The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-03-04
THE POWER OF GOLD.


- IH0 kOWER OF GOLD.
tCincinnst Catholic Telsgraph)
If the Presidency be gwen to Hayes,
lt Will be IN oil probability, he will o,
the unlawful possession of his Office to I
power OF money. The defence of justice
10 considered far less important than materi
t. prosperity. A bold course of opposition
the gigantic fraud which the Morton CO.
r sPiracy has well nigh completed, has be,
n paraiyzed by the cry of thousands, wi
: seem to value material prosperity mo
than national honor. We have certainl
u fallen on evil, ominous times. A brood
n sordid passions, clamoring and wailipg
9 the doors of Congress, have frightene,
with the bugbear Of civil war, large nun
Der OF the members of the House into tl
, conviction, that it ia better ia acquiesce i
the Infamous decision of the Electoral Com
, mission. Right is sacrificed to Mammon a
TO another MOloeb. The degrading doc
trine that the accumulation of wealth j
preferable in this world to all things else,
doctrine which has been steadily growing
In the heart of the nation for years, hal
gwen to the supporters of Mr.. Hayes al
the encouragement they needed, to over
| turn the will of the American people.
: Had the honest members of Congress
dlsregarded the tears and howls with
| which cupidity begged them on bonded
knees to nave mercy on it's Golfers; had they
turned deaf ear to the voices of the baser
national vices which have swarmed and
crawled forth in the sunshine of national
repose aud which have corrupted many of
us into Creeks of the Lower Empire had
they remembered that they had something
more valuable to defend and protect than
the profits of commerce, it would have been
soon revealed that there was not the slightes
danger of civil war. Bat the faint, vaciiia.
ting opposition, with which the decision of
L0nIaIRna w "a
painfully evident that the sordid idolatry
OF material good, of mere temporal advan-
tages, now governs the highest council of
The nation. The value which the founders
u the Republic placed on moral principles
las entirely disappeared.
Inc calamitous result of the long dispu-
ed Presidential election should certainly
each all thinking men that it is full time tn |
steem something more than what they can |
zee, feel and taste for, though materislism
nay enrich nation, nothing Can save il
'ut noble ideae. Pagan Rome was ready
or the death that came upon it with bar |
'a[lc violence, when all moral principles |
lad been superseded by the maxim which |
ppears to prevail now in our midst Virtus
oSt nummos-" virtue after the dollar.n
This corruption of society, it's devotion
o money getting and it's boldness in re-
entlng the claim of moral principles, NAV
10 traced to the Reformation. Piety was
enounced as "superstition by the Re.
ormers," and patriotism now is ridiculed
y their successors. The lofty virtues
1hlch erected the sanctuaries were scoffad
nd decried by the Reformers and infidels.
rho rified the churches. Modern religion
as taught modern society that gold is to
q preferred to all civic virtues, The moral
'orld which the Catholic Church created
as been swallowed by the barbaric inva-
ION OF money getting. Not only the self
enylng virtues of Catholic times, but even
ne shining requirements and sparkliDp
ttrlbotes of mind which were worshippeS |
q FORMER generation and cultivated
lth admirable enthusiasm, even thopgh
lls intellectual culture was used merely to Y
ed vanity, or ambition, have in these g
mes been cast down from idolatry to neg i
ct oy ,groveling materialism, Money is r
gardeo as the SummMna bonuns of human f
hstence. All the pure and lofty ideas. il
cause they do not fill the pocket are
W laughed at as Quixotism, aud any ma g
RAJ enjoyment, however gross, is eulo-
sed in comparison. This love of mouev q
crushed the American Republic. Mate, b
u CIVILIZATION binds and enelaves us. II
king the mass of the people Indifferent N
the preservation of national rights and a
nesty. Busy industry and gorgeous lux IL
swarm our echoing cities it is these m
'6 nave burst asunder and swept away n,
m Cue American miCd tue ligatures of p,
raj restrain. They have destroyed all
9 for political honor and justice, and in al
ao OF proving Instruments OF progress, M
precipitating destruction. H
Fhe moral dignity of a nation alone gives H
zeal value to its material proc pc rity. pr
ke the former way, then, through the fe
amount influence of wealth. mepdacitv, m
'idity, cowardice, corruption, and ali al
other vices which the last Presidential as
'tlon brought to light in such large and m
eoue proportions, spawn over the whole
d. From being the handmaid of merit, an
ience in this country, growing into an tn
ursed thirst for money, has become the Ii
'rees OF crimes: Our material progress tn
cause for grief; to one who loves the tb
fare Of his country it brings no joy. he
ltal blindness alone spplauds it. Poll wi
virtue in the worst days of Roman tn
anlsm, was praised, even it were left to an
We. In our day it does not receive the mC
ty honor of praise-it perishes amid trs
sneers and ridicule of " statesmen - fol
the Republic perishes with it.