p. 8 | FULFILLING THE WORD

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 23, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 17.

FULFILLING THE WORD.

In the fifth chapter of James, verses 5–6, the Lord has given plainly the characteristics of the last days; and then He tells us (verses 7 and 8) that these are the days when His coming “draweth nigh.” The characteristics there given are love of pleasure, corruption, and greed for gold.

Another list of last-day characteristics is found in 2 Tim. 3:1–5. Some of the characteristics there given are these: Self-love, covetousness, truce-breaking, false accusations, love of pleasure, and the form of godliness without the power.

The Lord has given us still another distinguishing mark of the days preceding His second advent. It is found in Micah 7:2–4. The distinguishing feature there mentioned is the all-engrossing prevalence of the bribery of public officials. That it is given there as a characteristic of the last days is shown by expressions in verses 4 and 7. Let the reader turn to these scriptures, and read them one after the other.

With this prophetic picture of last-day conditions in mind, let us look at the following extracts from the report of the February Grand Jury of St. Louis, Missouri, which has just been made public. The report declares that the people of St. Louis have but a vague conception of the extent to which corruption and venality have, for the past ten years, existed among the sworn officers and public servants. It finds the true conditions almost too appalling for belief. In part the report reads as follows:—

We have had before us many of those who have been, and most of those who are now, members of the House of Delegates. We regret to report that we found a number of these utterly illiterate and lacking in ordinary intelligence, unable to give a better reason for favoring or opposing a measure than a desire to act with the majority. In some no trace of mentality or morality could be found; in others a low order of training appeared, united with base, cunning, groveling instincts, and sordid desires.

These men, through their corrupt agent, approach the legislative representatives of powerful combinations or corporations competing for valuable franchises, demand and receive of them sums of money ranging from $100 to $100,000 for their individual votes and influence. An official of the city government, according to evidence before us, agreed with one interested, to do an official act for $75,000; and afterward from the opposing interests accepted the sum of $100,000 for doing the very opposite of that which he had agreed to do for $75,000. One legislator received in cash at his own residence the sum of $50,000 for his vote on a pending measure. This was retained by him for a few days, and then returned in the hope of receiving a larger sum. The measure was enacted, and the member, after much delay, was finally compelled to accept $500 in full for his vote on the franchise bill.

Convincing documentary evidence was unearthed proving that the sum of $145,000 was placed in escrow in a bank in this city, to be paid to the members of the municipal assembly of St. Louis upon the passage of a valuable franchise ordinance. This ordinance failed, and a second bill was introduced, upon the passage of which the sum of about $250,000 was distributed among those members. After the passage of this ordinance, the franchise was sold for $1,250,000. The city realized nothing whatever for this franchise. In these matters the statute of limitation was a bar to the finding of indictments against nearly all of the guilty parties.

The more recent attempt of a street railway company to secure a franchise has been conspicuously brought to public notice through proceedings in the criminal courts. An agreement was made between the legislative agent of the company and the representatives of the combines in both branches of the municipal assembly, by the terms of which $75,000 was to be paid to certain members of the House of Delegates and $60,000 to certain members of the council in consideration of such members voting for the proposed measure. The first-named amount was deposited in cash in a safe-deposit box in a trust company, and the $60,000 was likewise deposited in another trust company. Two keys to each box were issued, the one being held by the legislative agent of the company, the other by the corrupt agent of the members of the municipal assembly. Through the action of the courts the passage of the ordinance was prevented. The $135,000 corruption fund was demanded by the legislators under the claim that they had done their duty, all they had agreed to do, but the company refused to honor their claims.

The evidence shows us that there are in this city men of seeming great respectability, directors in large corporations and prominent in business and social circles, who have not hesitated to put up money for the purpose of bribing through the Assembly measures in which they were interested. Some of these are as guilty as those against whom indictments have been returned, the only difference being that they have been more successful in covering their tracks.

No names are mentioned in connection with these charges of fraud.

The persons against whom indictments for bribe-giving and bribe-taking have been returned are but a small percentage of those whom inquiry convinces us deserve to wear the garb of convicts.

St. Louis is not the only city in the world or in the United States where such a condition of things exists. It is present in every large city to a greater or less extent. Valuable franchises are given away or sold at much less than their value, because those who had the power to dispose of them have done so for a consideration. Again and again the people have been deceived and disappointed by their legislators doing the thing they had agreed not to do or refusing to do the thing which they had agreed to do, all because an influential or wealthy person or corporation had backed their demands with money. How explicit the prophecy is in regard to these very conditions which exist now, the public servant asking and receiving a reward for doing that which is contrary to the wishes of those whom he is supposed to serve; asking and receiving a reward for giving judgment in a case at law, and giving judgment for the side which has the money to buy the judge.

And right in this connection come the disclosures from New York that numbers of the detective sergeants, who are supposed to hunt out crime and criminals, are directly connected with professional thieves, pickpockets, “fences,” and other criminal characters. These disclosures have been sworn to by responsible persons, and the district attorney’s office is beginning an investigation. The detectives deny every accusation. But the evidence already brought out, indicating the corrupt methods which prevail among trusted employees of the detective bureau, says the report, “reveals a state of affairs which can not fail to shock the moral sense of the entire community. The revelations also connect the police officials with notorious criminal practices, and the district attorney promises astonishing revelations.”

Nothing further need be said to show that the times in which we are now living are the times pointed out by the prophetic Word as the times immediately preceding the second coming of the Son of Man.