Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-09-08
Caln1aSe
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt TalmaGe. d. d.

timely sermon, the text for which Is
taken from Ecclesiastes v, 10, HE that
loveth silver shall not be satisfied with
silver, nor he that loveth abundance
with Increase"
l have no sympathy with the dema.
gogues who are trying to antagonize
the masses against the classes I have
utter contempt for the false agitators
who preach the Infamous doctrine that
every person who dresses In broadcloth
or In silk Is nm enemy Of his ra>>> and
that the insignia Of all human pc Zee
tions can only be found In the laborer's
soiled garments and In the futtering
rags Of filthy, unkemp tramp. The
outward appearance Of man does not
always portray his true character.
Thus we find some Of the blackest
sheep feeding among the flocks brows-
ing In all pasture lands. The wealth of
q man or the poverty Of a man cannot
be used as a criterion by which to Judge
whether the nature of that man is pure
| or impure. There have been many rich
men with true hearts and noble I'm
pulses, men Of simple lives and beneh-
cent deeds. The world remembers with
| reverence such men as Sir Moses
, Montefore whose life was consecrated
to charity; Baron Hirsch, who built and
endowed homes for the shelter of per-
secuted Jews; Peter Cooper whose
! splendid institution Is still developing
the genius Of the poor, and William e.
Dodge, whose benefactions extended to
the poor and struggling Of his day.
Who would dream of placing the por-
traits of Robert Morris and Jay Cooke
in the rogues' gallery. The patriotic
banker who risked his fortune In the
support Of Washington and the million
aire who stood by the side Of Secretary
Chase during the darkest days Of the
civil war were true patriots. Robert
Morris money and Jay Cookies money
were just as essential to American lib
critics as were the soldiers who carried
the muskets and fred the cannon.
All palaces are not the walled in cas-
ties of buccaneers and thieves. l 60
further than this. l assert and have a
right to assert this from the highest
socIalIstlc standards that men Of cap
ital are as necessary to the develop
ment Of the country and to the success
Of an. enterprise as are men Of muscle
and brains 1t Is unadulterated nom
sense d.sfests eehat the capital of this
countiy, of laboteNfHs5 uifiuf ffAJ Jh-:aSse.snd
iess.c The laborers and the mechanics
of this country could accomplish very
little for the true development Of this
country were It not organized and di-
rected by skilled engineers and by the
resources Of money. Some time ago
walked through miles and miles of
sagebrush and Of desert This desert
extends from San Bernardino to Eta
wanda. In all that desert there were
not any living creatures but snakes,
few birds and leapIng jack rabbits.
Then l climbed the San Bernardino
mountains and Travelled into those
hills for many miles. There came to
where the engineers and the financlers
were building a great dam which
would collect all the waters from an
immense area of land into one great
lake. What are you going to do with
this water?" l asked the chief engi-
neer. After we collect the water"
said he, I'VE are going to send 1t by
tunnels under the mountains, where II
will be scattered over the arid lands,
extending between Ettawanda and
San Bernardino, and that water will
make that desert blossom as the rose.'
Do you mean to tell me that the igno-
rant Mexican laborers who were dig
glng the tunnels and erecting the dams
of Little Bear valley could work that
miracle without the planning of skilled
engineers and the reinforcement OF
capital, any more than capital could
make that reservoir without the CO.
operation of labor. Oh, yes, even In
the widest dreams of the dlscontented
classes there must be demarcations be-
tween man and man. There is q place
for capital as WELL Capital and labor
are two strong arms Of the social body.
Their two hands must lift together and
work together and live together and
die together.
A Public Trust.
But It makes great deal Of differ
ence whether the capitalist looks upon
his fortune as a public trust or whether
be plots to make money and to squeeze
the last dollar he can out of his suffer
| ing employees. 1t makes a great deal
of difference whether capitalists are
| living for others or whether they be-
lieve that God has selected them as
his special favorites and expects all
those with whom they come in contact
| to live for their benefit. And yet that
| Is the way many Of our moneyed po-
tentates act. They squeeze, they gouge,
they do everything which, as misers,
they can to hoard their gold. And the
strange fact ia the more they get the
more they want and the more they are
dissatisfied with what they have. Ec-
clesiastes well describes the Unsuitable
spirit of some money seekers who are
about us when he says, "He that loveth
silver shall not be satisfied with Sill
yer, nor he that loveth abundance with
increase"
In the first place, l learn from this
text that when a man makes money his
idol he is incapable Of loving Christ
The two loves are antagonistc. They
are In mortal combat. They can no
more live together than dove could
nest with q buzzard or the light and
the darkness could together fill the
same room. The love Of silver is from
the devil. The love Of Christ Is OF
God. The Bible distinctly says 1t. 'Ye
cannot serve God and Mammon." Ye
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