Wealth and Poverty in the Last Days
A LABOR paper notes the fact that "Gladstone says there is now the greatest aggregation of wealth in the hands of the few since the days of Julius Cæsar, and, therefore, on the other hand, the greatest poverty and want known to the civilized world for nearly two thousand years." Writing of these days the apostle James says: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." But to the people of God he says: "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."