The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-09-07

children Is a mere insincere profession of the lips and not of the heart. "Set thine house in order.'
 But" hear some one saying the temporal aspects of this text do not af- feet me at all. I do not have to get my life insured. I am not poor. I am one of the wealthiest merchants of this city. am building up a fortune, which Is growing larger every day. If my wife or children wish to buy anything, all that they have to do is to go down to the city stores and charge the same to me. pay for all their luxuries without a murmur Besides that, have made a last will and testament and left them everything" Yes; your statement may be all true. But. my successful merchant friend have yuo literally set your temporal house in order? Have you taken your wife into your business confidence so that she knows your plans and ideas? Have you ever made her your business confidant so that she would be able to take care of the money and the business after you are dead2 Have you taught her the differ ence between the stability of govern ment bond and Wall street speculation in stocks? Have you ever taught her the necessity of taking a receipt? Why the wife and the mother of your children may be az helpless as a little child in reference to business matters after you are dead. She must be so helpless that the executors could swindle her out of her money as easily as you could cheat in business 5-year-old lad. Leave your wife sense as well as cents leave her brains as well as bonds. Set thine house In order"
 Make Wise Provision.
 One of the. dearest friends of our fam fly some years ago was left a widow with S300,0o0. Her executor persuaded her to invest the same in railroad stocks so that she emight have a million dollars. She went into Wall street and speculated. To- day she Is absolutely penniless Make no such mistake in reference to your wife as that husband made in reference to his wife, who was our family friend. The old proverb trenchantly teaches that any fool can make money but it takes very wise man to keep it." When you set your temporal house in order. see that your loved ones will be able to care for the money which you will bequeath them. See that the money which you will leave will not be able to slip through their fingers as water can run through a sieve.
 But my text has a wider scope than
 mere fixing up of the temporal house. In anticipating his earthly demise a com mon sense man should set his spiritual as well as his temporal house in order He should prepare for his own eternal journey over the river of death, besides looking after the temporal interests of the members of the household he is going to leave behind. Unless man has taken long journey away from home a jour- ney which runs up into the months and perhaps into the years, he can have no conception of the immense amount of preparation necessary. In the first place. he must get his letter of credit drawn up and signed. It would be practically inn possible to start on Journey around the world, as did some years ago. and carry enough gold and silver with you to pay all your necessary expenses. Why, the gold and silver would be as heavy as a satchelful of lead Besides the C:old and silver that are stamped in the American mint would not be acceptable in foreign lands Every country has Its own sys- tenn of national currency. Further if a traveller should be weighed down with a satchelful of coin he would in all proba- bility be waylaid by some thief and mur- Qerer and slain for his gold. 30 it. .is the custom of the traveller about to start on a long Journey to buy a letter of credit He pays to the cashier of any one of our great American banking houses, like Brown Bros. or J. P. Morgan & Co., certain amount of money. That bank gives him letter of credit, and he can get the money noted in the letter of credit cashed by the agents of that bank in almost every city of the world. If you are going into any dangerous region it is also very important for you to have a