Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 219, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1911 — Money [ARTICLE]

Money

By Dr. Frank Crane

Since the dawn of preaching we preachers have been threatening rich men with our right fist—and extending to them our left palm. It is hardly to he wondered at that we find difficulty in being taken seriously. And Oar advice has been so confusing that we have not had much effect. For now we exhort the youth to all (he virtues, giving as an inducement the assurance that thus they will be enabled to get on; and now again we turn to those that have gotten on and warn them of the danger of riches. It might as well be asked, if riches be dangerous, why acquire them; and if virtues lead to riches, are they really worth cultivating? It may be well, therefore, to set down a few common sense facts in re riches and the relation of the same to the moral values. In the first place, money is simply the token or sign of our common hummi wants. It means power, power over others, power to make our personality felt. No wonder we want it. Again it means liberty. Poverty is a curse. It ties the hands. It binds the mind. It narrows the soul. One who has to sweat ten hours a day for bread has no time nor strength left to develop the higher part of himself. Money means also a full life. We can gratify our cravings, whether they be for beer or art, for Paris gowns or Wagner music. With money we have a chanco to grow; without it we art stunted.

Money, therefore, Is simply concentrated —we might say canned—human value. It naturally follows that it is good* or ba&, never of Itself, but only as giving opportunity to its possessor. Here, then, we have the moral gist of the whole matter: money is simply—opportunity. It unlocks the door and bids the cramped and chafing passion go and' do Its will. It liberates desire. Hence It simply emphasises a man. If be is good he can now be better, having more scope; If bad he can, and probably will, be worse. If idle and useless, he becomes a living fountain of Idleness and uselessness, poisoning others. So, money Is like any other gift; as beauty, which adds power to the person; which multiplies the efflciehcy of the mind and hand; or position, for kinship magnifies a common man to heroic proportions, in hisInfluence on other men. Now, the sole relation of morals to power of any kind Is this: that the moral sense adds to power—responsibility. The root of any genuine moral feeling is altruism. Given any desire, It becomes moral as It takes a direction toward the welfare of other people; it Is immoral exactly in proportion as It disregards others and looks only to self. Wicked people, therefore, are those who live, think, and do for self alone; and that whether poor or rich. Whoever says, “I would like to be rich, for I could do so reach good with my money,” should ex* mine himself and ask what good he is doing with the little he has. It's all a matter of relation. If one Is not helpful and liberal on 240 a month, he would not be so on 14,000 a month. In the ultimate realm of morals there are no commandments; there is only one test—do I live for myself or for others; am I altruistic or egocentric. The dawdling smart set, flitting from bridge to matinee, from theater to bedizened restaurant, from the club, to the horse race, are wicked; but no wickeder than the better poor who want to lead snch a life, - and who curse their lot because their selfishness is bound and chained.

To the real man, therefore, riches means nothing at All, as to his character; it simply means an opening to give vent to his character. And a cleareyed soul, that sees and realizes what responsibility means, is never tager for power and opportunity. It is easier to be good in moderate means than in riches for the principal reason that it is easier to bear a small than a great load of responsibility. "It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven," Just because a rich man to be moral must be great And. unfortunately, great souls are scarce among great fortunes. The greatness of Jesus was not In. his wisdom, magnetism, nor ethical perception, but in the fact that he wan utterly altruistic; that Is. he used all his powers not to advance himself but to help others. His tormentors unwittingly told the truth, and stated unknowingly his very secret, when, as bn bung os the cross, they their heads at him and cried: "He saVed others; himself he cannot savel^.