St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1884-10-11
The influence Of Modern Luxury.
N. o. Picay-une.

historians that the prevalence OF
luxury leads to national corruption
and decay. The explanation of this
fact is not to be found simply in the
evils of excess and the enervation
Of idle habits into which the very
wealthy are SO liable to fall. Those
are influences which must, of course,
be taken into account but the
whole philosophy Of the unfortunate.
tendency of luxury cannot be thor
oughly understood until we have
measured the effect which the con-
temptation Of luxury in the lives Of
others has upon the poor.
The spectacle of high life and ex-
trayagant living constantly under
the eyes Of man Of narrow means
inspires him with an undue appre-
citation of the value Of money, and
with an inordinate desire for the
possession Of money. Nothing
could be more natural. He sees
men not better born or bred than
himself assuming suddenly the high
est social rank by the sheer force of
the expenditures which they are
able to make. He finds all at once
great gulf yawning between him
self and those who were his own
early associates, and he recognizes
in that distinction nothing but the
''guinea's stamp" # his passions
are strong, il his tastes are refined,
Il his ambition is eager, he will in
evitably begin to bend every energy
to the accumulation of wealth.
IF the result were only to induce
thrift and industry it would not be
so harmful but the thirst for gold
leads men to seek short roads to
riches. Then the haste to be rich
takes them out Of the regular chan
nels of legitimate business, and
commercial gambling takes the place
of trade. The line is SO fine between
fair speculation and ventures Of this
sort that it is easily overlooked and
overpassed. The gambler in stocks
and merchandise, like all other gam
blers, grows desperate with his
losses, over-reaches himself, uses
what is not his own, and lives in
constant dread of exposure. The
story Of defaulters, Of fugitives from
justice, OF suicides, has grown old
and trite. It is every day repeated );
but he who would write the great
American novel, and who would
come nearest to the. dominant pas
sion of the age, must make it his
leading theme. He should recount
the history Of poor and ambitious
young man suddenly thrown into
the whirlpool of q rushing, dazzling
metropolitan Life, fascinated by the
glare and glitter Of its upper circles,
seduced by the pleasures which are
ready for the enjoyment Of all who
have the power to purchase, and
tempted beyond his strength by the
example of the few who advance by
long and rapid strides from penury
to affluence.
Perhaps never anywhere in the
world has the force Of this tendency
been more marked than it is now in
the United States. Money, luxury,
material prosperity, have become
the ideals, the dominant aims Of the
age and of the country in which we
live. That is one reason why we
have so few statesmen of the old
stamp nowadays. Our politicians,
to use a current phrase, are son the
make. Office is sought as step
ping-stone to wealth; man can
sell out on terms proportionate to
his official influence, and everybody
is familiar with instances of magic
advances from comparative poverty
to high financial rank on the part
of politicians.
It is easier to portray the evil
than to suggest the remedy but, at
least, the people should rebuke
every evidence Of it in their public
servants. As Mr. Cleveland said,
the other day at Buffalo, tie need
of the hour is an eo,acting public sen
tiacnt. If the public consents 70 be
cdoled by fattery, hoodwinked by
personal magnetism, and dazzled
by mere brilliancy Of talent, or if it |
lends itself blindly to partisan preiu-
dice and passion, it can only look
forward to the continued sway of
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