Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1902-05-09


By Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. D D..
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presb.c-
terrain Church, Chicago
Chicago, May AIN this sermon,
preached by the Rev. Frank De Witt
Talmage in jefferson Park Presbyte-
rian church. the supreme folly of bar
tering away ones eternal welfare in
exchange for wealth, ambition and
pleasure OF whatever else the world
can give is convincingly shown. The
text is Mark viii, 3G, what shall it
profit a man if he shall gain the whole
world and lose his own soulY
a most magnificenttext especially easy
of Interpretation ut the present time.
This is prominently commercial age.
Everywhere man is struggling after the
mighty dollar. Capital strives to beat
down every obstacle, that its rivers Of
gold may grow into oceans. Prove to
a man who has money that by a GER
tain investment he can make more
money. and there is no trouble to per
suade him to invest. Why does a real
estate speculator buy land? To make
money. When examining a piece Of
property, he says to himself: "If buy,
shall / be able to sell at an advanced
price? Is this suburban region going to
be built up? viii the electric cars come
out here? Shall the future residents
have easy access to the city? Shall
be able TO make enough out Of my bar
gain to warrant the output Of cutting
this farm up into streets and building
lots-enough to pay my taxes in the
meantime?" The merchantman's chief
thought is to decrease his expenses and
thereby increase his profits. To have
the maximum Of returns for the ini-
mum Of output he sends his buyers to
Europe. There they can buy the cheap
est He has wires strung round the
store so he can dispense with his cash
girls. He pays promptly for his goods
to avail himself Of the discount. To
WOO more trade he has his deliy cry
wagons stationed in the neighbol ing
towns. His customers are thus ac-
commodated. They do not have to
carry their bundles home.
To increase the profits and deere use
expenses the large corporations are be-
ing formed. There are the steel trust,
the oil trust, the tin can trust, the sug-
ar trust, the tobacco trust. the coal
trust. the -four trust. the meat trust.
a trust is primarily formed to regulate
the selling prices; but. secondarily, a
trust is formed to lessen the cost of
production.
A Community of Interests.
Thirty or forty men in the same line
Of business come together. They say
to each other: "What is the good Of
trying to financially cut each others
throats? Why not have a community
Of interests? Instead Of having many
different offices we can have one big
central Office Instead Of having thirty
or forty different presidents and secre
taries and treasurers and cashiers anC
superintendent and general managers
we can have each department under 9
single head. If we are in the bricl
business. we can have the brickyar(
which is nearest to the site of the pro
posed building make the bricks lC
thus save expense of carriage" Th,
tie which binds the leaders of a grea
corporation is not one of sentiment
but one Of profit Christ, in NJ!
text, talks to his auditors as though
they were a collection Of business men
He practically says: Before you settlI
the question of your eternal destiny
want you TO enter into some gOsIe
mathematics l want you to put dow
upon a piece of paper all the riches ,
the world. Place there the value of tn
gold of countless mines and Of the cat
tie on a thousand hills. Place tho
the value Of the palaces of kins;
and queens. The value of the greil
r commercial interests Of the world. Phi
. all these values down. Add the figure
). up. Then from that aggregation d
t numbers subtract the value of you
:. immortal soul and behold what yc
have left"
Mathematics cannot lie Two an
two always make four Ten times te
: make 100 Twelve divided by foJ
always gives three. Five from fiy
leaves nothing. Come, let us try
solve the greatest of all problem
/. "What shall it profit a man if he sha
- gain the whole world and lose his Ow
soulT'
}. 10 ,,.i,o soI,.os 4t,i, ,ros,,oI ,,roI,Io,
must realize that he can only get
life interest in the world and not
title deed in perpetuity. Every won
be purchaser of a home is very caref
about the title deed When a man
@ about to buy a house. he has his Ov
= lawyer 30 to the county building al
> look up the records. The attorn,
H. traces the history of that land fro
9 owner back to owner until he com
or to the original settler who bought
~ land from the government or the
al dams If there is any flaw in al
deed. the would be buyer refuses
purchase He says to himself: 81 a
= afraid that | might be involved in
ture litigations. My children may la
this property taken from them after
am dead. will not buy The ii
v is not perfect" Within a short d
lance of my old Brooklyn home tn,
was tract of land which was call
JacksOn's hollow. 1t was in the We
center of the city Well paved sire
ran through it. The drainage PHI
eI were all there. The city grew.
nv houses were built up for miles &
I'm miles beyond this location Jackso
stc hollow was uninhabited for fifty yes
lies except by a few poor families. Y
~, had erected shnnties. These poor IA
in lilies were squatters. We boys wo
igs play bail in those vacant lots. ia
sons hollow, in its status. existed
I faT cause there was flaw in the title
lilS the land. No man would build theI
mi house until he was positive about
IN ownership. A few years ago the {
zr courts rendered favorable deci.
concerning the title deeds. Then
masons and the carpenters came
AT swarnls. Jackson's hollow disappeG
M forever from public view.
Life Interest In the World
But" says some one, ito posses
life interest in the world means a
II great deal Think of owning all
LIZ money stored away in the vault.
-. the United States treasury! Thin
DOSSpsSing the rOval Jewels of Emo