Norwich bulletin., 1915-03-31
SPEAKER AT SHOP TALK
Rev. pr. SIoeum Addressed Men at
 ThamesviIIe Cutlery.

The Fool of God was the subject of the shop talk given by Rev. Joel B. Slocum, D. D., pastor of the Central Baptist church at the Y. M. c. A. shop meeting held at the Cutlery plant on Tuesday at noon:
 Rev. pr. Slocum said the expres- sion "The Fool of God'' originated somewhere in the middle ages, and in order to illustrate it he told a story that he read recently. The narrative was in reference to the late Rev. R. B. Palmore. editor, one time of the St. Louis Christian Advocate He was a man into whose life there had been strange commingling of adventure and devotion. For instance, he was booked to sail on the iH-fated Titanic, but in Paris a cab horse knocked him down and the accident prevented his sailing on that ship. But the more interesting adventure by which he earned the title The Fool of God took place some years after the Civil war. among his fathers papers, a deed to almost six thousand acres of land To- cated in West Virginia. Moreover. he was the only heir to the property. Putting the deed into his pocket. he made trip to West Virginia to look over his vast estates.
 Reaching the place, he found that hundreds of families had settled on it without any right to it, but were ap- parently convinced that they were se- that beneath the surface of this land there was almost limitless wealth in the form of coal and oil. The people who lived on that land were ignorant of it's value He remained in the neighborhood several days in the pro- cess of his thorough examination. He quietly walked about at night and through the windows saw happy chil- dren and their parents. The longer he stayed. the more troubled he became at the thought of dispossessing such multitude of humble people. His lawyers were ready to institute legal proceedings that would have left him a millionaire. But he began to feel that he could not do this thing. Sleepless nights passed. He was a Christian man and believed in prayer, and so he began to pray over 1t. It was not long before he made his decision. Con- su1ting with his lawyers, he told them that he had decided to allow the peo- pie who lived on his estate to retain their possession. Accordingly, he made out the papers that gave them legal titles. His lawyers and his friends called him fool, Possibly he was. But the longer we reflect on the sit nation the more clearly convinced are we that if he was a fool. he was a fool of God"
 IL 1S 6O1lIEH H4lcI IO1t eSl11IlE5s III @d lckIlQ where the almighty dollar, seems to have the middle of the road, to find a case like this-a man actually think ing more about humanity than about his own personal. interests It Is cer- tain1y inspiring, once in while, to find a man who worships men more than Mamnon. It was Jesus who said A mans life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he pos sesses. That. according to the great est teacher that ever lived, is not the standard by which we are to estimate the worth of a man. Not by his means. but by his manhood. Not by his stocks, but by his spirit. Not by his certificates. but by his character. During this week of Jesus passion, let us enter into the deeper estimates of life with Him. He. thought so much more of the well being of man than He did of His own glory, that He who was rich, for our sakes became poor, in order that by His poverty we might become rich.