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Gleanings in Bee Culture 



own in every transaction.* Suppose the gro- 

 cer should say to himself, *'Now, this poor 

 woman needs the small margin between the 

 Vjuying and selling price more than I do. I 

 ought to be glad of a chance to give her full 

 weight, goocl honest measure, good quality, 

 at a fair and liberal price." Then suppose 

 a customer should also say, " I am owing 

 that grocer for the necessaries of life. He 

 can not live and prosper unless I pay him 

 in full just what I agreed to do." And, to 

 step a little higher, suj^pose a dealer in real 

 estate should say to himself, "This is a hard- 

 working man who wants to buy this farm. 

 I am going to tell him the exact truth in re- 

 gard to it; and if he decides to take it I am 

 going to let him have it so I can just cover 

 expenses." And then, oh dear! what a jump 

 it will be for the man who is employed 

 and paid with public money! Supi)ose a 

 policeman should say to himself, "I belong 

 to the Lord .Jesus Christ. I am going to do 

 every thing I can to restrain sin and iniqui- 

 ty. The people have chosen me to defend 

 their property and interests, and their health. 

 I am going to do it honestly to the best of 

 my ability. If tempting olTers come to me 

 in any shape whatever, and try to turn me 

 from the path of duty, I am going to say, 

 'Get thee behind me. Satan.' " 



Let us now skip on until we come to the 

 millionaire grafters — the men who have 

 money and property until they have no need 

 of more and no use for more. Suppose these 

 men should say, "I am getting too much 

 money, and I am going to call a halt, and 

 stop striving for the best end of every bar- 

 gain. 1 am going to give orders that all of 

 our employees shall have instructions to be 

 more liberal in their deal M'ith the poor hard- 

 working people." May be it is a little out 

 of my beat; but I would suggest that Rocke- 

 feller and Carnegie, instead of giving so 

 much to colleges and libraries and fashion- 

 able churches, should give the poor hard- 

 working American people oil for their lamps 

 and stoves at a lower price. Our various 

 strikes have drawn out the fact that, while 

 the employers in many cases are riding in 

 automobiles that cost several thousand dol- 

 lars, many of the ]wor people are putting in 

 long hours at work, with but very poor pay. 

 It has frequently been thrown into our teeth 

 that our United States of America, with the 

 stars and stripes floating over us, is getting 

 into a fashion of making our millionaires 

 richer and the hard-working people poo/YT. 

 If this is true, may God forbid that this 

 should go on any longer. Now, a greed for 

 money is not the only way in which selfish- 

 ness exhibits itself. Let me give you a few 



* You will recall that, on the day of Pentecost, as 

 described in the fourth chapter of Acts, the.v were 

 so filled with the Holy Ghost that selfishness and 

 self were almost forgotten for the time being. It is 

 a sad reflection on humanity, however, that an 

 Ananias soon got in among that little flock; and it 

 Is sad, also, to contemplate the Ananiases who are 

 just now being held up to light where our law-mak- 

 ers convene at tlie capital of our State. Should 

 they receive a like punishment for their perfidy 

 that did Ananias of old. it might result in a much- 

 needed rebuke to the sin of selfishness. 



brief extracts from a paper called Comfort, 

 published in Augusta, Maine: 



I recall meeting a policeman on the streets of 

 Denver one day who informed me a fifteen-year-old 

 girl had been taken into a wine-rooni b.v a man. 



"Why don't you arrest him?" I asked the police- 

 man. " I dare not," was the astounding reply; " the 

 fellow stands in with the boss. He gave five hun- 

 dred to the Democratic campaign fund." 



Now, that same machine was financed by the Gas 

 Company and the City Railway, and these corpora- 

 tions made the dive-keepers put up as much as 

 they could. They catered to the dive element at 

 election time, and the policeman knew he dare not 

 enforce the law because of the corrupt alliance. 

 So the debauchery of that fifteen-year-old girl was 

 the work of the business man as much as it was the 

 work of his partner, the dive-keeper. 



That's the condition in every big city where pub- 

 lic franchises are to be disposed of. The members 

 of the " plunderbund " let their political partner 

 get his graft out of the bodies and souls of children 

 and the debauchery of the home, so they can get 

 privilege. These big criminals are to-day desecrat- 

 ing the temple of justice just as in Jerusalem, in 

 olden times, when Christ went after them with a 

 lash, and put his brand on them. 



AVhen a man who has abundant wealth — 

 one who does not really need or have any 

 use for more — wrongs a poor laboring man, 

 and robs him just because he sees a chance 

 wdiere he can do it safely, we call him 

 greedy and selfish. We sometimes call 

 him a "hog," if you will excuse such a 

 slang i:)hrase; but I am impressed that this 

 is a slur on the poor dumb brute that is not 

 as bad, really, as his human rival in greed- 

 iness. Well, such a man is a sad picture of 

 selfishness, I admit; but how does he stand 

 coiBpared with the man who deliberately 

 coaxed that fifteen-year-old girl into a wine- 

 room that he might blast for all time to 

 come that innocent and confiding child life? 

 If the man who wanted more money was 

 selfish, what shall we say of this one who 

 does not hesitate to trample under foot this 

 child, just budding into womanhood, sim- 

 ply to gratify the lowest and most degrad- 

 ing passion that ever cursed humanity? 

 What words can be coined to express the es- 

 timation in which such a man should be 

 held by all good men and women? That 

 inapulse, planted within us by the great 

 Creator, pertaining to motherhood, andgiv- 

 ing life to all future generations, should be 

 regarded as the most sacred and solemn 

 part of our being. If this is true, think of 

 the awful sin, in God's sight, of prostituting 

 this holy impulse, and making it the 

 means of contributing to the lowest pas- 

 sions and temptations that ever beset hu- 

 manity. The commandment that forbids 

 sin of this kind comes directly after the one 

 that reads "Thou shalt not kill." 



After rising from my knees up in the 

 cabin, I went to bed. It was not a soft bed. 

 It was not by any means such a one as Mrs. 

 Root provides for me, with a soft mattress, 

 clean sheets, etc. But, notwithstanding, I 

 lay there very happy. All the beautiful old 

 hymns that my father and mother used to 

 sing to me in my childhood came back with 

 new and wonderful beauty. They went be- 

 fore me like the panorama of the picture 

 show. The wild birds of the woods outside 

 contributed their "chant, "as they called to 



