"THOU shalt not steal," reads the eighth precept of the Decalogue. Every one of the commandments of God is founded upon a great principle of righteousness, both broad and deep. It condemns sin to its lowest depths, striking to the last fiber of that class of sins condemned. But the same commandment that condemns sin at the same time approves righteousness, demanding the highest ideal of right-doing on the line considered.
Mr. Webster defines the word "steal" as follows: "To take without right or leave." Anything taken unjustly from another in any way is stealing. There are many ways by which this may be done, some of which we will notice. If a man is hired by another to perform ten hours' labor per day, for which he is to receive $1.50 per day, and he loiters away one hour of the ten, working only nine hours, he has stolen 15 cents from his employer, the price of one hour's work. Again, the employer may by some unjust means compel the man to work twelve hours per day and only pay him the wages of ten hours. The employer thus steals two hours' wages from his hired man. God would have His people deal honestly with all men, and ever remember that they must practise in this world the same pure principles of righteousness that are practised in heaven if they themselves would enter that holy place. "Provide things honest in the sight of all men." Rom. 12:17.
To obtain anything from our fellow-men dishonestly in any way is a violation of the eighth commandment. To deal justly with all men in all things is the righteousness of God on that point as revealed to men in this commandment of God. We deem it a very bad thing for one man to rob another, but how much worse it must be for a man to rob God! Yet how many there are in the world who are doing this! "For ye are bought with a price." 1 Cor. 6:20. "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." 2 Peter 2:1. The Lord by the sacrifice made on Calvary has bought all men, but how few are willing that the Lord shall have His own, that He may do with it as He will! How many are taking themselves daily out of the hands of the Lord, and that, too, without His consent! Neither have they a right to thus deprive the Lord of His own. Would it not be a violation of the principle we are now considering to do this?—It certainly would; for it is taking for ourselves that which belongs to another.
Another way that men break the eighth commandment is by withholding from the cause of God the money which should be given to support God's work in the earth. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation." Mal. 3:8, 9. This refers to the Lord's professed people. How sad it is, yet it is true or the Lord would not say it! But mercy still lingers, and all may have opportunity to repent and cease robbing God. The Lord will have a people living on this earth when He comes who will be keeping all His commandments. Rev. 14:12.
The larger part of the inhabitants of this world are so blinded by sin that they do not understand the pure principles of righteousness revealed in the law of God. Some who profess to keep the law, when these heaven-born principles are set before them will say that those believing such things are extremists. But God's "judgments are a great deep." We may study as best we can these great principles, and get the most exalted ideas of righteousness that it is possible for finite minds to grasp, and still we shall have more to learn when we reach heaven. O, that men might see that in studying the law of God they are studying the character of God the Father, of Christ the Son, of all unfallen intelligences, and the character we must bear if we associate with these holy beings throughout eternity! All fraud, deceit, overreaching in deal, and everything of this kind, is forbidden by the eighth commandment, while all purity, uprightness, honesty, and sincerity of purpose, both in our relation to God and man, is approved.
Does this precept condemn us? Then let us turn from the sin and walk in the righteousness of God through Jesus our Saviour. He has met the demands of the law in the flesh, making it possible for us to do the same in Him. Praise His holy name. J. W. WATT.
THE BEST BANK TO INVEST IN.
By Robert S. Greaves
It is the custom of the world to count a man rich according to the amount of property he possesses, or the amount of money he has invested in the bank. A person may have many thousands of dollars hoarded away, and yet be very poor, for this wealth will only be of use for a certain time. When the angel of death sets his seal on our foreheads, money can not purchase even one single minute of time; or when God calls us to His judgment-seat, it is also useless to purchase us a pardon with, even tho we may have possessed millions.
People who heap up treasure enough to last them all their lives, are often looked upon as being far-seeing and wise, and we often hear them say that they needn’t care for anything now, as they are well provided for. Those who are really far-seeing, and who wish to make a substantial provision for themselves, look ahead beyond old age, or even the grave; for there is a time for us even after death. It would be better for many of the worldly rich if it was not so, and those who are truly wise will make some provision for that time also.
One man puts a portion of his income in a bank, thinking that it will do for a rainy day. His friends think, “Wise man.” Another man gives a portion of his income to the poor and needy, thereby investing it in the bank of heaven. Angels think, “Wise man,” for here thieves break not through, and rust and corruption is unknown. Which do you, dear reader, think is the best bank to invest in, the earthly or the heavenly one?
Jesus Christ is the chief cashier of the heavenly bank, and never makes any mistakes, but keeps true and faithful record of our accounts, and has promised us all big interest for any money we deposit with Him. Those who have not already opened an account, I should advise to do so at once, and should say, Let us all invest all that we are able in the bank of heaven.
Still, we must not rely on this for salvation, for, tho charity covereth a multitude of sins, Jesus’ name is the only one under heaven by which we can be saved.
When life is tender, and its bud
Scarce shows what flower is hidden there,
Lest fire or blast should blight its form,
And it should perish in the storm,
Hold Thou my hand.
When childhood, with its sweet perfume,
And guileless soul, and simple tread,
With foes on every side to spoil,—
Their wicked efforts wilt Thou foil,
Hold Thou my hand.
When youth, with energy and truth,
Starts in the seas of life to ride,
With human hand too short to save
From storm and wreck and water's grave,
Hold Thou my hand.
When manhood's crown upon me rests,
And earnest work my days do fill,
Lest I forget my Maker's will,
And stake my tent on doubter's hill,
Hold Thou my hand.
When great success doth crown my plans,
And all the world unites to praise,
Lest pride and love of fame shall find
In me a place my eyes to blind,
Hold Thou my hand.
When losses and sore troubles come,
Hopes reel, and fall no more to rise,
And friends grow cold and then forsake,
Despair comes nigh the heart to break,
Hold Thou my hand.
When all life's usefulness is past,
And cold, drear death is hovering near,
Let Thy blest promise rest my soul;
As o'er me Jordan's billows roll,
Hold Thou my hand.
Where'er I go, whate'er my lot,
At Thy dear side give me a place;
To my weak soul Thy strength impart,
Thy Spirit give to cheer my heart,
Hold Thou my hand.
H. G. THURSTON.
TO MY BROTHER DOWN THE STREET.
By Eugene A. Brown
To my brother down the street (who stands behind the bar): To-day I have been thinking of the brotherhood of man; that God made all nations of one blood upon the face of the earth; that our Saviour died to save you from your sins as well as me. Yea, He died to save even the trembling, wo-stricken wretches that have wasted their precious life at the fountain of poison over which you preside.
My brother, you are assuming a heavy debt. You will surely have to pay it some day, every farthing of it. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
You looked upon your brother across the bar, upon a man—or perhaps a boy—decently clothed, clean, and thrifty. You robbed him of it all. He stands before you again—ragged, unkempt, poverty-stricken, dirty. But he is your brother still. Once he met you—honest and upright. Now he grovels at your feet. But, O, the shame is yours! ’Twas your brother that you robbed of his innocence, his manhood, his every opportunity in life.
But you will meet him again, my brother. We will all appear before that kind Father who made us of one blood. Some will have laid aside their robes of iniquity—and our great elder Brother died for these. But some will come up then to give their own account.
Yes, my brother, the great first day of the month, the great day to pay every debt, will arrive. Your account is not balanced. You are heavily in debt. You have a mortgage on your soul.
Jesus came to save His people from their sins. My brother, are you ready to be saved?
EUGENE A. BROWN.
Phœnix, Arizona.
THE SUPREME AND CERTAIN TEST.
By Editor
THERE are many trembling, doubting, halting souls, both in the church and the world, that are longing for freedom from sin and sinning, and for the peace and rest there are in Christ Jesus. Many of these do not believe the Word of God. They are not really sure that Jesus Christ is a divine Saviour from sin and sinning; from the sinful deed and the disposition to sin. Their minds have become bewildered by the multitudinous voices of unbelievers in the church and world. The Word has seemed to them to be shaken by the self-constituted “critics.” And the questions arise oft from anguished hearts, if never framed into words, “How may I know the truth? What shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
We wish to answer this heart questioning in the words of Jesus. We wish to present His sure and certain test, which thousands by experience have proved to be true.
In John 7:14 is the statement that Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles “went up into the temple and taught.” There were critics of His words then as now. They even declared that He was possessed of a demon. Verse 20. They were even seeking to kill Him, because He had broken their traditions concerning the Sabbath. Jesus knew all that was in their hearts. He knew that His own mission was not to exalt Himself, but to show forth the Father. He knew that there were hearts there who really wanted to know the truth and do it. And, therefore, for them, and all other honest inquirers from that day to this, He said: “My doctrine [teaching] is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God.” Verses 16, 17. This is an infallible test. Let us repeat it from the Revised Version: “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God.”
He does not ask you, doubting soul, to do, but to will to do. Your will is your own. You have the power of choice as to moral purposes. God will not step into your sacred circle and force your will. He knows that as a sinner, separate from Him, you can not do the right, tho you will to do it. The sinner’s confession, apart from God’s power, is ever this: “For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not; but the evil that I would not, that I do.” Rom. 7:18, 19.
We need not inquire why man is so helpless. We know that he is. Apart from God he can not reach his own high ideals; he is “without strength.” And it is because man is so powerless to live the perfect life required of God and of every “good conscience,” that Jesus Christ came down from heaven and lived and taught and died and arose to eternal triumph, that man might be saved from sin here and from death forever.
Do you want to know this? “If any man willeth to do His [God’s] will, he shall know.” God’s will is His holy law. Said Jesus, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Ps. 40:8. (See also Matt. 7:21, 23, where doing God’s will is opposed to iniquity, anomian, lawlessness, law-breaking; or Rom. 2:18, where it is said they that know His will are instructed out of His law.)
You may not know all that the law requires. You may see but the narrowest scope of its infinite breadth; but you can, nevertheless, will to do it. You can choose it with all the heart. You can give up utterly your own way, which ever lures to disappointment, and choose God’s way in Jesus Christ. And if you do this, you shall know, for the mighty and ever-blessed word of His will, will work out in you all that it demands.
Is this plain? Let us illustrate: Jesus found an impotent (powerless) man at the pool who had not walked for thirty-eight years. In his own strength he had doubtless tried to walk a thousand times, but could not. Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole.” John 5:8, 9. He chose, willed, to do God’s will, expressed by Christ, and the living Word of God made him whole.
Jesus said to the palsied man, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed.” He came to Jesus “borne of four;” he departed bearing his own couch. He willed to do the word of Christ, and the word gave him power.
Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch forth thy hand;” he willed to do it, and was made whole.
Each of these men knew that Christ’s words were true. No evidence could be stronger to them. You may know as truly if you will choose God’s will. That will in your heart, if continually chosen, will cleanse away all sin, will purge every stain, will make complete every imperfection, will correct every defect. Is the sin that binds you self-worship, covetousness, profanity, lust, Sabbath-breaking, hatred? God’s will says, “Thou shalt not.” Accept it in Jesus Christ, and the word will set you free and cleanse the sin.
You may say, as Satan desires you shall, “If it were only true; if I only knew,” and if, if, if, till destruction comes. God’s Word is true. You may know if you will will to do His will.
The demonstration rests with you. The Lord prepares His table. He places upon it the water of life. He loads it with all the delectable and substantial viands of heaven. He calls to us poor, hungry, starving souls, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; . . . without money and without price.” We come; we look upon the loaded table. It seems to be good. He tells us that it is. Others eat with happy faces and glad hearts. They take up the invitation and bid us to the feast, but we wait and question and doubt and starve. There is but one way we may know that it is all just what God says. He urges again: “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” Will to do; taste His Word. Then will you indeed say: “How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” “I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love.”
O doubting soul, taste, and see, and know, in your own life, your own experience, that Jesus Christ is your personal Saviour, mighty, complete, precious.
INDIFFERENCE TO GREAT PRINCIPLES.
UNDER the subhead of pernicious private interpretation, James R. Randall, a well-known writer, has the following in the Catholic Mirror of December 3; it presents some things worthy of serious consideration:—
In civic affairs there is a pretense of veneration for the Constitution of the United States, but it was thrown overboard about forty years ago, in certain sections, and just now we read as follows in the New York Evening Post’s Washington correspondence:—
“The most extraordinary thing about the expansion plans of the party in power is the indifference of supposed statesmen toward the constitutional questions involved. Nearly everybody takes it for granted that our tropical possessions will have a different tariff system from ‘the mother country,’ but how such an arrangement is to be established, in the oft-quoted words of the constitution, ‘all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States,’ is not fully apparent. That nobody knows what the government at Washington purposes to do in this particular is not so surprising as that nobody seems to care. American self-confidence has received such an impetus from the victories of Dewey and Sampson that the inhibition of the poor old Constitution is not taken seriously.”
When a people repudiate their organic law, their written constitution, or pervert it for selfish ends, their form of government must be seriously impaired or in danger of violent revolution. To restore the Constitution, to save the republic, to preserve our real freedom,—these are the things most demanded of true patriots, who remember that “extended empire, like extended gold, exchanges solid strength for feeble splendor.”
Utter indifference to great principles is a characteristic sign of the times. Men false to every principle of righteousness, as are some men prominent in public life to-day, are held in power and place by the people, or by party leaders. Expediency is more than righteousness; policy is more than principle. The Constitution stands for principles, but if these principles of righteousness and equality are obstructions to an “expansive” policy or “imperial” ambition or dominion, the principles are torn to shreds. And when a government departs from these principles, it is certainly in danger; it is in itself in a worse condition than a revolution; it is disintegrating.
There is a reason for all this. The most of the people of this land are professed believers in the Bible. The Constitution of that Book is expressed in God’s Ten Words, the Decalogue. Men are repudiating that; and in repudiating that they repudiate the principles of righteousness for which that to all eternity stands. When God said: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . The Seventh-day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” on all principles of sound logic He meant the Seventh-day, the day before the First-day of the week; but men have in effect said that they know better than God, and have read into His Constitution the First-day instead of Seventh-day. This was done under apostasy in the Dark Ages; but now, in these days of enlightenment,7when the truth is made plain, men repudiate the Constitution of High Heaven, and continue in its stead the counterfeit. And if they will do this as respects the Divine Government, how much more the human!
There are doubtless many who would not do this if the issue came clearly before them. Many would not favor the present “imperial” policy of the United States if they knew that it was inhibited by the Constitution; if they knew that involved in it was the sacrifice of principles of righteousness and equality; if they knew that it meant in the ultimate the certain ruin of the republic; but they are swallowed up in the great tidal wave of indifference which has swept over the land. Men are trusting in a name of the dead past, but blind to the present conditions. “Our fathers believed in equality and justice to all; we are their progeny, and wiser, and therefore we so believe. Our fathers believed in religious liberty, and fought for it; we are their inheritors, and wiser, and therefore we do.” So men fatuously reason, possessing a name, but having lost the substance. So the Jews reasoned when Christ was upon earth. They swore by Moses, and slew Him whose Spirit inspired Moses. They built costly memorial sepulchres to the prophets, and crucified Him who sent the prophets.
He only is safe in Church or State who abides by the eternal principles of righteousness and equality set forth in the Constitution of God’s government, not perforce, but willingly. He only will not be ensnared who shakes off indifference, and exercises “eternal vigilance.”
FAITHFUL.
By T.
THE facts and memories that cling to the common English word "faithful" are an inspiration to any one who will properly consider them. He who is faithful is "true or trustworthy in the performance of duty." And one can not contemplate the thought of being true or trustworthy without feeling the uplifting and ennobling power of divine goodness.
"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this Man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." Heb. 3:1-6.
In the foregoing text the apostle invites us to "consider" "Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him that appointed Him." In considering any one, we think about him deliberately; we reflect upon him; we give the closest attention to his every characteristic; we ponder over him from every view-point. Then when divine inspiration asks us to consider the faithfulness of Jesus, it is that we may see the perfection of that faithfulness in all its fulness and power.
And His faithfulness is "as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." His faithfulness, then, is not selfish,—it is not for Himself, but for us. He volunteered to come down to us to save us. And the Father "appointed Him" to this work. Our eternal existence and happiness hung in the balances. All depended upon the faithfulness of the Master. And, praise the Lord, He was faithful. The destiny of each one of the whole human family may be that of joy and goodness; for He was true, He was trustworthy.
Satan met Him with his great temptations. He brought every one of his cunning devices to bear upon our Lord, but to no purpose; for He was faithful. He stood the test. He was true to His beloved human family. The sorest temptations, the most arduous labors and hardships, the deepest and the bitterest sorrows, were His portion; yet He was ever the same.
The temptations that the Master endured were the same kind of temptations that we have to meet. "For we have not an High Priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Heb. 4:15. How much was the Master tempted?—"In all points," is the inspired answer. How was He tempted?—"Like as we are." What a bond of sympathy is thus formed! In all our temptations we have the consolation that Jesus knows by experience just how we feel; for His temptations were like ours.
But, better than all, He was faithful; for, while He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet it was "without sin." The destinies of us all were hanging upon His faithfulness. Mankind had gone down under temptation, and Jesus had come to the rescue. But He could not rescue us on the field of carnal battle, by the aid of cruel sword and spear. The victory must be that of faithfulness. It must consist in a sorer trial than was ever faced by the bravest warrior on the bloodiest field of strife that this world has ever seen. The Master's work was to meet temptations just like ours; He had to meet them in the weakness of our human flesh; and under this trial He was to demonstrate that a perfectly-faithful dependence upon the Father's divine strength would keep Him from sin.
What a wonderful trial! And what a glorious victory! And this victory was not won by our Redeemer for Himself; it was won in our behalf. The victory was achieved by the Master only that it might be all for us. Then it is really our victory. And each one can now say with assurance, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phil. 4:13.
There is a special reason why those who are living in these last days should know of this faithfulness of the Saviour, not as a theory, but as a constant experience. The prophecies are full of the evidence that the closing years of time will be fraught with perils. Satan makes a desperate effort to overthrow every one. "Wo to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Rev. 12:12.
Satan stirs up the powers of earth against the work of Christ. And "these shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful." Rev. 17:14.
The Lamb is victor in this last great contest. He was faithful while He was enduring His personal trial, and His faithfulness inspires fallen humanity to trust in the same power that kept the Saviour. And so the Lord says "they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
Then in this fierce contest against evil in these last days, the Lamb is to be victor, and there will be others "with Him." And they are with Him because they are "faithful." It always has and always will cost a great effort to thus be faithful to the Master, but no efforts are so worthy or so productive of such vast results.
Question Corner
901. The First Meridian.
By Editor
A CORRESPONDENT in Victoria, Australia (H. M.), inquires, with reference to the keeping of the Sabbath, "Where is the first and true meridian?"
Our querist refers to Mount Sinai; but the Sabbath did not begin at Mount Sinai; it began at creation, in Eden. Where was that?—We do not know. There are divers who endeavor to locate it; some at the North Pole; other some near Mount Ararat. These last try to make the Euphrates, Tigris, Indus, etc., answer to the four rivers of Genesis 2. But this we do know by the Word of God, that while "the earth abideth forever," "the world that then was [before the Deluge], being overflowed with water, perished." 2 Peter 3 : 5, 6. The word from which "world" is translated is cosmos, meaning "order, arrangement." The order, the arrangement, of land and water existing before the flood, perished; it existed no more. Since the flood we have the present general arrangement. The rivers did not flow then as now. Noah kept the Sabbath through the Deluge in the ark. When he came out, he continued it as he came to it. He may have known nothing about meridians. A vast majority of his descendants who have kept the day acceptably to God have known naught of meridians, or Greenwich, or astronomical time; but they did know the Sabbath and kept it. Noah's descendants scattered in all directions, Noah, tradition tells us, going eastward to Eastern Asia and its adjacent islands, carrying the same Sabbath with him as was kept by the Shemites. The Eastern Continent was a unit on the day, so far as they were loyal to God. The migrators westward took the same Sabbath with them to Europe, and across the Atlantic to America. And not until the Pacific is reached, the great waterway which divides the continents, and which in God's providence was not crossed till the world was established in the original week, does any question arise. And that question is answered by the logic of existing facts, with a few exceptions, made by man's blunders. Where does the day begin?—On the eastern shore of the Eastern Continent, reckoning as a part of the continent the islands naturally reached from its shores. Over this there has been no question as regards Sunday, nor would there have been any if all would consent to observe the pagan counterfeit. The question has been raised by Satan to becloud the minds of the honest who desire to know and do the truth.
The scripture is a graphic and striking prediction of the ruin of Damascus and Samaria by the king of Assyria, within what would probably be the space of three years, before the unbegotten child could say, My father, or, My mother. The name of the child meant, "The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth." For the fulfilment of this see 2 Kings 15 : 29, 30.
To what period does Matt. 19:28 refer? Does it refer to the judgment of the wicked? — C. A. F.
It refers to the new-earth state. “In the regeneration” must include the new earth. Of course it may begin at the first advent, when Christ takes His own throne in Jerusalem above. The twelve tribes would, in the judging, include all who had been numbered among them. The apostles will be associated with Christ in His work of judgment against the wicked and His administration of His righteous kingdom. See Ps. 72:2-8.
THE MENACE OF CRIMINALITY.
By T.
IT is a noteworthy fact that there is much discussion at the present time in regard to the rapid growth of the criminal classes. There are newspaper and magazine articles on the murder problem, the embezzlements of bank officials and other trusted custodians of funds, the robberies that are growing more and more prevalent, the corrupting influence of bribes upon judges, juries, and officers of state, and so on to the end of the list.
Men meet in social or official capacity, and the discussion is very apt to drift into a consideration of some phase of the problem of criminality. All of which shows that there are abundant facts to cause a very general uneasiness. And it is not statistics that are relied upon or used in creating this impression. Common every-day observation irresistibly fastens the conviction upon the mind that we are in the midst of a reign of criminals that is simply terrible.
The speech of Lord Salisbury on Lord Mayor's day, November 9, has been quite fully commented upon because of its significance in the field of diplomacy and international politics. But the lord chief justice of England made a speech on the same occasion, and while it has not seemed to receive much attention in this country, yet it is most significant. After speaking of the frauds in the adulteration of food-stuffs the chief justice said:—
"I take this opportunity—which I think is suitable for the purpose—to call your attention to another class of fraud which is rampant in this community; fraud of a most dangerous kind, widespread in its operation, touching all classes, involving great pecuniary loss to the community, loss largely borne by those who are least able to bear it; and, even much more important than this, fraud which is working insidiously to undermine and corrupt that high sense of public morality which it ought to be the common object of all interested in the good of the community to maintain; fraud blunting the sharp edge of honor and besmirching honorable names. I need not tell you I am alluding to the frauds practised in abuse of the law relating to the formation of companies with limited liabilities."
During the past summer the frauds practised under the "limited liabilities" law were quite fully exposed and discussed. Mr. E. T. Hooley confessed in court that he had been acting as a promoter of fraudulent corporations, and that in his evil work some of the high and titled nobility of England had been his accomplices. His scheme in brief was to go through the form of organizing a corporation to conduct some business; he would then bribe a lord or two, or some other of the titled gentry, to allow him to use their names as among the directors of the corporate-organization; his next step was to bribe a few newspapers to puff his company, taking particular pains to mention that lord so and so was one of the directors. The common people who had a small amount of means would hasten to invest, thinking that any company that was spoken of so highly in the papers, and that had such well-known lords on its board of directors, would be perfectly safe.
As high as $50,000 was sometimes paid to a single newspaper to get its editor to laud the corporation as a safe and profitable place to invest whatever savings any of the people might have. Several "noble lords" received $125,000 each for allowing their names to be used as directors of these fictitious corporations. In view of these facts is it to be wondered at that the lord chief justice of the British Empire should offer such words of caution? Certainly it is high time that he should sound the danger trumpet.
Highway robbery is never such a menace to the good order of society as the frauds and embezzlements of those who stand high in social, business, and political life. The highwayman is usually under suspicion; he must of necessity keep in hiding somewhere. His influence is limited. There are only a few comparatively that he can train in his school of crime. But the "genteel" defaulter holds a high position in society. His company is sought after, because he is supposed to be an honest, upright man. Young men esteem it an honor to be introduced to him. They listen to his words, and regard them as wisdom.
Then, when he has the confidence of the people, he lays his plans to defraud. Some of them will intrust him with funds, or place some kind of business in his hands, and he will insidiously approach others and beguile them into becoming assistants and accomplices in his infamous crimes. Many are in this way led by him into the ways of evil who otherwise would have been honest and true. Thus he is not only a criminal himself, but is a teacher of criminality.
When the statesman, the influential lawyer, the titled nobleman, whispers the beguiling sentiments of fraud to one who occupies a less influential position, he is apt to reason that if Mr. so and so, of such high rank, suggests such a thing it can not be so very bad. And then, too, he stands so high and wields such a wide influence that he will be able to protect any one that he asks to help him in his fraudulent work, so that detection and arrest will not likely follow. It is a sad thought that our world is so rapidly filling up with men who are betraying the confidence and trust imposed in them.
It is a common thing to speak of the criminals that fill the gutters, and many express themselves as being deeply concerned in regard to the danger that this low-down criminal class presents. But the criminals who stand in high and influential positions are a greater menace by far. They stand where they should be the very foundation and mainstay of society. But, instead of preserving the integrity that such a position demands, they are building rotten timbers into the foundations of the social structure.
Such conditions can not continue much longer without bringing on a crisis. And when the crisis comes, it will be a world-wide reign of terror.
