Dead-Broke Farmers

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Feb 21, 1884

Dead-Broke Farmers.

THERE is a great deal of poverty in the world which cannot be cured by large crops or an easy money-market. It lies deeper; it is in the heart. It is astonishing to see how poor rich people will sometimes be; while, "out of their deep poverty," the poor will give most bountifully.

William Taylor, the evangelist, tells of attending a camp-meeting in northern Indiana, where the presiding elder made a desperate begging appeal Sunday morning to raise $250 for the circuit deficiency, and got, in collections and pledges, only about $38.

He was awfully crestfallen, and said, "There is no use to try this again. You cannot get blood out of a turnip, for the reason that there is none in it."

He afterwards said to Taylor, "You can't sell any books to these people. They have had drouths and failure of crops, and are dead broke."

"All right, brother," said Taylor, "my mission is to preach the gospel. My book business is secondary and incidental, and of no account compared with my gospel preaching."

On Monday forenoon Taylor made a little speech, and the people cleaned out a box of his books in fifteen minutes. He had hard work to find change enough to break the five and ten-dollar bills that were turned out of the wallets of those "dead-broke farmers."

The presiding elder opened his eyes. "Why," said he, "I am astonished. Those people have plenty of money. I must go at them again and clear off this circuit debt." So after Tuesday forenoon preaching he stated the case, Taylor offered a few remarks, and in about twenty minutes the same people paid the last dollar required to liquidate the debt.

At another place, the people were so ignorant and so stingy that the minister could not get them to buy a book or subscribe for a paper; so he sent for Taylor, requesting him to bring a good supply of books. He did so, and after preaching several times, the elder called the attention of the people to the books, and in a few minutes he had sold the last book on hand, and ran into the preacher's tent, shouting, "Hallelujah!"

We heard of a boy who once asked a man to give him a cent.

"I would give you a dollar just as soon as I would a cent, if you will only make me willing," replied the man.

There is the whole difficulty. "If there be first a willing mind," all things move easily; but begging and dunning do not produce a willing mind, and so money comes hard.

"Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn," but the trouble is, some oxen do not tread out much corn, and they need not be surprised if they are poorly fed. Keep treading out the corn, and see that it is good corn, and there will be something for him who treads it out. But stingy, begging ministers make stingy and covetous churches; and the Lord, who "loveth a cheerful giver," abhors them both.—Sel.