Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-03-24
Calmage
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase, ID. ID.

ences and values as priceless, vet often
hings away, and what every one
wishes to bequeath to his children is
the subject of today's sermon, the text
chosen being Proverbs xxi, /, "a good
name is rather TO be chosen than great
riches.n
What is capital? money, property
or stock employed in trade, manufac-
ture, etc., the sum invested or lent as
distinguished from the income or in
terest," is the definition given by the
photographer. 1t is wealth producing
wealth, not wealth being absorbed or
being eaten up by expenses. When
Clarence Bowen, the New York editor
and multimillionaire, was young man
he put his savings in bank for safe
keeping. When he went to draw that
money out he received a certain
amount of extra money. "What is that
forT' asked the young man. This is
interest money" said the cashier. This
Is money earned by money" Then"
said Bowen, IF money earns money,
the more 1 save the more L will earn"
The money Clarence Bowen put away
in bank at interest was his capital.
But capital, according to the lexl-
cographer's definition, is not represent
ed in gold ingots or coin only. / climb
with the miner hillside in Colorado
or Nevada He points to some rock
and says, "There are millions of dol
lars worth Of gold buried here" "Why
do yor not get 1t outT' Because" he
answers, eel have no capital. L must
have machinery to break the rocks; 1
must have miners to burrow into yon-
der depths; must have money to cart
away my ore TO the smelling furnace.
Money must be had before you can
produce money"
/ so into store and see at work the
busy manager of a great mercantile
firm. say 10 him: why are YOU
working for others? Why do you not
work for yourself? If you are smart
enough to manage business for other
men, certainly you are smart enough to
manage business for yourself"
AYE, aye" answers the manager:
that Is true. But l have not the mon
ely TO start business like this. l must
have hundreds of thousands of dollars
to sink before ! can make a cent
must buy my goods from the wholesale
dealer before l can sell them 10 NV
customers. 1 must rent store and
hire clerks and spend enormous sums
for advertising. All these OUTLAWS de-
mand large amount of capital"
Capital represents the seed and the
land, to use an Illustration of the farm.
Income represents the harvests. The
faEmer must own or hire his farm and
plant his seed before he can get his
harvests, or his income Now. as the
farms and the miners machinery aud
the merchants stock are nearly always
valued from the standpoint OF money
Ii Is n common custom TO give these
sentences as truisms: ut takes money
TO make money" Everything ami
mate as well as inanimate will bow
before the sccpter of gold" Midas
touch has In his hand the grin Of iron"
But today the author of my text en-
phatically says: THE best producing
capital man ever had in life is n good
name. 1t Is better than all the silver
or the Leadville mines, than all the dia-
monds of Golcenda, than all the gold
OF the Comstock bonanza. than all the
pearls OF the Persian gulf. Pile up the
gold ingots OF the United States treas
ury vaults on one side OF the scale
and put good name on the other side
or the scale, and the good name will
outweigh the gold" If good name is
such priceless treasure, let us begin
TO study why its wealth Is of such vast
value Its producing capital must be
ana is enormous. II il were not so.
King Solomon, up to his time the
wealthiest as well as the wisest man
who ever lived, would not have made
this inspired statement in his book of
Proverbs.
Value OF "a Good Name.
A good name in the first place, Is not
n pauper. Her mansion is not the
poorhouse. Her wardrobe is not filed
with rags. Her family plot is not a
potter's field. As n rule, she has a
comfortable house TO live in. Her sit
ting room has glowing fireplace. Her
library shelves are filed with books.
she is not afraid OF the snow for her
household, for all her household are
clothed with scarlet "She is like the
merchant ships-she bringeth her food
from afar." "Her husband is known
in the gates when he stitch among the
elders Of the land" For what her
hand findeth to do she doeth with ali
her might. She gathereth the rewards
OF an earnest and practical industry.
She inevitably giveth TO the holder OF
her family name all the necessities for
happy competency and a healthful
physical and mental existence.
You can see this fact demonstrated
In almost every department Of life.
Honesty is the best policy" whether
1t is found within church walls or
down In the busy commercial section
OF great city. My text does not say.
BE good, and you will be financially
poor" Oh, no! II it did. that state
ment would not be true 1t would not
be true in professional life, in mer-
camille life or in domestic life. 1 60
TO you and say: "Why Is Judge So-and-
so the leader OF the brilliant bar of
one OF our great cities? They tell me
that his practice Is worth $4,000
year. He never impressed me as one
who had very brilliant mind" mo-
you answer, che has not. He is not n
Rufus Choate nor a William Writ nor
an Edmund Randolph nor n Pinckney.
He Is, however, a good, fair lawyer.
But above all, he, is an honest man.
On account Of his honesty his clients
leave their property to him as their
executor. often without bonds. When
men go to him with legal difficulties
they know his chief purpose is to keen
them out OF the law courts rather than
TO push them in. Others lawyers may
be more brilliant mentally, but Judge
So-and-so holds his clients to him with
links Of steel. They all know he will
look after their interests as though
they were his own"
Why does your family physician have
such a large practice? You trust him
not only as good doctor, but as an
honest man. You know when he is
called he will not put you to bed for
an attack or grip and call II pneu-
monia and charge you 500 to cure YOU
or disease you never had. You know