Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-11-03
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,.
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church, Chicago

TaimGge ON the text Nehemiah xiii,
20. $50 the sellers of all kind of ware
lodged without Jerusalem once or
twice"
President Harrison once sent forth a
proclamation which aroused wide
spread interest. In it he announced
that the claims of many Indian tribes
had been bought up by the govern
ment; therefore, by the power which
was vested in him as chief executive
OF the United States, he would on
April %, 1889, open the central portion
OF Oklahoma to the American people.
All the men and women who at that
time entered the new country could
stake themselves out claim or lot
or q farm. On the appointed day
thousands upon thousands of people
assembled upon that borderland. Some
sat upon feet thoroughbreds, ready to
make the race for the choicest lots in
the cities which would within few
days spring up as if by magic and the
streets of which were already laid out.
Some came on foot. These Invested
themselves Of all superfuous clothing,
30 that they could run as swiftly as
possible. When the signal was given
by the pistol held in the cavalryman's
hand, the great multitude broke into
run. The would be settlers rushed
ahead so fast that within u few hours
the whole land was taken possession
OF. and cities like Guthrie began to
TEEN with life. Oklahoma. only ten
years after it was first opened 10 the
white man, had nearly 100000 inhabit-
ants.
But no sooner was Oklahoma settled
and the little country stores set up than
the wholesale merchants of New York
and Philadelphia and Chicago and st.
Louis began to send into this new ter
ritory another great army of invaders
made up Of the representatives of their
different establishments. These mod
ern crusaders have been aptly termed in
the commercial travellers parlance the
"knights of the grip" Instead Of
riding a war charger. like the knights
OF olden time, they rode behind an
iron horse" which Is called locOmo-
live. Instead Of carrying a spear or a
shield, they carried models or pictures,
showing how the steel and iron had
been melted into plows and reapers and
spades and axes and hammers and
saws. Instead Of having mailed armOr,
they had pieces Of cloth. which they
carried as samples of clothing, which
they wanted to sell to the storeEeepers
for the new farmers and their wives
and children. There is not town in
the United States. no matter how small
1t may be or how newly established,
which has escaped the weekly, if not
daily, invasions of the commercial
travellers.
Ancient Commercial Travellers.
In the scene Of my text can be found
almost an exact duplication of the in
vasion Of the newly settled regions OF
Oklahoma by the knights of the grip
No sooner did Nehemiah, the governor
return from his Babylonish exile ant
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem an(
make 1t a safe place in which to live
than the commercial travellers of tina
day began to flock toward the Davidi'
capital to dispose of their goods. Blu
there was one habit about many O
these ancient commercial traveller
which Nehemiah did not like. Some O
them would persist in arriving at tn
city walls on the Sabbath day and try
Ing to turn Gods day of rest into da.
or barter and gain. The governor. IL
order to stop the sin of Sabbath desc
Grafton, ordered that the city gate
should be closed on the night befor
the Sabbath and not be opened agail
until the morning after the Sabbath
no matter how much these ancient com
mercial travellers might want to get Il
and escape the dangers of being mul
dered by the robbers who nightly il
Tested the surrounding hills. Thus w
read the words of my text with
clearer Interpretation, $50 the seller
OF all kind of ware lodged w1thou
Jerusalem once or twice"
AS we walk In and out among tn
eellers of Nehemiah's time, barre
without the city walls. and examin
their piled up bales and hear the mu
tered curses of the men blasphemin
OeChuSe lneI cOulu not enter tue JeT'
salem gates and watch the prepar;
tons they are making to resist the a
tacks OF the robbers | am reminde
or the dangers to which our moder
Knights of the grip are exposed. The,
too, have lurking enemies who wOul
despoil them. and because those en-
miles are more treacherous. more II
eidious and more ruthless than tt
Bedouin hordes who menaced the a.
Client commercial travellers of Neh
miah's time | am anxious to poll
them out and put the imperiled me
IN their guard.
The evil dangers threaten a CONNIE
cial travellers life when he is ava
from home. They try to ambush Il
seller of all kinds of ware when he
on the march; they strike at his hea
In time and in u place when he
apt to think he can sin with impunit
because no one will be the wiser. as