The hydraulic press. (North San Juan, Nev. Co., Cal.) 1858-18??, 1858-09-25
THE HYDRAULIC PRESS.

Love OF MONEY, not fer its own
sake only, but, for the good it can
purchase, is not the despicable trait
your sour-grape philosophers would
have US believe.
The prosperity of the American
people is largely due to their cons
mendable desire and industrious strug-
giles for pecuniary independence, as
any one acquainted with our history
will readily admit. The very free
dom Of our political institutions, is ow-
ing, in great degree, to our materi-
al abundance-to the Independent
temper of our land-owning colonial
progenitors. The poverty Of the
masses in foreign countries is the real
secret of their present subjugation to
tyranny.
Here we have population of FROM
twenty four to thirty millions, whose
annual nett earnings per head have
been estimated to be about one hun
dred dollars, whilst, in Europe the
annual nett earnings per head do not
exceed one fiftieth Of that AMOUNT
Can poverty like this maintain free
dom ?-Unfortunately, however, love
Of money can not be confined to its
legitimate bounds. The unholy spir-
it of gain wM possess some men and
some communities exclusively; and
the useful metal, instead of remaining
the mere convenience for which it
was originally designed, becomes to
vast numbers of people a positive
tyranny, blighting the affections and
sympathies Of our nature, narrowing
the mind communicating the best things
and leading to falsehood, to robbery,
to prostitution of the noblest gifts. 1t
is source of deep regret, to all
amongst US who are not bound hand
and soul to the service of mammon
that, as nation, we afford so much
ground for the reproach-so common
in the mouths of foreigners-that we
are slaves to "the Almighty dollar"
This is not to be regretted because it
is said of US, but becauss it is in it.
self reproachful. 1t is undoubtedly
true that money is obstrusively the
ruling motive in most enterprises,
however excellent otherwise.
Though, for our part, we see no
reason to believe our country at all
peculiar in this respect, and we only
speak SO strongly of our own share
of the sin, because it is our conviction
that We should afford the world an
example of such iberality as ought
to spring from our free institutions.
In Europe, the masses, whatever their
desire may be, are mostly debarred,
by the circumstances of their birth
AMI education, and by the fixed sur
roundings which confne them, from
joining in the struggle for wealth that
is going on above them. England
may boast, as we do, that the road to
wealth and position is open to all her
citizens; it is fact, that comparative
~ few Of them ever enter upon it: the
middle classes frequently do, but the
lower seldom. The immense wealth
Of the country is confined to a small
number. There is no free land tc
stimulate free labor-no public land
to be purchased at any price. The
most that England can do in the way
Of materially assisting her people, is,
to give them six pence a day for fgh-
ting her battles. In the United
States, on the contrary, every man,
except the indolent, and the unfortu'
nate poor of our large cities, is a busy
fortune seeker. Honesty and ability
are sure competence to their posses
sor, no matter what his origin, and
every man may become an independ,
ent landowner at a small cost-and
even for that he is allowed to be the
creditor of the General Government
for a reasonable period. These cir
cumstances combine to form the spec
tacle of whole people apparently
absorbed in money~making; and the
charge of sordidness, true though il
unfortunately may be, proceeds quite
often from an unacknowledged envy,
we verify believe. Still, we deserve
the reproach. Money Is undoubtedly
a God among us,-a filthy God, who
pollutes with his presence the temples
of Chrisfianitv and the very aancfna