Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-04-11

1 cOunle m good societv who have u certain
! limited incOme. One az twc courses i open
! to them. cithcr to give No all needless e%
| travagance and devote themselves TO huild-
| ing I'D a quiet home ~ ~ give M tnc
| blessings { home life IN hang on To the
! Injuries and measures 81 their SCI. loo OF
| ten. under the spu,. 81 social connection.
| II is the latter course that Is followed.
| Home life Is deliberately. YES ana crimin-
allv. sacrificed for social life. and social HE.
! So chosen, becomes the veStihuic through
| which man. a Young husband passes INTO
the prison house Of debt Unconsc iouslv
/ often. such a man enters =. race with ms
| fashionable associates. and they. not ma
| own personal comforts. create has standard
| Of li-ine He must dress - well rs they;
| he must crteri ain as lavishly "a they: he
must keep I'm the same pace as they. And
| meanwhile these associates OF his are com
netiry with another SCI Just 4 little higher
| in the social scale. unt:l society becomes 4
vulgar. feverisii competition. IN which
every hid for notorieiv Is hammered. and
every fine feeling is sacrificed. One has but
! 10 read the s0-caled society columns OF any
daily newspaper to witness the disgusting
spectacle of this competitive snirit IN the
| struggle fo- social supremacy. What place,
rnGcr such conditions. Is there Cor plain
! livinr and high thinking.
A third cause for the elaboration ri the
material side nj life IN our time is the nm
| due craving for pleasure. The emphatic
words arc undue craving. ! am not advo'
| eating sour purtanism or Grabbed ascrti.
ci. n. Plea 'ure has. of course. its essential
| place in the scheme OF RICH. Ewing. ard to
deny that place creates a reaction which.
! however ruiHouS. l. inevitable. But in our
| time pleasure has become Il tyranny. Its
| desnotism has invaded every day Of the
week. Ii has 20 respect for time o. sea.
sons. II Appeals to every passion q the
soul and hy veiicd suggestions il deSecrates
the holiest emot IONS Of life. New Work ne
comes every evening > vast anlty FAR,
where irrational and too often degraded
nlesur lures men and women hv the thou
SIND 10 its gilded shrine. and before that
shrine high thinking and plain living arc
mighty immo.ated.
These are some o. the things which stand
in the wav OF the simple lie here in New
York. What are some al the peri.s which
must inevitably result?
This life OF Injury and extravaganza in.
tenslfies class distinction. The poor man,
unable to share in these wanton extrava.
gancez, ckafes beneath the restrictions. and
hatred of his nanlpered hei!ers h:tes n the
ropes 81 separation. In Europe. where 4
certain hereditary distinction between the
rich and the poor Is recognized. this class
bitterness Is not so keen but in republic
good Is another these ostertatious displays
OF luxurious eNtravacarce become a hothed
of discomfort in which anarchy and com.
munish ferment Some years ago 4 friend
of mine was driving past one OF the heauti-
full old homes in rural England. standing i'll
its stately park He asked the driver who
lived there. oh. said the man. we used
~ have lots OF aristocratic company there.
They had plenty of money and they spcnt
IL freely We poor folks were well off
then. But now the place belongs 10 4
woman. and she is a Methodist. and every.
thing is going tn the bad So spoke tire
countrvman. and from his little view this
loss of luxury and extravaganza was all
wrong. even for the noor man. But mean.
whi.e there was another side to the picture
That estate also included a large tenement
district in one of tho worst portions OF
London. In wretched novels surrounded
by saloons and low resorts the miserable
people paid their rents. cxorbitan; Tor such
quarters. and these rents supplied TIE
the former owner. Rut now what has hap.
pened? The lady who owns the estate to.
day Is using her revenues. not for her own
luxury. but in lettering these homes. in
driving out these saloons. and in creating
new spirit OF respect and love between
her ard her tenants. \ few country yok
els get less to sreud Tor drink. but great
city population has more real 10Y OF living,
and the better class distinction between
wealth and poverty is at an end.
A second penalty that we must pay for
our eXtravaGan: modes of life Is that they
create unnatural arnei ties. The essence OF
ar unnatural appetite is tia. il demands
constant stimulus u needs to he pamp
cred hy new sensations and in the effort
to satisfy this false and unnatural appetite
we are lnventing forms %; amusement so
foolish that even pagan Rome might OK.
CAIN with wonder. 'ifcho'd how tcese
Christ 'ans amuse themselves Under such
conditions. who cares for the simple mamma
Of the wilderness. even though it come
down from God. If he can fill himself with
the flesh-pots OF Egypt even though he
make himself Save To do 500
Once more. one other penalty must Ia
paid. and that is the heaviest OF al. This
mode OF lie is absolutely nj variance With
the spirit OF the teaching OF Jesus Christ
1t is pagan. not Christian: it is barbarc,
not civilized. No man who is honest IN
his effort to follow in the footsteps of Jesus
Christ can live a lie whose only thought
is to satisfy the merely sensucus desires
What is the one dominant note in the eX.
annie of Him who when He walked this
earth had not where 10 lay His head. bu.
this: that we should live simply. that we
should deny ourselves daily taking nc
thought OF what we shall eat or what we
shall drink or wkcrcwithal we shall he
clothed. for orr heavenly Father knoweth
The way % the cross i tho way of simple
HE: lot the way OF scif-indulgence and vul
CAV eytravacaTce. hut ;',c way which lie
walked with bleeding fect is the path
aong which we alone ran find the Joy Of
plain living and high thinking
For Some OF Us this sncrS. OF the simp,e
life cannot he learned. We hrve dwelt toe
long in the cellar OF oar apaetites and tho
reell OF the kitchen is in or brains. We
must die as WE have lived. in the tyranny
of those tastes which oar surroundings
have siimnlatc1 Fc" such Of us. plain iiv
ing and high thinking are both alike impoS
sibe But there are orr children. Please
God we need not. f;aloss on imbeciliiv
has become epidemic. condemn our eff
spring to this nightmare al extravaganza
which has 60 Shrivcied or" own intelligence
We can =. least asi. Go5's grace 10 help us
to train the new generations in
Tia homcly beauty Of the good old cause
in simplS innocence
And pure religion, breathing household
laws"
FOR them al least we can make the beauty
OF the simple life nc poets dream. but ?
divine cvangel for the generation yet &c
come.
Forgiveness.
!. would b. well for u to study and take
10 heart the lesson o: forgiveness Those