The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1912-05-18
THE WAGES OF SIN.

Every day in some part OF III"
,.nntrv some community is shocked
NV n terrible tragedy which eXempil-
Gos the solemn and everlasting truth
that "the wages Of sin are death
We read of these things every day III
.bo papers but take little note OF
them. Tor their frequency mas taken
away the edge of surprise. and We
dismiss. with nothing more than Il
sigh or casual word, the accounts
of the awful happenings, which cost
the lives of so many OF the world
fairest and most beloved, and leave
only the wreckage of all peace ana
happiness in countless homes. But
now and then such an occurrence
takes place amid the scenes oil our
everyday lives the actors are those
whom we know, and the full force OF
the tragedy strikes us with shocking
effect. In the horror of the great mis-
fortune that has thus been brought
home to us, we are wont to make re-
solves that We will shelter those dear
to us from the possibility OF ever par
ticipating in like grim tragedy.
And for a little time, perhaps. we 10
watch those dear ones somewhat
more closely. hut the horror fades
away with the passing OF time, anu
We lapse into the old careless ways
and are lullcd into security by the
belief that nothing Of the kind could
happen 10 OUR girls or boys. And
so We 90 on until there is another
heart-rending awakening.
4 newspaper published outside a
very large community is forced fire.
uuently to draw its examples and
base its warnings on happenings
away from home. As We write there
is before US an article written by the
editor Of the Florida Grower. a eul-
tured and observing gentleman We
quote a paragraph describing his
passage through a certain town:
AS soon as HE train stopped "a
file of young men and girls began
to file into the train thought at
first there WAS a meeting of the
alumni OF sonr kindergarten being
held down the line, but soon saw
that il Was merely the village cut
ups HAY ing their nightly dash OF
raughtincss All partook freely OF
the ice water so generously supplied
by the railroad company, and as the
train started. Jumped off amid gales
OF laughter The young folks We're
out real late, i, must have been |
o'clock in lie evening
Now. all this was very harmless in
hS'l, anu autSt .puuS pcoplt W III
might have been alumni of Il kin
lergartcn. were perhaps as SAT,
jumping on and off train at L
o'clock AT night as if they wer,
asleep beneath the parental roof W,
are so sure that no harm can com,
of such things until the TRACED,
comes until the tragedy comes
Until once more We are brought fac,
to face with the memorable law
THE wages of sin is death
Have you ever seen any occurrence
of this kind" Have you ever secl
mixed companies of very young PEG
pie roaming the streets at night a
such an uncarthly hour that involun
tarily the question came to Your lips
What are their mothers thinkin,
about" Not in Lakeland. perhaps
but in other towns. like this cas-
coast town the editor writes of il
the above paragraph
Mothers pray in an agony of hop
and fear that their dear ones may b
kept from evil. and yet make no ef
fort To keep them from evils wa
And. while on this subject. We di
gress 10 mention little inciden
coming under our observation. W
met a little fellow the other da,
wandering about several blocks fror
his home-too young yet 10 be Who'll
ly emancipated from dresses. jus
able TO lisp words so he could be I'm
derstood. He became vexed at
passing child. and the oaths h
poured out would have made tn
mate of river steamboat shudde,
Yet his mother is very active in re-
ligious works She probably at tina
time was discussing plans to take IN