Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-09-06


soldiers too"
Now. should you not act on the same
principleg Have there been no other
hands besides yours building your
palace of successor What about
your fathers and mothers and brothers
and sisters and the teachers and
friends OF your youth? Have they had
nothing TO do with molding your char
acter and developing your talents2 Did
not your parents give up the best part
OF their lives to your interests? Did
not your sisters and brothers make
sacrifices for your education? What
about the little old village church
where you used to be taken as u boy
and where. TO Il great extent, your spir-
itual character was formed? Have
you ever done anything for that
church? Have you helped to pay off
its mortgage? Have you bought
new organ for that church? Have
you ever sent a dollar TO help support
the poor widow of your old pastor, who
did SO much for your spiritual health2
How about your old schoolteacherS?
Have you done anything for them?
No You stick your thumbs In the
lapel of your coat and pat your chest
approvingly and contentedly say: Il
anu self made man. These people
bad nothing to do with my present sue
cess. 1 won it all Yes, won it all"
know from your words that your IN
grateful heart has turned into stone
and that it win need a blast Of dyna-
mite to break 1t from its present in
gratitude and forgetfulness.
The Worker Deserves a Full Share.
Then what about your present STAFF
Of employees? Are they to receive no
financial share of your present sue
cess? You know you have men work
ing for you today who are simply in
valuable. You know that if a rival
firm should come and offer certain
men in your firm a third more than
they are receiving you would be glad
TO advance their wages rather than
lose them. You know that if hard
times should come and business should
run behind you would cut your en-
ployeeS' wages down. And yet when
your business is prospecting you give
those employees no share of the pros
perity. Now, my brother. I want to
ask you, is that square? Is that right?
IL you ask those men with whom you
are associated to share your adversely
when 1t comes. ought you not to let
those same faithful men and women
share your prosperity?
But there is another large class of
people who need your help today and
who have q right to claim it. They
| are not the old men and women nor
the middle aged. They are not the
people who for years have been living
by your side. They are not the people
with whom perhaps you are even ac-
Quainted. But they are the boys and
the girls or the young folks who are
| standing upon the threshold of life
with some fearful mental or physical
or spiritual handicap. These young
people have on them the faint OF n
bad ancestral heritage. or by 6nan-
cial misfortune they are compelled to
grow mp amid vitiating social environ
ments. Unless some one comes to
their help they are doomed to make
a failure ont of life before they start.
God expects you TO help them.
The Child Breadwinner.
Here. for instance. is young boy
who has large number of brothers
and sisters He is born In the beauti-
full city OF Philadelphia. But thou
sands and hundreds OF thousands of
families are there. and he is only an
atom in great crowd. His father Is
n hardworking, brave. noble man.
But one day scaffolding upon which
he is working drops. and almost i'm
mediately the husband and father is
dead. His mangled corpse is carried
home TO the little cottage. Now, how
is that young boy ten years of age to
get an education? Who is to feed him
and TO educate him and to clothe him ?
| The mother? Well. IL the mother is
TO be the breadwinner, who will stay
at home and look after the children?
Can weak mother do mans work
and woman's work at the same
time? Is it possible for her TO be in
| two places at the same time? Unless
some one comes to this woman's help
that boy will have no chance for sue
cess. lie will be sent forth to help earn
his living almost before he is out of the
nursery. He may become newsboy.
He may be pitilessly thrown among the
| vile influences OF a street gutter. Then
his moral character, in all probability.
will be wrecked while he is vet only a
| little child. Who will be the Stephen
| Girard TO reach out the helping hand
| TO rescue that child?
Have you ever visited Girard college
in Philadelphia? II Is one of the no.
blest Institutions in the world. 1t was
founded tty nm old DoiSar Stapban
Girard during his lifetime was a Shy.
lock who always demanded his full
pound OF flesh from his victims. In
his financial dealings he seemed to be
as merciess as an Ebenezer Scrooge or
a wrinkled up, shriveled hearted Mar
ley. But, though Stephen Girard was
mercenary, he was no fool. He knew
mat he could not take his gold across
the river Styx, so as he began to grow
old and come nearer and nearer to the
END or life he said to himself: II must
leave this money behind when 1 die.
| will leave 1t TO the people to whom It
ran do the most good" Then he asked
himself this question: WHO are the
people who most need help? Why,
they are the children who have no ia.
theirs to help them along and to give
them the right kind of a start" So
Stephen Girard Jumped all his fortune
together. He left 1t TO a board of
trustees to establish an institution I'm
which the fatheriess boys of PennsYk
vania could be clothed and fed and ed.
ucated until they were able to take
care or themselves. Could he have
done q grander work with his unonay9