The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-04-06
EASTERN oFFTcFs
The WOES OF TIE INNOCENT.

iH- tNWNSEN IL
And the king waa much moved, and
went up to the chamber over the gate,
and Weiit' and a. he went thus he said
y faF son Absaloml My son nv son Alb
SALON. Would God I had died FOR thee
Absalom. my son, my sou,
DAVID. MOURNING in the chamber
\ over the gate. is king no longer
The fruits of victory are as ashes In
his mouth. He a. only a father. weep
ing for the death of MS misguided boy.
hbsaIom is as contemplate a little
scoundrel as any youth Of whom the
Bible tells. Contentious. quarrelsome,
enyious. he has conspired to seize his
fathers throne and has gathered about
him an army Of seditious rebels TO aid
in accomplishing his purpose A seep-
ire hangs on the issue Of the battle.
and David is waiting for news between
two gates Of the city.
In the distance q runner is approach
ing. Nearer and nearer he comes, and
a last he throws himself exhausted at
the feet Of David. He IS fresh from the
scene Of battle. but David doesn't ask
who won the field. All, no; the faith
e@'s heart frames the question which
the fathers lips utter: rs the young
man Absalom safe2" The messenger
las not seen Ahsalom, and David i'm
patiently tells him to turn aside. And
st last comes CushL Again the ques-
lion is asked and David hears the an
s--e7- he sc much dreaded: The enc
mics oi my lord the king, and all that
rise against thee TO do thee hurt, be
as mat young man is"
Not long a.5o young man for whom
she future seemed TO hold nothing but
good was called into eternity. Poor
bow" said his friends, and they sin
eerely meant it. Yet the boy needed
no sympathy. He was past all that,
safe from the worlds praise or the
worlds blame. Il was the mother and
the father who needed the sympathy
Tor theirs VAS the burden. Theirs were
me days and nights of heartbreak,
theirs the ever present burden of woe.
4 man goes reeling along the streets. /
ChAdren laugh at him. women shrink /
from him, dogs bark at him. Poor !
fellow" say his friends. HE has no
eaemy but himself" And so that beast !
sets all the sympathy, so he is at least !
gaeltly encouraged in his debauchery. I
At home he has a wife and children. |
There is ne food in the pantry, no coal /
Il ihe shed, but the father has con-
trived 60 ill his stomach with whisky, |
PITY the mother, pity the children, but /
in TIE name OF God. waste none on the /
bes0tted wretch who causes their mis-
cry.
What a tragedy it is that the limo
cent must always suffer with the
guilty Does it not seem as II some
thing must be wrong in the great ma
chinery = the universe2 A crime is
eemmitt-d; hands are stained with hu-
man blood or soiled with money dis
honestly acquired. The gaIlows or the
prison obliterates the memory Of the
oSerder from the minds of men. but
what Of his family? What of the chill
dren who are tainted with the fact
that their father died a feIon. or oc-
copies a felon's cell? What of the wife
and the mother. deserted, scorGed, de-
sRised, though God knows she is as
clean and pure as the angels?
No man has the right to say. Il am
responsible for my actions only to my
self" He may be absolutely alone in
the world Mother, father, relatives.
near friends, may all nave crossed the
dark river. and stin he has no right 10
say what SO many have said. His ex-
ample may be an inspiration to crime
hi others his influence. unrecognized
1y himself. may cause the downfall Of
someone who is pure. In that sense
be is his brothers keeper; in that
sense every man is his brothers
keeper
Ia the Clyde Felt case is presented a
typical example Of the sufferings Of
he innocent. He wasn't a bad boy, as
boys 60. but ne cast his lines among +
svI acquaintances and today his young !
lie IS ruined. But far worse than that
s the pan which his deed has brought
mon his family The boys father and
mother would have counted themselves
bereaved if, a few weeks
.go they had followed his body to the
irsve, Today they would feel that a
priceless boon had been conferred had :
&c been gathered, in boyish innocence.
q his Maker. To their graves they viii
AIRY, not a scar, but a naked wound.
All over the world. in every tongue
nd diafar- p. words that vary b,1f
Eat mean the same thing, each day
De cry goes up; "Oh. Absalom. my
on my SON" Win the sons. the hus-
ands, the fathers. the brothers, never
emember the memorable law. the law
het says the innocent and the guilty
aus suffer together