The Columbia daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1865, 1865-06-03
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OF POSI-" :"'u'nance among a rec:ls-
which .,''cs essen the Grand results Of
human late is Of necessity evil There
IS unhapp =, II our country, very uni
Versai dis'aste to labor. Our labor is but
100 much imported from abroad. We loathe
and despise the severer tasks of that in.
dnstry which removes mountains and fills
the deserts with fruits and blossoms. Our
people, aff1!c'ed with certain childish vani.
ties prefer TO fiji the ranks of the profes
sions with useless recruits, who add no
thing to their dignity Or character, and
lessen. by just their own strength, the
number Of thu legitimate producers of the
country. This ia to multiply unu- :essary
consumers of the capital they were in.
tended 10 produce. Society is very much
like q beehive: if the drones are allowed
10 remain. even where they Go not propa-
gate, the contents Of the hive will very
soon BE- exhausted. That society wh;cl,
darcs not grapp!e heartily with the essen
tin tasks Of field and highway. must for.
bear, only with daily loss Of its most
wholesome characteristics. With US the
cry Seems cverrnore for money. The want
of money is the one want which we every.
whore unite to deplore The proper sub
lect Of complaint is want of industry
Money is one of the most dangerous Of ali
social possessions 1t is a woudrous mower
the very use of which requires previous
training of head and heart, which cannot
be too car ful or too strict Few people
know properly how to use it, keeping
moral standards before their ewes. Most
persons not accustomed to its employment,
not trained to the use of power, become
gamblers with wealth, and the fanc;es and
the appetites take the control Of that
winch can be used with safety only by 4
justly Judging morality and a sage expe
r'ence. The Americans. young and con-
sequently poor people, were. of all
others, the least prepared to use i, judi
cioasly. In many respects, at one period
iii the history Of tho world the Spaniards
were the richest people in the w world. But
they We're previously Among the poorest,
and their riches, after q brief career of
recklessness pride. lust and other pa assions.
engendered by this very sudden excess of
Wv ealth, brought them to something worse
than their original condition. The Spa.
niarIs arc now not only the poorest and
teeblest, but the most degraded of all the
powers Of Christendom The present is
fruit of their Immediately previous con
dition. 1t was the discovery Of Spanish
America and its rich possessions to which
their poverty is due. They were not pre-.
pared to use judcously their own re-
sources, and squandered wastefully what
they had unexpectedly acquired. but not
till it had taught them wants, habits ami
indnlgenccs which they are no longer able
to supply. As the descendants of the
expelled Moors Of Granada still keep the
keys OF the ancient homestead, still dream.
ing to get back; so the Spanard still waits,
dreaming that the Providence (which
brought him Mexico and Peru will again
restore them to his possession. The case
of nation is not improperly illustrated
by individual example. Take the instance
of the youthful heir of the old miser-one
whom the sordid passion OF the sire has,
while he lived, kept within the most CON
tracted limits of base and slavish econo-
my. Let him, while still young, be nd-
mitted freely among the boards of which
ne has only dreamed before, and note with
what pains taking earnestness he dissipates
them 1t is his boast, indeed, that he does
80, even as expensive frvolites and mere
triclous life are become boast with U.s.
'Its gone at las'!'' was the only half
despondinp exclamation of ona of ,Loso