180 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



to do the will of the Father he often went 

 hungry and weary. He went away into the 

 wilderness to get seclusion and rest from 

 his hard physical labor. But even there 

 they followed him. He did not get impa- 

 tient, nor did he turn them away. When 

 weary in mind and body he still ministered 

 imto them, and performed miracles when 

 we know that it taxed his strength sorely, 

 for he has told us so. Jesus was self-sacri- 

 ficing. When we crave money in the way I 

 have indicated, it is mostly a selfish crav- 

 ing. I do not suppose that the street-car 

 <;onductor had in mind at all— in fact, I 

 doubt if he ever dreamed of such a thing as 

 using this gold that chinked in his pocket, 

 for the relief of his fellow-men. I judged 

 from his looks that a great part of it would 

 go toward giving indulgence to a sensual, 

 selfish, and wicked appetite. Oh what a 

 difference ! The thoughts of one were all 

 selfish : the other, no self at all. Jesus pos- 

 sessed the whole earth, in one sense, and in 

 another he had absolutely nothing. We do 

 not know that he ever had a cent of money 

 that he could call his own. The possessions 

 of the little band were carried in a bag by 

 Judas. While Jesus had at his command 

 legions of angels, he passed through the 

 world helpless and alone. His little band of 

 followers were, of course, ready to do his 

 bidding ; but even they, when his enemies 

 came, fled in dismay. 



Another point : Does the one who feels 

 that money is the supreme thing to labor for 

 in this world succeed in getting the satis- 

 faction he expects? I am pretty sure that, 

 as a rule, he does not. Does he succeed in 

 getting riches? Again I am sure he is, usu- 

 ally speaking, disappointed. That street- 

 car conductor did not have much gold in his 

 pocket to jingle ; and from what experience 

 I have had in business, I think it doubtful 

 whether he eK^er does have. He will be dis- 

 appointed in the enjoyment he expects, and 

 he will be disappointed in getting money ; 

 and I hardly need intimate that he will ut- 

 terly fail in getting that peace and happi- 

 ness that money can not buy. The man who 

 is constantly greedy for something to put 

 into his own pocket, seldom becomes rich ; 

 and still more rarely does he succeed in be- 

 coming a valuable business man. 



Now, friends, I need not tell you there is 

 a large class of people in our land who seem 

 to be embittered against those who have 

 money. There has been a great conflict be- 

 tween labor and capital. I hope and trust 

 and pray that a better spirit is coming. Like 

 the false statements in regard to the adul- 

 teration of honey, I feel certain that there 

 ■have been false statements and false charges 

 against the capitalists. A certain class of 

 farmers have been hard and uncharitable 

 toward the men who handle their grain and 

 pay them for it. I agree, that there has 

 been great wrong. The gamblers in grain, 

 I regard as the worst kind of gamblers in 

 the world. I do not believe in a lordly aris- 

 tocracy, as you well know ; and yet I feel 

 sure that many of us have been complaining 

 •of evil where none existed. Nearly all the 



Sapers seem to be bitter against trusts, 

 'hey speak of the men who have them in 



charge as only a sort of legal highway rob- 

 bers. This may be true in some cases, but 

 I am surf that it is not in others. Last sea- 

 son I watched and read a good deal on what 

 has been called the *•* twine trust." Now, I 

 feel pretty certain that no such thing exist- 

 ed. Perhaps the men who had twine, who 

 had been sharp enough to purchase largely, 

 did contrive to make extraordinary profits. 

 This happens in all kinds of business. But 

 I do not believe there was a concerted ac- 

 tion among the twine-sellers. Even sup- 

 posing the price of certain kinds of articles 

 does run up high ; isn't there a good side as 

 well as a bad side to it? I do not know who 

 raises the raw material for the twine, and I 

 do not know much about the people who 

 manufacture it into twine ; but this sudden 

 demand and high price must certainly have 

 benefited the producers. Just look here a 

 minute at something closer still to our 

 homes. A few days ago I found the boys 

 had raised the price of onions from 20 cents 

 to 40 cents a peck ; and by way of explana- 

 tion they said that onions had" gone "away 

 up." I looked at the quotations, and, sure 

 enough, they were S?>.50 a barrel. Said I : 



" Why, what should make them run away 

 up at this time of the year?" 



"Oh! they say," said Mr. Weed, "that 

 they have started a trust, or corner, on on- 

 ions ; that somebody is buying up all they 

 can find at big prices, so as to get a corner 

 on the market and make a big thing out of 

 it." 



Just think of it ! Poor people are obliged 

 to pay this awful price for onions, just be- 

 cause some wealthy speculator has bought 

 them all up and won't let the people have 

 any unless they come to his terms. If they 

 are going to make a corner on onions, and 

 charge such extortionate prices, what won't 

 they get hold of next? That is one side. 

 Now let us look at the other. 



In another part of our town a neighbor 

 raises garden-stuff as we do. One year ago 

 he put 150 bushels of onions on his manure- 

 heap, because no one would give him a cent 

 for them. A few days ago he came and 

 bought a lot of garden-seeds, looking quite 

 happy and enthusiastic about gardening. 

 He had sold all his onions at a big price, 

 and had received money enough for them so 

 he could buy his seeds and go on with his 

 chosen industry, full of faith and thanks- 

 giving. As he is a Christian man it was 

 thanksgiving to God. But, dear friends, 

 ought he not to be thankful for this trust (if 

 there was one) that gave him such a lift in 

 his business? Why, to be sure he should. 

 Whenever any thing becomes scarce, so 

 that the product is bought up at good 

 prices, why, it helps people. And this state 

 of affairs is going on every day. Our farm- 

 ing friends lament terribly when wheat goes 

 down to 70 cents a bushel. They say that 

 farming does not pay, and that the farmer 

 is the slave of everybody else ; and some of 

 them say that all the world is holding the 

 farmer's nose on the grindstone ; and when 

 he gets mad, and says he won't stand it, the 

 great world just laughs and feels tickled 

 about it. Suppose, however, it is butter 

 that we are talking about, and that, instead 



