The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1873-10-23
The Danger OF the Times.

A caveat must be entered against that
coarse and selfish Utilitarianism which
measures all things only by material stan
dard. This is the peril which most dread
in the impending crisis: that in the friction
of these competitive industries, the fine
sense of honor which formed the beautiful
enamel of Southern character, may be
rubbed away, to be followed by the swift
decay of virtue, of which it was at once
the protection and the ornament. Material
ism, sitting in the schools and speaking
through the forms of philosophy, is not
perhaps much to be dreaded. 1t is toomon-
strous to be believed 1t shocks our moral
convictions, and ste rifles the pride of self
love, to be told that thought is only a Sc
cretion of the brain-that the rapture of
joy and the pathos of grief are only cur
rents of electricity along the tissues of the
body. We can safely sleave this to the in
stinct of human scorn, which resents as an
insult such libel upon our nature. But
the spirit of materialism, infused into all
the transactions of business and common
life, is the angel of pestilence dropping the
seeds of death from its black wing wher-
ever it sweeps. It is this subtle and dam
gerous spirit which is at the bottom of that
fearful decentralization that has spread like
a leprosy over the land. 1t is rap
idly displaeing legitimate commerce by
the silent invasion of its fixed laws; render
ing the individual trader helpless in the
grasp of a powerful combination controlling
the market by irregular and unnatural meth
DDS, and making it to depend upon the in
terest and caprice of large capitalists. 1t
is corrupting public justice through venal
juries, no longer impartially selected, but
chosen from the hangers-on of courts,
whose sole subsistence is the bribe of the
wealthy litigant. 1t is filling the noble pro-
fessiop of the law with mendicant attorneys,
prostituting the solemn priesthood of their
Office by opening the subterfuges of legal
chicanery to villainy and fraud. 1t invades
even the sanctIty of the bench, and over
whelms judicial integrity by the pressure OF
political and commercial combinations. It
is converting public Office from a ministry
Of responsibility and trust into a place OF
emolument, where the perquisities to be en-
joyed outweigh the duties to beperformed.
And worse than all, it is sapping the truth
fulness, the honesty and honor of private
life, and silently destroying the moral bonds
by which society is held together Through
all its grades, from the highest to the low
est, every man is striving to outstrip his
neighbor in the possession and exhibition OF
wealth; and the most sacred claims of love,
and all the sweet charities and rcfinements
Of social life arc sacrificed upon the altar OF
universal greed.
Few, perhaps, suspect the deep and hid.
den sources from which this foul idolatTy
draws its inspiration. 4 virgin continent
in the possession Of the most aggressive race
upon the globe; its rich and varied soil, tc
reward the labors Of agriculture; its stores
Of mineral wealth, to throw a charm around
even the CRIME and toll OF the miner; its
vast opportunities Of commerce, lying be
tween two great oceans, with an extended
coast line upon both, and trarersed through
its whole extent by broad navigable streams
the tide Of immigration bringing to IL
shores the thews and muscle necessary FOL
its rapid Development; all combine TO slim
ulate the spirit Of acquisition in our people
and lead them to exaggerate material pros
perity as the chief good in life.
Paradoxical, too, as It NAV appear, tht
! influence Of our Democratic Institutions
/ bears strongly IN the same direction. Fol
whilst all stand profcssedly upon one gen
eral level, the only recognized distinction i
/ that Of wealth, which is, therefore, tn,
more intensely coveted as the only badge o.
I
few shoot up from the depths Of obscu
rity and poverty, and the obscquiousnes
which bows down in worship Of this rapidly
acquired wealth, intoxicate and render mel
ielirious in its pursuit. The most vulgar o.
/ al aristocracies is thus created, entrance
/ into which IS open equally to ali, and slim
uIatcs an ambition al once the most grovcl
1 ing in its character and the most debasin,
in It's influence.
Strangely. too. the sery. science Of tn
Pace lends its aid both to increase and /,
/ sanciify this gross materiaiism. i Is dis
/ tinguished, not only by the comprehensive
ness n its range, hut even more by n,
steady application 81 rs discoveries 10 ID
arts 81 practical life. Il pcnetrates deepe
into the mysterious mechanism 81 nature
i1terprcls It's more complex laws. ani
evolves its more hidden forces. hat not con
tent with these achieTcmcuts II harnesse
then al 10 the service of nan IS agents 4
execute bis wiz Il tunnels our mountains
spans Our r.sers. Wearcs the network O
tFarel over the face of the earth. laws 81
wIrcs beneath the oceans bed, over UIliel
The nations whisper diplomatic and cen