Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-05-07
BEST PLACE To LIVE,
Tribute Paid by Or. James R.
Day to America.
PREFERS EARTH TO HEAVEN.

Yearn For Mansion In the Sky-Oe-
fends Wealthy, but Deplores Squan-
derins of Their Fortunes.
Rev. DR.. james II. Day, chancellor
of Syracuse university, who spoke to
crowded house the other afternoon at
the Harlem branch of the Young Mems
Christian association, in West One
Hundred and Twenty street, New
York, secuted the idea that the United
States was in a state bordering on
commercial and industrial stagnation.
He contended that, after all. this is
good world and altogether well worth
living in.
wouldn't you rather live here than
in heaven?" asked the chancellor. 81
would, but Ia like TO so to heaven
when l can't be here. In fact, think
I'd be rather discounted in heaven
till l got adjusted. You can get any
thing you want here. You can live
under forty odd governments, meet all
the nations of the world. eat all the
fruits of the world and get any kind
Of climate that you choose. So Ameri.
ca is the best place to live. But
think when a man can't stay here any
longer he ought to steer for heaven.
For my part, I've never been very
much fascinated with the idea of cor
ner lots and mansions in the skies and
songs and harps and such things.
like place because it's busy and the
more business there is the better l
like it. Give me lots of work and lots
of people to oppose me, and then I'm
happy.
Il hope you young men-and old
men, too-all have work. If you
haven't you will have soon. This ma
ton is too big 10 be ruined, too big to
stop long. The business Of the country
isn't going to stagnate or wither 1t is
going on. There's too much wealth in
the interior, too much property on the
surface, too much harvest on its broad
acres too many factories, too much
money that's got to be invested to be
safe for US to halt very long.
you've heard that sublime, stupid
nonsense about half dozen men put,
ting the world in their pockets and not
letting anybody else get any. Why,
you may be one of those half dozen
some day. These men aren't going to
live forever. If they had Methuselah's
prospects of life it might be n serious
matter Men get rich. and then they
get fat and get dyspepsia and die. The
Lord takes care of that. Most of them
are fools before they die and leave
their millions to their sons and daugh-
ters instead of to Syracuse university
And most Of the sons are fools too
They spend the money for autos and
yachts and great establishments, and
by and 10y you all get it back
"The daughters distribute wealth too
They give some of it to those counts
and no accounts the papers are full of.
Most of it goes abroad, but it comes
back again. Many Of the daughters of
the rich sell themselves and give
bonus. We have a market here in this
country for rich girls, just as much
market as they have in Constantinople.
To this market 90 all the ragged, tat
tered royalty that nobody has any use
for abroad. 1t is n spectacle for men
and angels. You can't be personal
NbDuI III liLii-n, bul y bu hION NIds
I mean, and you can put it down that
most Of those sales aren't turning out
very we'll And that's Il good thing.
Eyes, the material outlook is very
encouraging. And we won't blame the
prosperous, because we all want to be
prosperous ourselves. Let us all be
without that dangerous antagonism to
wealth that flows out of sources of
malignity and ignorance.
'DO you think there's any danger of
anybody's being too big? Not a bit of
it. or course there are thieves in all
classes of society-thievcs both big and
little. But there aren't rs many today
as there We're yesterday. and they will
be still fewer tomorrow. They are
fast disappearing. It's the gospel of
Christ, not legislation, that's doing
away with them.
'Those congressman making saints
of us? No; not a bit of it. They're
not in the saint making business You
don't need laws to make you good.
How many of you know what the or
dinances of the city of New ork are?
There are Il great many of them, and
you walk the streets every day and
never think Of them. All you need TO
keep out of trouble is n spirit of right
eousness. You have that within you
that keeps you from violating the law.
II came here to talk ten minutes.
Just outside the door I met pious
Methodist who offered to bet me
couldn't do it. 1t being Sunday,
didn't take the bet, and I'm glad, for
l would have lost. have talked more
than ten minutes"