Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-06-19
THEFT NOW FINE ART,
ASSERTS CLERGYMAN
Rev. O. A. Sauer Scores Nio-
lators of Thou Shalt
Not Steal"

rev. q. A. Saucr, pastor OF Beth
lohem Evangelical Lutheran Church,
delivered sermon on Honesty. or
the Law OF Mine aud Thine"
The sermon, in part. follows:
Theft Is one OF The meanes; OF
crimes. 1t is usually the result OF
cCol calculation. Men plan for it in
secret and then carry IL out with
cunning. The thief has no con-
science. The law Of equity is an
unknown quantity TO him.
The old crude forms OF theft arc
no longer I'm vogue In civilized coun-
tries. Rut theft Is by no means "A
thing Of the past. New forms Of
New evasions of existing laws arc
constantly being brought TO light.
oar tailc. rcformatorics. and pcnl-
tentiar!cs are constantly filled with
those who have sinucd against prop
eriy.
There is a multiplicity OF methods
by means OF which men take ad-
vantage OF their fcllow-mcn. In many
respects. in these days. theft has
been reduced TO fine art. The
questionable methods by which bust
ness competitors put out of bust
ness and the purchasers of wares
duped. are regarded by many as
shrewdness in business. And. quite
generally. the Misrepresentation or
the commodities one has TO sell, and
an unseemly decryinE OF the value
OF that which one wishes to buy, are
considered as legitimate tricks in
trade. To all such people, wheth n
they operate in the penny market or
measure their deals by the thou
sands OF dollars. this word OF God
applies:
This is the will OF Cod. that no
man 20 beyond and defraud his
brother In any matter: because that
the Lord is the avcncer OF all such"
Wen Attempt to Disguise Theft.
Men often apply TO such conduct
terms which sound rather mild, but
in plain, Old Anglo Saxon speech i,
il theft. This truth needs 10 be
pressed home in these days with all
possible force. The worth of people
today is largely estimated not by
what they are in character. not by
what good they have done. but by
the size OF their bank account or
the number of farms or houses they
own. This helcs along very decid-
edly mans natural disposition TO
greed and unscrupulousncss.
Constantly we are learning. some
times by sad experience. that ma =
ter!als OF every character which were
represented 10 be of q certain grade
and paid for on that basis. are OF an
inferior quality. In all such cases
Of INSTRUMENTATION as 10 the quail
ity or quantity of material the guilty
fail to distinguish clearly between
mine and thine. And in so far as
.hey have failed to give to their
neiehbor what they should have
given him. or have taken from him
what they had no right 10. take. they
are violators or Gods law: they arc
thieves.
In the sphere o: labor and wages
there Is much violation. There is an
exchange OF mmodities between
the employer and employee The en-
ployer who takes advantage OF con-
d!tlons TO grind the faces OF the un-
fortunate, to keep wages down to
starvation point. and then refuses to
ay or unnecessarily delays in pay
Ing what has been honestly earned
stands before Gods tribunal branded
IA n wrctched thief. woo unto him
thnt useth his noighbor's sorvios
without wages. md giveth him not
for his work" (Jeremlnh XXI. 1919
1.nborer May lie Thief Also.
On the other hand. tho laborer
may be, and often Is. just rs much
OF thief ms the unjust employer.
When he stipulates to do certain
amount OF work for stipulated
price, or work for q certain length