The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-01-29

lem, by the Rev. DR.. Reese =. Alsop-
Jesus Christ IL the Measure of the
Stature of the Perfect Man.
BROOKLYN. y. Y-Dr Reese + Asop,
rector OF 81. AHn's Church on the Heights,
| preached Sunday morning on CONNER
| ciallsm." Tie took his text from -. Luke
XII Is Mans hie consisteth not IN the
abundance OF the things which he pos
sessss"
DIR. Alsop said:
heard lately from a brilliant speaker
| an address on "Commcrclalsm To the
surprise of all. IL was a panegyrie rather
| than a distribe. His argument was that
| commercial that IL, buslnes1 activity, the
| industrial epoch IN which We 1--we and
whose push We feel, engenders certain use
ful and even moral qualities, such as thrlit,
| underlying all accumulatlons OF capital
| truth telling, which is essential 10 success
| iul trading; trust. without which the vast
| credit system oi the day could not exist,
| the sense of responsibility shown IN the
| honesty of the great army OF clerks and
place holders, among whom breaches OF
| trust defaults and the like are compare
lively rare, the percentage OF the honest
being surprisingly high AT the same time
| our Civil War and the Boor War have
| shown that the commercial sprlt old not
eXunguIsh heroism and hberahty Wat.
ness the gifts OF rich men TO education and
| charities.
Now that is all true, and yet there rs
| bad favor about the word commerclaliSm,
| 1t has another cannotaton. Is II not a
matter of emphasis Jesus says, Seek We
| first the kingdom OF God He says again,
| What Will a man give IN exchange for ms
| htey' What are men exchanging their hie,
/ with all ITS possibilities of symmetrical de
velopment, fory What are they seeking
| hrstF Is 1t not too largely material sue,
cess 81. Paul says: Having food and
| raimcnt we have enough The feeling OF
! to-day soorns slch moderation modest
! competence Is nowadays nothing accounted
! of To make a living rs not enough, 10
achieve comfort for self and family u a
small thing; men aim and toll and struggle
! for more dazzling prizes-a success that
| makes "A noise and u talked Of, that ght-
| ters and dazz,es the eye.
This is commercialism as ! understand
| IT; the measuring of success by the stand.
ard Of the market place, the sinking Of
| other aims IN the eager rush after gam.
| There are high things possible for man.
! Culture OF body, mind, growth IN moral
| and spiritual attainments, expansion IN
faculty and usefulness. There are magnlh'
! cent careers open 10 him IN science, IN art,
| IN literature, IN phllanthroplc service
| Over against all these stands the spirit of
the age and cries follow me. The ideal :
| man who turns everything 10 gold that he
| touches a man who gets and holds and
then goes on TO get more and hold more;
Two conversations lately overheard Illus
! tTate the point DIR. RaInsiord, Of St
! Georges Church, walking down a New
! York avenue, overheard the talk OF three
! or four university men before HIM. Look
| Ing upon the cleaning equlpages and splen-
did dresses fitting by, one SAID TO another:
| II tell you, boys, II Is money that goes IN
| this town. is IL not" The belief that II ~
money that goes-the feeling that it~-s
money that ought 60 go-are evidences of
\ an almost universal sentiment
! Who is building that magnificent
| house" said one to another. "Oh. that is
| TO be the residence of 70 and SO He used
to be a poor Baptist preacher, but Rocke-
! feler found out that he had business abil.
] lty, and ! tell you he did not leave him
long a Baptist preacher lie took hlm
into the Standard Oil Company, and now
see what a success he has achieved - There
speaks commerciallsm. There - the voice
of the ideal which has almost hypnotized
/ our generation.
| Agasszs splendid reply to the lecture
bureau, Il have no time 10 make money"
sounds like q piece of insanity. Gordon's
refusal 20 accept reward from the Chinese
! Emperor for his help IN the Tan Ping re
belhon sounds like a piece of QuXotlsm.
/ The simple life" as lived by Thoreau IN
the woods as picture! by Wagner, sums
! only an ldylic dream. The pursuit OF
/ learning for learning's sake, the service of
! man with no itch for reward, the quiet,
unostentatous sacrifice OF personal interest
/ for the good of others, these are repu-
dated as folly. The maddenlng crowdG
Ignohe strife is what makes itself heard.
/ IL draws like the song OF the siren. Like
/ the suction OF "A vast maostTom, 70 SEXES
men and draws them IN BY and by, diz-
| zled by the fierce whrl they forget the
! hIgh things and are content TO be simply
! money makers. That Is what | understand
! by commercialism; the thrusting INTO the
! front place OF merely material success. IL
| ~ a corruption OF the spirit IN which life II
! iyId. IL IS a low, wrong motive. Ii brings
III and holds before the soul a false stand
/ ard OF value. IL misconceives what ~ the
/ real success of life. 1t subordinates the
man TO his possessions. IL ~ "A radical cor
/ rupton OF the ideal-an absolute reversal
/ Of what our text says CommerCiallsm de.
| clares and persuades that mans life does
J consist IN the abundance OF the things
/ which he possesses Therefore, u urges
let him love supremely those things; let
/ him ann at them, follow after them, sink
! his very life IN them. Let hIm for them
> fOrego, n reeds be, mental culture artistic
development, moral elevation spiritual ac-
tvIty and all that goes 90 MAX. a full de
veloped manhood Quench, If necessary,
them about you, enthrone yourself on and
among them. Let atropby se,ze every
other faculty so your faculty for getting
4 and getting on grows stronger.
Let me give an illustration or two.
! There ~ a story OF a man who vac so eager
! TO keep safe a very precious thing that he
I took 1t with him into a closet set his can
| die on the floor and then diligently nailed
/ fast the door, only 20 find az his candle
4 filckered out, that he had shut himself in
/ with his treasure. Nailed and enCoffined
I IN hls own strong box. Here ~ another
/ j read some time ago OF a young man who,
upon graduation from college, found him
self the possessor Of $4,000 a year. He had
health, strength, education, position.
! Choices lay open before him He might go
/ IN FOR political life, for philanthropIc serv-
/ zee, or college settlement work. He might
| become student and a patron OF art, Of
/ literature. He might throw himself INTO
! the civic life OF ms day. In any Of dozen
| ways he might find his life by losing u in
| the service OF man and OF God But alas
/ be was dazzled by the ideal oi the age
/ Ambitious TO turn his one million INTO
/ many 10 win the power or nOtoricty vast
wealth can bring he flung himself into a
/ banking house. All the beautiful oppOttu-
I mites that invited him he forcwent simply
/ and only tha. he might increase his pile-a
4 pile which was already sufficiently large.
| Grant him al the success be coveted, what
/ would be the endy A dWaried man with
| an immense pile heaped up around him. a
4 life practically sunk and lost IN the abund-
/ ancc 81 the things which be- possessed.
! Az ! said, then, = moment ago, CONNER
\ clalsm - found IN a wrong emphasis.
/ Wealth is good fairly won and nobiy used.
/ 10 Is not money. but the love of money,
/ that ~ the root Of al evil Business -
/ good. commerce ~ good aud necessary, IN.
\ dustrialsm - good and brings forth
4 goOdly progeny a virtues, Ual activity.
persercyancc, cieverness 10 affairs, are al
praiseworthy. Material sGtc,.ss ls desir-
| ablo '"Tbo hlpeaiug az the Lord IL rrakef n