
Gods projecting and prospecting blessing.
| hope you may all make fortunes for
time and fortunes for eternity.
Some day when you come out of your
place of business and you go to the
clearing house or the place of custom or
the bank or your own home-as you come
out of your place of business just look up
at the clock in the tower and see by the
movement of the hands how your life is
rapidly going away and be reminded Of
the fact that before Gods throne of in
exorable judgment you must yet give ac-
count for what you have done since the
day you sold the first yard of cloth or the
first pound Of sugar. / pray for you all
prosperity. Stand close by Christ, and
Christ will stand close by you. The
greater the temptation the more magnifi-
cent the reward. But. alas, for the stock
gambler-what will hessdo in he judg-
mem That day viii settle ae'erything.
That to the stock gambler will be a
.'breakH at the first call" No SNUG
Cling into heaven. No ''collaterals'' on
which to trade your way in. Go in
through Christ the Lord or Won will for
ever stay ont God forbid that after
you have done your last days work ON
earth and the hushed assembly stands
around with bowed heads st your obse-
duies-God Forbid that the most appro-
pirate text for your funeral Grafton
should be- "As n partridge stitch on
eggs and hatcheth them not, so he that
getteth riches, and not by right. shall
leave them in the midst of his days, and
at the end he shall he fool" or that
the most appropriate funeral psalm
should be the words of the poet:
Price of many crime untold
Gold, gold, GOLD geld.