Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1859-08-26
THE USE AND ABUSE OF
WEALTH.
" And what is surplus wealth?
Simply loan that God has made to

The art of making money engrosses the
thoughts and absorbs the faculties of the great
majority of human beings. This is at least the
case in civilized life, and where refinement and
luxury have attained an elevated standard. A
desire for wealth increases with our years and
necessities Those who occupy humble posi-
tions, and whose wants are few, are reddily
satisfied, and take little eed for tomorrow
But, as we ascend in the scale of prosperity,
the disposition to accumulate strengthens. and
thus many of those who, at the beginning, were
contentetl with a surplus Of Il few thousand dol
| lars, hylrry on, eager and Inpatient to have
| riches, determined, if possible, to swell their
| rains, and surprised at the moderation and con
entnlent by which they were formerly charac-
terized. The social rivalries of life have much
! to do with this condition of affairs. 1t is not
that we cannot get along, or that require
more but that some friend or neighbor has
been signallv successful, and we are thus urged
or stimulated to tread in his footsteps. For
tunes in this country are relative or compara-
tive; that is to say, they are dependent on the
modes of life and rhe moderate or eXtravagant
disposition of the parties. Some, with an in
come of five thousand a year. are constantly be-
! hind hand while others with one-fourth of that
sum, have always enough and to spare. 1t is
in this sense that the rich may be poor, and
the poor relatively rich. The individual who,
whatever his earnings, contrives to save even a
trife for rainy day, or for the hour OF adver-
sity, is not only prudent but visa philoso-
pher as well as an economist. But how few
understand the true use of riches, or under
standing, act out the doctrine. To many
wealth is curse while to all it should be a
blessing. not only to the possessor, but to each
and every one within his influence, or among
f his household: We can conceive of nothing
more melancholy than millionaire, bent with
years and worn with cares, and yet toiling on
, from day to day, anxious, greedy, and grasplng
for more! If, to he be cold or dead to the or
dinary sytnpathies of human nature-if he turn
f a deafea to the appeals and sufferings of the
poor-if he stint and deny his family-if, il
short, he prove false to his trust and his mis-
sion, the spectacle is melancholy indeed. His
f case and course constitute the abuse of wealth
and his conduct is that of faithless steward
one who forgets or disregards his duties anc
: responsibilities On the other hand, we cal
, imagine no nobler and higher exemplifcatior
of a godike man than that of successful mer
I chant, manufacturer, tradesman, or mechanic
+ who, as he accumulates for himself, also dis
4 tributes to others-who is at once generou
:, and benevolent-who considers that he is bu
l. an instrument in the hands of Providence, ant
i thinks and acts accordingly. He feels tina
, this life at best is but brief and feeting-tha
if the loftiest, as the lowliest liable to be cal
e ed away in an hour-that none can take wit
/ them into the other world more than the
v brought when they were ushered into this
a and that hence the idea of boarding and accun
IS ulating, when so many around are shiverln
IN and suffering, is at once cruel and mistaken
n True, it is, that many determine to dstribut
~ by will and testament their surplus earnings
a. the distribution to take place after they haN
g. "shuf1ed off this mortal coil" But why pos
,ir pone to the hour of death work that migl
ot be discharged with so much more satisfactiC
to when in the enjoyment of health and the pc
a session of all the intellectual faculties? If v
vo regard ourselves as the ministers and instr
d ments of an allwise Providence, and if we ha
vo been eminently successful in our worldly affai
Is. how much better to discharge with our ov
an hands the duties and Obligations which
# many are disposed to confide to others! 1t
* in this ability that the ch possess great pr
O i'ere-a pr vi;cge tha' they should not neg.t
Or abose, bur apprec ate and employ wise
a. kind Y generously. aad iumaneiv. The po
tv. doub oss, haya their prlva' MS, ier f'eS
rec tudas. aud their ratz- B Attar ZAP 30
act -cnce v ia a good bear AL ii -'.a l
for Jny fur oar i..low crca: Ires thai ,n.J.G &