8 Conservative *
WORDS SPOKEN AT THE FUNERAL
OF MR. CARL MORTON.
[ By Rev. .Tames G. McClure , at Wnukegnn ,
Illinois , on January 8,1001 ]
There nre times when humau sympathy
is glad to have some voice try to express
it , sacred though the sorrows of a homo
are , and private , though the family
grief is , still , when friends gather for
a funeral service , it is a relief to their
loving hearts if some one of their num
ber may speak for them their feelings
of tenderness and regard.
I have felt ever since I entered this
homo today and saw the sorrow , stamped
on the faces of these friends , that I
should not bo presuming , were I to add
a few words out of my own heart to the
words already read out of the scriptures.
All of us are hero at this hour with
the tenderest desire to comfort those
who have experienced a great loss. A
magnificently strong man has suddenly
been cut down. It almost seems that
one so robust , so active , so bright , as he
must live. His iron muscles , his vigor
ous frame , his energetic spirit , his un
tiring industry , made us feel that he
would be among the last to yield to
death. He was advancing rapidly to a
larger and larger career. Success had
marked every step of his endeavors. In
his native city he had seen his business
efforts crowned with prosperity ; small
beginnings had grown into vast develop
ments. Coming to this city to assume
important responsibilities , he met them
like a master ; the future was opening
before him with more and more assur
ance of success ; the hopes cherished for
him by his brothers , were on the very
eve of fulfillment. These brothers were
to see him taking his stand as a great
leader in the business world , and they
were to rejoice in the recognition and
power that would surely bo his.
But , almost in an instant , these loving
hopes have been crushed. The man
who seemed destined to carry every
enterprise of his hands and heart to
victory , has laid down his work to take
it up no more.
- Such a death startles us ! "He cometh
up like a flower and is cut down , " the
scripture says of man. But he was to
us more than a "flower , " he was a
mighty oak. As this mighty oak has
fallen , his death has been to us like unto
the crashing of a great monarch of the
forest , as it , without warning , comes
prostrate to the'grouud.
It is a great joy to be full-framed and
vigorous , to be capable of strain and
endurance. Likewise , it is a joy to
possess a sense of capacity for effort and
then to see one's capacity answering to
opportunity. It is a joy to others to
watch the man who has such powers. So
it was that Mr. Morton was regarded
by very many with admiration , duel his
ability was often mentioned with praise.
But above the admiration and praise
of the multitude , ho had another and
greater treasure ; that treasure was the
peculiarly loving affection of his own
family father , brothers , wife and
children gave him their devotion. He
was the recipient of special endearment.
The sweetest gift that life can bestow
was bestowed upon him the gift of
trust and love. Ho was rich in the pos
session of the interest , sympathy , good
wishes , and faithful affection of those
who were nearest and dearest to him.
Few men ever grew up in happier sur
roundings , had such a legacy of parental
care , knew such associations with
brothers and , later , became the head of
such a beautiful home.
As all these thoughts flow in upon us ,
lot me remind you of a story told in the
scriptures , concerning a youngest
brother. It is the story of Benjamin ,
the son of the father's right hand , the
beloved of all the family. Joseph had
become a lord in Egypt. He was the
great ruler there , the ruler of the land
where abundance was. Up in Palestine
was famine. Jacob learns of the food
up in Egypt's granaries dnd sends his
older sons to the lord of the laud for
food. . They came , ; the lord looks on
them with love. He inquires for their
father. He makes mention of their
youngest brother. He seems to have a
very tender interest in the father of that
youngest brother. Then one day he tells
these older brothers that Benjamin must
come to him. They are dismayed by
the announcement the boy so loved by
his father , the boy so protected and
guarded , to come down into the land of
Egypt , away from his father , to the
great king ! But the great king was
firm in his desire. It almost broke the
father's heart , and most broke the
brother's hearts to have that boy go to
the king. At last the boy went. The
home seemed empty ; how could it give
him up ? But when Benjamin caine to
Egypt the king gave him welcome , even
wept upon him , sent for the father ,
brought him and all his sons to the land
of abundance , and provided for their
wants. Never did the father and his
sons know so happy a joy as that which
came to the giving of their Benjamin
to the king.
May we not today take this story into
our own lives and say that we trust the
youngest brother of this family group
was wanted by the King of the Harvest
Land , that he might see and welcome *
him ? It is very hard to give up this
Benjamin : it seems as though the pride
and gladness of the family life went
with him. But , perhaps , this going
away into the far country is God's
beautiful method of telling our hearts
that there is a great lord in the land of
abundance who can supply and who
will supply our every want. Perhaps ,
too , it is God's gracious method of send
ing a special message to a loving father ,
and to devoted brothers that He wishes
them all to como as fast as they can to
him , for Ho cares for them and thinks
of them and has in store for them every
blessing.
Thanks be to God that wo believe in
the land where they hunger no more ,
neither thirst any more and that wo
believe that He whose throne is the
centre of that laud , ha's an inexhaustible
supply of love , forgiveness , comfort and
life for all who turn their hearts and
steps toward Him.
GREAT FORTUNES NOT A PERMA
NENT RESULT OF INDUSTRIAL
COMBINATION.
Those who wish to apprehend the full
social consequences of the movement
toward the concentration of control that
has characterized the transportation and
manufacturing industries , during the
last two years , must take cognizance of
the fact that it is far from being a move
ment toward the concentration of the
ownership of the industrial properties
which it affects. Certain lines of in
dustry , long ago reached a stage of
development in which the capital re
quired properly to equip each separate
enterprise , when conducted so as to
supply satisfactorily the demand for
which it was inaugurated , is in excess of
that usually owned by a single indi
vidual. The system of partnership for
awhile , provided means for surmounting
this difficulty , but with the advent of
the steam locomotive , which has proved
a revolutionary force in so many direc
tions , it became evident that something
more was needed. The business cor
poration met this necessity. By the
expedients of perpetual succession ,
limited liability of investors and , above
all , by that of permitting the direction
of the united capital of many , to be
placed in the hands of the few with
especial knowledge of the particular
business undertaken , it established its
right to a permanent place among the
legal institutions which are best adapted
to modem industrial methods. The
business corporation , even in its earliest
development , permitted persons with
relatively small capitalto share in large
industrial enterprises , and by so doing
'made possible the wonderful commercial
development of the United States
between 1840 and the close of the nine
teenth century. The present movement
is but a further step in the evolution of
the institution that has performed this
great service. The drawing together of
the commercial world , another result of
the steam locomotive , with its powerful
brethren , the marine engine , the electric
telegraph and the telephone , has caused
industrial reorganization on a scale in
volving units , almost immeasurably
larger than those of a few decades ago.
To meet this demand larger corporations
i. c. , combinations of greater capital