The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1903-06-03
Church Building by Satan ct al. for
Profit.

OUTLOOK, Wash, May 20, l9O2.-Ed-
itor YAKIMA HERALD:-Suppose that in
a country school district las the children
of the Lord assembled themselves to-
gether that satan came also amongst
them" and that as the hat was passed
around for the quarterly collection to
pay the preacher, satan dropped in an
hundred dollars cash, and quite a bit of
taffy to flatter the preacher that COM
mittee should ask him (the deviD for a
donation to help build church editice
and that satan, beaming with smiles,
subscribed thousand dollars and an in
vitation to call for more if needed.
Question: Would such preacher be
likely to send such devil to hell cross
lots and would the people of such
church be so mean and ungrateful as to
interfere with the devils business; or
would it not more likely amount to a
surrender of Christ's forces, and let the
devil take the spoils for profit on his in
vestment?
"Walk into my parlor says the spider
to the fly" Splendid scheme.
The devil is like small corporation.
Perhaps the devil may think it a little
severe to compare him to a small corpo-
ration, but if he don't like it he should
nerd his ways and discard their meth
DDS.
The sit ,ation or circumstances here
about is something like this An irriga-
ton company owns canal and water
works, under which the people and the
company own some 1000 acres of land,
and the people at large own the water.
| The company are as common carriers,
and by law required to convey and deliv-
er the water for just and reasonable
compensation. A reasonable compensa-
ton is estimated to be about fifty to
! seventy-tive cents per acre per year. The
company seek to charge on all this land
the equivalent OF about three dollars and
more per acre per year, and to restrict
the people to the use of less than one
half enough water for their lands, so that
such water can be carried farther on and
sold to other people on other lands at
such high rates. Now, if the water be
| so restricted, divided and sold to as much
other lands, it would equal l20,00 acres.
This at say two dollars per acre per year
in excess of right, would yield the com
pany some $240,000 per annum as excess
sive income taken from the people; or
Sl2O, 900 from the owners of the present
60 900 acres.
Again, the restricting of use of water
to less than one-half enough, would re-
duce the land values at least $50 per acre
on $4,000 acres, amounting to 81 800, 900
loss to the people.
Such, in part is the important stake
in contest now on between the COM
pany on one side, and an organized assoc
citation Of and for the people on he other
side.
| Thus situated, church committee of
good intentioned, upright people are to
personally call ON the company's officials
| for a donation to start fund to build
church at perhaps total cost of 81 900
to $1,000.
Now, what is it supposed that the COM
pany want to give anything for church
purposes for? A corporation has no soul
to save; nor am | persuaded that the
committee or the prime movers in the
| i,,l- hot no
members or officials have any such vast
chunks of piety as to prompt them to
excessive giving. What then? 1t must
be as a business Venture. What bust
ness? Is it to increase the value of their
land holdings? No; they have already
sold nearly if not quite all their lands
near here.
But let us suppose that the company
would give literally, say 81 900, to this
church fund, and to the preachers and
other churches around here to the
amount of $4,000 per year for year or
two. Then their marvellous liberalty
and goodness of heart would be dazzling
to the public; and the company's grand
generosity be SO magniiied and construed
into infallible piety that any person who
would oppose them (even for cause)
would be deemed contentious crank, a
hereto and am evil doer.
And yet if the company should in this
way obtain church influence and so en-
graft themselves into the good graces of
the people as to put down our associa-