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And indeed the traveling man might well wonder at the change a few
years had brought to this city in the great coal fields of the middle
west. In place of the saloons that once lined the east side of Broadway
and the principal streets leading to it, there were substantial
buildings and respectable business firms. The gambling dens and brothels
had been forced to close their doors, and their occupants driven to
seek other fields for their degrading profession. Cheap variety and
vulgar burlesque troops had the city listed as no good, and passed it
by, while the best of musicians and lecturers were always sure of
crowded houses. The churches, of all denominations, had been forced
to increase their seating capacity; and the attendance at High School
and Business College had enlarged four-fold; the city streets and
public buildings, the lawns and fences even, by their clean and
well-kept appearance, showed an honest pride, and a purpose above mere
existence. But a stranger would notice, first of all, the absence of
loafers on the street corners, and the bright, interested expressions
and manners of the young men whom he chanced to meet.
And does this all seem strange to you, reader, as to our friend, the
traveling man? Believe me, there is no mystery about it. It is just
the change that comes to the individual who applies Christ's teaching
to his daily life. High purpose, noble activity, virtue, honesty and
cleanliness. God has but one law for the corporation and the individual,
and the teaching that will transform the life of a citizen will change
the life of a city if only it be applied.
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