Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, June 9, 1909, Page 10

| ,muck-raker. protesting against the tempest, urging men to be calm and tranquil and content ed. To look at the unexampled pros- perity and general happiness of our country. To believe that all the serious evils have been already exposed and that all will be well with us if we keep on doing business at the old stand in the clad way. Where is the truth? Where shall thoughtful men place their confi- dence? Into which . camp will we get and aily ourselves? Why, we can neither go with the hysterical shriekers nor with the soperific soothers. Neither with the tar-and-feather pesimists, nor with the rose-water optimists—neither with those who seek to tear things down, nor with those who endeavor to hush things up. Rather let us take our stand with those who are both wide awake and sane; those who desire that no good man shall go unhonored as earnestly as they wish that no guilty man should go unpunished. Those whose life is given, not to tearing things down, nor to hushing up, but to build- ing things up on the eternal foundation of postive manhood and the moral law. Meantime let us understand clearly that the man who is_ responsible for much of our present troubles apart from the inevitable complications which spring from our national inexperience and be- wildering prosperity, is that notorious individual, the man with ‘‘the muck rake.’’ The real muck-raker is not the honest critic of abuses, not even the malicious assailant of vested interests and vested politicians; but this busy silent indefatigable fellow whose eyes are so fixed upon the things of this world—golden dust and husk of pleas- ure and withered straws of noterity, and brittle sticks of official power— that he cannot even look, much ° less think, on the celestial crown of virtue and praise. Yes, you are the men, you money-spinners, hasting to be rich and forgetting to be honest, generous or kind; bending your’ conscience’ to your dealing, if need be, to succeed; put- ting all your energy, all your ambition into the service of Mammon—‘‘The least erected spirit that fell from Hea- ven:” Counting over your golden dollars as if they were sacred beads in a new rosary of. devotion and congratulating yourself upon the pile of dust that you have raked together—you are the real You are the man, you pleasure seeker; fixing your desires upon sensual ease and luxury; racing to and fro in your costly chase after new ex- citements; measuring everything uncon- sciously by its power to minister to your personal gratification and thinking yourself fortunate according to _ the quantity of husks, clean or dirty, that you have gathered into your trough. You are the muck-raker. You are the man, you lover of place and power; grabbing at every petty distinction and paltry office that comes in your way; sacrificing your peace of mind and your independence of thought in order to win favor with those who can help you; making yourself the most slavish kind of a follower in order to be called a leader; letting yourself be used by everybody for fear somebody may turn you out; spending infinite pains and care to build your platform of dry sticks a little higher, not that you may look up at the stars but that you may look down’ on the rest of the world— you are the muck-raker. That is the symbol and ensign of all you great ones who have fatally succeeded and the lesser ones who totter after you and gape at you and try to imitate you with their pocr little tools, broken toothed, short-handled, pitifully inadequate— that is the sign of you all who know nothing higher than wealth and pleasure and place and power; the sign of the muck-rake. In that sign you imperil the country in w hich you live. How? By looking only downward, never up- ward; by bending high faculties to low ends; by corrupting the minds of youth with false standards of success and ly- ing maxims, of self-interest, by drawing the thoughts of men by the glitter of riches and the glare of fashion to rest on you and the like of you instead of on virtue and praise. By making your lives one long denial of the things: that make life worth living—honor, kindness, self-sacrifice, integrity,, faith and love The man who suspects you, watches you, exposes you if you have stolen your muck-rake, or hurt other people with it, or used it for a rake-off,is justi- fied. What you need in that case is eee cnt a ree NS ‘ to be discovered, punished and forgot- ten, and the sooner the better, for the Republic can learn nothing from you but shame. But the sky is brightening and even the muck-raker begins to see the glistening of the sun of righteousnes. Every observant student of the times watching the trend of events must be impressed with the facts and inspired by it that there is a very distinct and gratifying movement for better things in business, in politics, in social lifé and in church interests. What a re- form movement is sweeping over’ the business world. Take the matter of tem- perance for instance. No corporation, no firm, no man of business prominence now ignores the drink habit in select- ing employes. Indeed the whole busi- ness world is now practically a temper- ance organization. This is not a matter of sentiment, it is a matter of cold busi- ness and the young man who expects to succeed along any line of commercial endeavor muat taste not, handle not, the cup that intoxicates. The methods of acquiring wealth are also being sub- jected more and more to the searchlight of public conscience and he who piles up ‘‘tainted dollars must bear an ever increasing share of public contempt. In public life, in the domain of official duty, the standard has never been held so high as at the present time. Bood- lers and grafters are being driven from places of power by this rising tide of public virtue. In social and religeous realms the same gratifying tendency abservable. The partician wall between demominations’ hitherto in conflict are being torn down and church people are more united than ever before in ecclesiastical history. In a word the world is growing better all along the line. It is good to be young in such an age and at such a time and to have a personal part in this great forward move ment for better business methods, for higher ideals in politics, for greater soc- ial purety and for larger liberty and love of things spiritual. I would next remind you that the sovereignty of law in the moral uni- verse is as full of encouragement as of admonition. It should give you undoubt- ing hope in every virtuous effort in the whole discipline of character. Here the law which constrains you to follow your own example is unspeakably beneficent. The victory over alluring evil which you win only by arduous conflict is a precedent for a next easier conquest and for a next still easier, ’till the temp tation at first formidable, shall be nc longer a power which it costs you a struggle to subdue. On the side of good no less than of evil, conduct reacts on character. Wait not to feel all that you want to feel in order to do all that you ought to do. Do, that you may feel; act, that you may experience; obey, that you may have the inward blessing of obedience. You know the right—that is enough for action; but the peace that passeth understanding is not for those who merely know but for those who know ing, keep the Commandments of God. Hhe qrophet in describing the way by which the ransomed Israelites should re- turn from their captivity in Babylon says “Instead of the thorn shall come ur the fir tree and instead of the brier, shall come up the myrtle tree.” This is verified in every virtuous course, in every true life. The opening way of duty, of unwonted duty, is, or may be flanked by thorns and briers. If noth- ing else, there is the difficulty of nev- ness of inexperience; and there is want- ing of necessity the inward joy which follows, not proceeds right conduct. But as we go on, God plants the fir tree and the myrtle in our path. And they aré ever green. They cast not their leaves; their corals of beauty and glory never witheres. They may be almost hidden from sight while draped with the gorgeous and bright tinted blossoms of a happy youth anda prosperous prime, but when the leaves from our earthly life tree fall and its flowers lie wither- ed, these trees of God’s husbandry shall still shelter and gladden our de- clining years; our closing days, in their perennial freshness, prophecies of the ‘‘Eternal life that shall be ours in the Paradise on High.’’ Think much of the greatness of existance, of what a soul may become, of the Eternities in which you are to live. How much great- er the poorest individual is than the stars themselves! Let the thought of an endless life be in your soul, lifting it above low dreams into the sunshine of God. It is great ideas which the spirit uses in developing character and the greatest of all ideas is to be a “child of God’? with an eternal mansion. Remember that though it may not be possible for you to be as highly educat- ed or as wealthy as some others, you can be as good as anyone. Believe you are the child of aK ing and live for the Kingdom. Christ can perfect that which concreth you. Take himfor your modet and you may rejoice in the completeness to come. Think of a block of marble in Angelo’s shop, rough and ill-shaped, as he commences to cut into it and the | images of wood might say ‘Ah, he is spoiling you!’’ But the marble could lightly answer, ‘‘He is my master; he seeks an angel in me and he has prom- ised to bring it out; he may cut me all he pleases.’’ Or an acorn lies upon the ground with bits of colored glass and smooth pebbles and they say, we are +handsomer than you; we sparkle and shine:’’ But the rough little acron could smilingly say—‘“‘laugh at me if you Please, but there is an oak in me—a broad branched, storm defying oak, which the sunshine and the rain are to bring out into greatness and beauty. I am an oak, you are only pebbles.’’ Hence, we all may say, though rich or poor, the most ignorant or the most learned, ‘““I know it all, that I am a poor sin- ner but Christ has chosen me and I ; have chosen him and now there is a | saint in me which he has promised to bring out and bye and bye I shall stand perfected among the angles.” There can be no higher thought. Such an one can say; ‘‘stand back tempta- tion; stand back, selfishness; stand back, unbelief; my master is making a saint of me.” Thus by faith he rejoices in the perfection coming; yes, in perfect- i that marble alone, I bought it- paid for it and it’s mine; there is an angel in it which I am to bring out.” So it is with every honest Christian heart. Sa- tan says,‘‘you are ignorant, poor, sinful, not fit to be one of God’s children;’”’ but Christ says, ‘‘let that poor fellow alone; he is mine; I bought him with my own blood, I see a saint in him some day, not for away in the future, if but re- mains true.’’ There is where the Christ- fan stands—by faith a perfected saint and life becomes beautiful, growing into the image of God. As the bloomed frag- rant flower is more beautiful than the little dark seed—as the bright winged butterfly sailing in the sunbeams is more beautiful than the crawling cater- piller; so will the most perfect but hon- est Christian man outshine in Heaven the most cnitured scorner on Earth. My friends of the graduating class: Let me hope that these parting words of mine will find in your hearts the place that is their due. Keep the law and it shall keep you; honor it and it shall exalt you, submit yourselves to it and you shall hold it’s sceptre and rule by it’s might. Serve it and you shall find it’s service perfect freedom. Ac- cept with my counsel my fervent good wishes for your whole future in the life that now is, and in the life which is to come. May a loyal and approving con- science, the praise of good men, the love of your Savior, the blessing of your God be yours now and evermore! Soteetortectoctonteatectoatocochoatontoctetochoatontontoetoctostoatocts M, E. Church Services. oteoniorionis Preaching at 10:30 a. m, and 7:30 p. m SundaySchool...........++. ....11:30 a.m Seat “eee Lonteetontpetectectectedton ness now, for Christ sees in him his|%% Epworth League ............. 6:30 p. m own image. See that block of marble|% Prayer Meeting... Thursday, 7:00 p.m as it stands soiled in the great artist's + Choir Rehearsal..Thursday, 8:30p.m % studio and some rough man comes in|‘? agtiizy aces meets every Wed- & and says, ‘That's not fit for this place; |‘% , D&S atternoon. $ there is no beauty in it, why not cast | 4 A cordial invitation is extended to all. 3 it out?” But the artist speaks up, “let|#%..... ARGS Ne s ae . ied ore eee mn PRWWSY @ PPPRASPARA e RUUYY Che SOLD ONLY BY LEIBERMAN BROTHERS 2 Florsheim y SHOE Bas that personal distinet- ion of the well chosen Made to Order 33,00 "GORDON S} (SF; z HATS STORES AT CRAND RAPIDS, BOVEY, COLERAINE, MARBLE, MINNESOTA eRe nee Ee Robt art Neg ini Rn meee RLCUAAUAAURDOOUODVOUAD BEGET UUEBERUTEUERTH500009904 SHOE 2