Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-05-05
TALMAGE
SERMON
By Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,.
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church, Chicago


tering away ones eternal welfare in
exchange for wealth, ambition and
pleasure or whatever else the world
can give is eonvincingly shown. The
text IS Mark viii, &c, what shall it
profit q man il he shall gain the whole
world and lose his own soul?'
Almost magnificent text. especially easy
OF Interpretation at the present time.
This is pre-eminently 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: eff buy,
shall be able to sell at an advanced
prieeT Is this suburban region going to
be built upp VIII the electric cars come
out herep Shall the future residents
have easy access to the city? Shall l
be able to make enough out of my bar
gain to warrant the output of cutting
this farm up into streets and building
tl0ts-enough to pay my taxes in the
meantimeg The merchantman's chief
Thought is to decrease his expenses and
thereby increase his profits. To have
the maximum of returns for the mini
mun 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 delivery
wagons stationed in the neighboring
Downs His customers are thus ac-
conmodated> They do not have to
carry their bundles home.
To increase the profits and decrease
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,
trust is formed to lessen the cost of
production.
Community OF Interests.
Thirty or forty men In the same line
or business come together. They say
Co each other: "What is the good of
trying to financially cut each others
throatsf Why not have a community
Of interestss Instead of having many
different offices we can have one big
central office. Instead of having thirty
OF forty different presidents and secre-
eaYieS and treaSurers and cashiers and
Superintendents and general managers
we can have each department under n
single head If we are in the brick
business. we can have the brickyard
which is nearest to the site of the pro-
posed building make the bricks and
thus save expense OF carriage" The
he which binds the leaders of a great
corporation is not one of sentiment,
but ONE of profit. Christ, in my
eext, talks to his auditors as though
They were collection of business men.
He practically says: "Before you settle
The question of your eternal destiny
want you to enter into some gospel
mathematics. I want you to put down
upon piece of paper all the riches Of
the world, Place there the value of the
gold Of countless mines and of the cat
tie on q thousand hills. Place there
the value OF the, palaces of kings
and queens, The value of the great
commercial interests Of the world. Put
Rli these values down. Add the figures
up. Then from that aggregation of
numbers subtract the value Of your
immortal soul and behold what you
have left"
Mathematics cannot lie. Two and
two always make four. Ten times ten
make 100. Twelve divided by four
always gives three. Five from five
sleaves nothing. Come. let us try to
solve the greatest of all problems
~What shah IL profit a man If he shall
gain the whole world and lose his own
soulf"
He who solves this gospel problem
must realize that he can only get {
life interest in the world and not &
title deed in perpetuity. Every would
be purchaser of home Is very careful
Rbout che title deed. When a man i!
about to buy n house, he has his owl
lawyer go 10 the county building ant
look up the records. The attorne!
traces the history OF that land from
owner back to owner until he comes
to the original settler who bought TIL
land from the government or the In
nianS. II there Is any flaw in an.
deed. the would be buyer refuses t
purchase. He says to himself: II an
afraid that I might be involved in flu
ture htigations, My children may hav
this property taken from them after
am dead ! win not buy. The tit!
ls not perfect" Within a short dis
lance Of my old Brooklyn home Their
was tract of land which was calle
sackson's hollow. 1t was in the YER
center Of the city. Well paved street
ran through H. The drainage pipe
were all there. The city grew TIL