Milford chronicle., 1906-09-07
Calmaee
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee. 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"
I have no sympathy with the dema-
gogues who are trying to antagonize
the masses against the classes. l have
utter contempt for the false agitators
who preach the infamous doctrine that
every person who dresses in brOadclOth
or in silk is an enemy of his race, and
that the insignia of all human perfec-
tions can only be found in the laborers
sOiled garments and in. the fiuttering
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 fOcks brows-
ing in all pasture lands. The wealth of
a 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 benefi-
cent deeds The world remembers with
reverence such men as Sir Moses
Montefiore. 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 henefactiOns 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 fired the cannon.
All palaces are not the walled in cas-
Ties of buccaneers and thieves. l go
further than this. l assert and have
right to assert this from the highest
socialistic 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 non
sense to say that the capital of this
country rests entirely in the brain and
muscles Of labOrers and the mechan-
les. 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 1
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, a
few birds and leaping jack rabbits.
Then / climbed the San BernardinO
mountains and travelled into those
hills for many miles. There 1 came to
where the engineers and the financiers
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?" 1 asked the chief engi-
neer. "After we collect the water"
said he, I'VE are going to send it by
tunnels under the mountains, where 1t
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
ging 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 discontented
classes there must be demarcations be-
tween man and man. There is 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.
Public Trust.
But it makes a great deal Of differ
ence whether the capitalist looks upon
his fortune as a public trust or whether
he 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-
Iieve that God has selected them as
his special favorites and expects al
those with whom they CONF in contact
to live for their benefit. lnd 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 is the more they get the
more they want and the more they are
dissatisfied with what they have. &c
clesiastes we'll describes the Unsuitable
spirit of some money seekers who are
about us when he says, "!Ie that loveth