The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1904-03-06


third chapter of Ezekiel and the seventh
verse:
$50 thou, o son of man, 1 have set a
Waterman unto the house of Israeli there
fore, thou shalt hear the word at my
mouth, and warn them from me-"
As preface to his reference to local
conditions, DIR. RAIDER said that the condi-
tons which made Waterman necessary in
the days of the prophet prevailed in differ
ent forms today, though differently clad.
If humanity was made up of the good
and true there would be no need of a
Waterman, but unfortunately there had al
ways been bad people in high places in low
places, rich and poor, who lived off the in
dustry and labor of the virtuous and true
They had obtained advantage over the poor
in many ways, by fraudulently getting it,
by causing the unsuspecting to deliver up
their goods, despoiling their homes, rob-
| bling them of their liberty, tearing from
them the rights which belonged to virtuous
men and women. In times past surely
there was a need of the Waterman, for
bands of marauders and reckless people
prowled about the country and frequently
descended upon an unsuspecting town,
slaughtered its inhabitants, took posses
sion of the property, captured and degrad.
ed the women and children and left the
place in ashes. Although such conditions
| as that do not prevail today, the vicious
and degraded have learned to be little
more refined and elegant in their methods,
nevertheless, they rob the poor, the virtu-
ons, the industrious, the good, the true,
not so much by the methods of the high
wayman as by trickery, fraud, chcanery,
legal methods, false promises and with all
kinds of pretence and misrepresentation"
Who Shall Be Waterman?
DIR. RAIDER then asked the question,
who Shall be the Waterman of the people
today? He answered it by saying that
there were none who should be more capa-
BILE of acting in that capacity than the
minister of the gospel, and added: "Then,
as herald of the cross, come to you to.
day. trust 1 shall be faithful. May
God help me that 1 shall not be seIf-de-
ceived or fear the faces of men"
| What conditions prevail here in Tacoma
| today that should claim the attention of
the good people? Is there anything OBJ
strueting our liberty? What things should
be encouraged? Are there any things that
should be repreSsed?
LET me speak to you plainly. care not
for party, care not for clique or church
as such. | want to-and / believe do
love humanity. l would love to help you.
| do not care for these men who claim to
be so superior. One of the baneful things
all through the history of man has been
the assumption of the powerful, the cruelty
| of the strong, the pretension of those who
are in great places, for after all there is
very little difference in men. The only
| difference L recognize or care for at all is
the difference in purpose. If a man is
| selfish and self-centered, he is degraded
and base, even though he were a president
or the most profound scholar, a priest,
bishop, pope. If a man is kind and gen
erous, loving, tender and helpful, feeding
the poor, relieving the needy succoring the
oppressed whatever his creed, whatever
his calling, he is one of Gods noblemen.
| He is my brother; he is my inspirer |
want him to love me and help me, AS
certainly as you live there is an effort
being made all over the civilized world
now to concentrate wealth into the hands
of few and to leave the helpless multi
| "
The Greedy Corporations
may. There are greedy corporations get
ting control of the water, of the light, of
the food, of the transportation of all kinds,
of communication of every sort so that
they may make the people serve them.
'ln your city you have been, graciously
and provdentially have no doubt. largely
delivered from the dominion of corpora
tions. Cherish it as one of the most
precious privileges you have ever had;
never cease the agitation until you make
it impossible for a mayor, the council. or
both together, without the consent of the
majority of the people to give corporation
or a man, franchise. Franchises mean
mortgages on you and your children while
| they last. When once secured they are
more easily perpetuated. Don't be so
! anxious as some are to have a wealthy
city. You had better have a free city
and free people, noble people than to
have great wealth in the palaces. You had
better have great scholars in the cabins,
for surely as you live some of the noblest
men God has ever made lived on plain fare
and are clad in the plainest of clothes and
only God and those who know them best
and the good angel realize how noble they
are. Thousands and multiplied thousands
of these are in the shops in the factories
where they labor by day or night. Some
of the best women on earth toll, economic
and scPimp and save. Don't allow the
fashion, the dazzling splendor of wealth to
cause you to turn aside the poor in their
rights. You have had some gracious de-
liverances in the past. Let no man get
! possession of any Office or authority who
will deliver you over to the criminal, to
the vicious, to the schemer, to the cor
porations, to the bondsman. Give no cor
| porations larger liberties than they have
now and get special privileges out of the
| hands Of those who now hold them over
/ the people and their purses as soon as pos.
sibe Let your city be run for men, not
| for money.
Things To Be Corrected
"But there are some things here which
you ought to correct, and which you can
correct. 1t has been pretended that there
is no gambling in this city. 1t is a pre-.