The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-12-08

TnE ALnI0uIy DOLLAR.
Since the defllcation Of the cashier Of
The list National Bank of New Jersey
there have been several developments pun
licly announced of vilanles of oinillar
character aud doubtless the fall crop OF
spring sowing Is not by any means OK
baustcd. There may be various causes ior
these disasters, that full Ike winter blight
upon the moral atmosphere, but the chiei
Of them. we apprchend, finds its root
and main stimulus in the grasping
after sudden wealth as means to crafty
ambitious longings for social, political or
financial power and position, In Its nature
that devilisa spirit Is akin to the one 'h"'
works in the lurid laboratory Of the assas-
sims heart when in the whirl-wind play oi
itspassions 1t surveys with envy or distaste
the fame of a Garfield, the wealth OF q
Gould, or the power Ola Gear, or men Oh
lesser note and fewer possessions. There
must be something grleyousIy out
ofioint in the social structure that tempts
men to do such desperate deeds against tAe
fearful odds of penalty that detection
threatens. 1t is the indiscrimlnate homage
paid TO wealth, purchased, when not gehu-
nine but nevertheless an homage as good
rs the lest, as public opinion goes There
is n glamour thrown about the rich man
that seems to invest even his dirty tricks
with dignity, his smutty jokes with respec-
liability and his arbitrary dlcta-
NJ
with the authority of judicial decree. 10
him. under all circumstances, must be &C.
corded especial regard at least
in his presence, for whichever he
does and whatever he says. The smooth
broadcloth of the knave commands more
: fys of the hat than the threadbare coat OF
some worthy but poorer wearcr. Even his
lest at religion as he leaves the church
door has been more than compensated Tor
by the dollar Me left in the platter, while
the nickel depositor is laughed at for re.
buking' lin. The consequence Oh
all this is too often desire to
put oneself into such position. The quicker
the attainment, the larger the possession
of the coveted homage. Many soldier on
the CORY field of battle, by one reckless
plunge has been brevetted brigadi n; many
an almost penniless adventurer in the bat
: tie field of financial speculation, has been
deemed the warrior prince on the field Of
the cloth of gold. What has been,
may be; and every individual that
trust. his honor on the treacherous
sea of chance perceives in its tides
only the indicating straw that
points to the harbor that hope conceives.
70 him no shipwreck will come. We are all
implicated. The evil finds existence in the
humblest strata of the whole organism, as
well as the highest and middle. Mr.. A,
barely able to pay his strcet-car fare, looks
with envious eye upon the horse and car
riage of Mr.. D, who in turn, envies the four
finland bloods of Mr.. c, or his shop or his
store. Mrs. A, the occupant of an humber
tenement is jealous of Mrs. B.,
the Railway Presidents wife, who
owns the finer mansion across the street.
Mrs. c. the book-keeper's wife, becomes
almost crazed for the silk dress or the dia-
mond brooch of Mrs. d, the bankers wife;
while Mrs. L must make the usual fashion
able summer tour And thus we go IN the
blind adolatory that worships the symbol
for the thing signifed each straining a
point to reach the goal that a false ambi-
ton leads to, not realizing that de-
sire grows by what it feeds on, and
each graduation of progress only whets
its palate for something stronger as it
ii; IL. l1,nh 10 ho oil In anfigCI
by something just again beyond. And as by
y xw1apate t,aStivng e strong articles the phys
lllled, so is the moral being.
And thus the merchant adulterates his
sugars ITO outstrip his competitors, his
wines, his cloths; sells his cottons by false
light, Weighs by guilty scales, measures by
the sthrunken' tape or wrong-bottomed
bushels and pints, until the commercial
system seems TO have for its law 'cheat
and be cheated eat and be eaten"
And clerks themselves, by the force Of OK
ample and the equivocal pressure upon
them to keep their positions as keen sales
men, must also indulge in that same ethi-
cal code, using in selfdefence the corrupted
-yeapons of that same commercial cannibal-
ISM that laughs at the slight rapier thrusts
of honest virtue and fair dealing. Public
opinion thus by degrees becomes as adul-
terated rs the goods, and the scarlet tie
passes muster as the pink Of perfection
of joke or laudable shrewdncss.
So too, lawyer that misleads his client
and takes for any easy suit, under false inn
pressions, and unwarranted fee, is in the
same category with that merchant. SO too,
the doctor that misinforms his patient as to
the disease and wrongly tcrrifes him into
a needless medical treatment, through
course Of quackery and fux Of learned jar
gon. SO, too, the press that gives false news
or lies for party or its partizans, that are
unworthy the public favor. All, all
is Of piece Of the same deceit
that il aiming for self-aggrandiscinent
by imposition upon ones confding neigh
bors. An is Of piece.work with the bank
Thief in his mosaic OF accounts, the railway
robbcr in the watering Of his stock. They
are cases Of pocket-picking all, each and
everyone. Now what Is the remedy for this
CRYING evfl? Nothing that we can think Of
save in a purified public opinion; a public
opinion that makes fraud OF every kind
oJious. that makes wealth illegiumately got
ten. halo Of shame upon him or her
Tho faunts II before the public gaze. A
purified public opinion that not only digni-
fes true labor. but admits 10 the most COW
efed'of positions tie humblcst Of the land,
when capable and honest. A purified pub
lie opinion crys,slized 1t last into organic
convicii0n that Madam Merit, and not Sir
Accidency. i the being 10 BE- worshipped.
We have high respect for wealth We ere al
seeking us procurement. Il IL SYM
boIir al mower. mental and fhvsical