Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-05-19

tttitAN NV a. NV HNtAiAlilE sN TN rNt'pAlh
street. burning clear OH down 10 the
Battery and sweeping away every ho
tel every palace OF Fifth avenue. ev.
FRY store and factory aud Office bald
Ing and leaving practically nothing
standing. you can inagn" what this
fire dcsolation means. OF course New
York Is u larger city than San Fran
cisco. but the proportions ! have drawn
are about the same Now. all through
these burned districts. all through the
parks where the homeless are encamp-
ed. I'LL through the resident regions
where the homes are still standing. l
saw not one wet eye nor one face de.
noting sorrow Yes. msspokc my
self did find one woman seemingly
la tears. | turned To physician III
charge of this district and said. That
Is the only person have seen crying
in all this city" He replied: Yes; but
she is not crying for the loss of proper
ty She is recovering from an attack
OF epilepsy and she would have had
this attack whether san Francisco
burned or did not burn
Chccrfuiucss Amid Ruins.
Now. what is the great practical gos-
pei deduction of this universal cheer
fulncSs und thankfulncsS which | saw
amid the smOldcring ruins of san Fran
cisco: II is this: Most of the things
you and | complain about are not In
the least essential 10 true happiness.
Let MAN come home from business
and find his dinner late and there Is no
end of grumbEng OF course, do not
allude To your homie hut To your neigh
borS ON account of the late dinner
the business man growls AZ the cook,
and he groWls At his wife. and he
growls ut the children and he grOwls
Mt eVerNthin- Let man lose a few
thousand dollars IN business deal
and he Is Od the verge If nervous col
lapse and feels that he Is heading to-
ward The pourluusc. Let q man have
an attack of Indigestion and pcssmism
will find one of its best disciples To
preach the doctriip' of total deprav
ity" and TO tell how the whole human
race is going 10 complete destruction.
But let Il man bc caught in a San
Francisco earthquake and tossed about
Hike shutiircock: then let the fire
stnrt and make him run like hunted
rabbit: let him hc compelled to sleep
out of doors. without Il blanket or n
covering. for two nights: then let his
home and store and all Ills investments
-
with meuhriou> countcnance. lie will
meet you with Il smile upon his lips
and say: Thank God. am alive!
Thank God my wife and children are
alive. Thank God, we are all we'll and
are together" The simple fact is
some of MS are complaining today not
because we have too many troubles.
but because W. have too few troubles.
In all tie great city Of san Francisco,
amid its ruins and It's tents. its parks
and It's homes still standing, ! saw not
one sad face nor heard one complaint
The Thank Gods" rendered every
where had the most marvellous intona-
ton ever heard. May God help us to
be grateful for his mercy and kindness
In our little troubles. as san Francisco
is grateful to him amid the ruins OF
her best streets and her finest proper
ties.
4 Clean CITY.
The second great fact which heard
amid those smoldcriug ruins was that
when the better element Of city want
II to lie morally clean That city In
stantly becomes clean and the bad Gle
ment runs to cover rs quickly ms the
tigers and the iackals flee to the jun
giles and as the prairie dogs tails dis
appear into their holes at the hunters
approach. When the buildings Of San
Francisco fell as fiat rs the walls OF
Jericho at the blast Of the rams horn
then san Francisco arose in her moral
and spiritual strength. san Francisco
was never rs free from sin as on the
first few nights following the awful
contlagratiGn.
No sooner did those huge office build
ings and apartment houses and mann
moth hotels tremhlc and totter in the
grip of that horrible earthquake like
an aspen leaf shaken in the winds than
at once the thieves and the robbers and
the lihcriincs and the ghouls of the
night clappcd their hands and began
TO cry "Aha. Now for our harvestl
All the wealth Of san Francisco Is
lying where our hands can clutch it,"
But these thieves ana robbers con-
graduated themselves too soon. No
sooner did these moral lepcrs start to
loot than at once the soldiers rifles
shot them down Ike mad dogs. No
sooner did they try 10 enter the tum-
bicd down stores and pick up the gold
from amid those ruins than they were
halted nj the point Of tie hayonet. II
was only necessary to XIII half dozen
Of the miScrcnntS Then these coward
~ maraudors for they are always
c0warlly at heart crouchcd in fcaI
aud begged for mercy aud ran away
from san Francisco 10y scores and hun
drcds to find safer quarters IN Other
towns where Justice was not So quick
ly dealt out.
4 Safe city.
Thus as kept walking up and dow
those streets, where | felt rs safe MS q
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