The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-12-09
exhibit when they are by some
means raised to it.

means raised to it.
/ But If in America we have n.
aristocracy entirely dependent To-
their position on their blue blood
we have another kind that is rising
rapidly, and drawing around II
boundary lines as distinct AID un
mistakable that this class will be
separated from the common herd al
clearly as they are in European
countries. The only ticket that will
enable one to enter tnis superior
class will be, and in fact is at the
present time, a good bank account
or at least what seems to be so, fol
we are generally about as well
pleased with a good imitation as
with the real article itself. In Eu
rope one may rise to position of
| influence either by reason of his
family, or by favor of the great, no
matter what his qualifications other
wise may be; so in America. wealth
draws the line of distinction with
but very little regard to the merits
of its possessor; and perhaps the
foundation of one is little better
than that of the other.
Those early settlers Of America
may be divided into two classes
those that came out here in order to
enjoy religious and political liberty.
and to destroy those barriers that
shut men out of position because
they entertained different opinions
on theology from others; or because
they were not fortunate enough to
be born with the right blood in their
veins. 1t is then greatly to the eff
forts Of these, and also to- their in
fluence, that class distinctions is
much less prominent in America
than probably in any other country
in the world, but along with these
came, and are coming every year,
another class, who discouraged With
the prospects before them in their
native lands, have enterprise |
enough. and have mustered upl
courage enough to abandon their
homes in order to escape the grind
ing poverty overhanging them, and
to seek an improvement in their
worldly condition, in a new conti>
nent. They came here to avoid
poverty and consequently to grow
This last seems to be the
chief object of their. existence. 1t
is not only characteristic of those
who came here as immigrants, but
also of their descendants, so much
so that the desire for wealth is more
deeply implanted in the American
character than in that of any other
nationality. /
However much we may be in
,lined to deprecate the matter, there
can be no doubt but that wealth ex-
ercises a vast influence in this coun-
try, and in fact in every other-an
influence entirely out Of harmony
with the mutual qualifications
and attainments Of its owner,
How many times do we
hear some of the most commonplace
Or even absurd remarks of the
man treasured up by his
hearers as pearls of wisdom, simply
because he is wealthy! How many
'olecisms may he be. guilty of, and
yet we take them, not for what they
IRE, but as exhibitions of originality ?
No matter how much he may dis
,race himself by drunkenness, ,lewd- .
less. and every other species of vice, ;
We are always ready to defend him 6
any aspersions are cast upon his :
haracter, and we are only too wills r
ng to admit him into our society, :
+ rather we deem ourselves highly
IGNORED, if he will only favor us ;
With his company. AS old DR..
franklin puts it, whose philosophy
vas full to overfowing with Ameri- +
an hard sense. not too fashionable o
ow-a-days: "Now I have a cow !;
d a sheep, everybody bids me good ,
aorning." What wonderful diff =
erence the possession Of little !;
7ealth makes in a man, in every =
7ayI +
Whether we like it or not, sure .
ray to enable one to make his in r
uence felt, and to give it due !,
7eight, is to back it with the pos =
ession of some of this worlds goods l.
is true that many men, from sheer i
,rce of intellect, whol might, if p
1ey had felt so inclined, have =
massed large fortunes, have been :
nabled to raise themselves to posi- .
of ,o,ox,,;nanoo h,,f xrl oro xra -