The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1885-05-28

The Battle Of Man vs. Money.
Wendell Phillips said that the
contest is to be man against money,
and he never uttered 4 truer senti-
ment. Man against money! What
is the meaning Of it? It means that
the mind shall be recognized AZ su-
pcrior to matter; that thought shall
have greater weight In the councils
OF the nation than dollars and cents;
that the living creature shall have
government, education, commerce,
society and all that pertains to civil
ization shaped exclusively for his
benefit, and not In the interest Of
what beyond certain limit Is wholly
meaningless and valueless. The
necessity Of the conflict In this coun-
try is apparent to every observer.
Beginning with our late war, the
man has received less and less at
tcntion while money has received
more and more.
In the hour Of the nations peril
every man who was In proper phys
fcal condition and OF right age, was
compelled to stand ready to Shout
der his musket and march to the
front. No excuse would avail him,
II the lot fell to him: and there was
no disposition in the patriotic heart
to question the right Of the govern
ment to make this demand Of the
citizen. But money was sacred.
The government was denied the
right to draft" o dollar, and at
times was utterly unable to get .
dollar even though it bent on Its
knees and begged for It. Since then,
as we have said, the difference be-
tween the man and tho dollar has
been growing greater and greater.
Our government has been run
almost entirely for the benefit Of the
dollar. The public money and the
p public lands have been given away
to- please the dollar. Monopolies
h; we sprung up and been fostered
by the government to satisfy the
do. lar. Personal rights have been
get ting less and less substantial and
Just ice and liberty themselves have
bee n officially tnsulted because the
dollar demanded the outrage. Ed
uca..ion is largely in the interest OF
mo ney. Our colleges and higher
schools are engaged In .teaching the
principles Of political sole. nee which
have been largely instrum entail 10
destroying every nation that mas
gone before those now existing.
The political economy taught In
these places, Is that which has be en-
conceived under conditions that
favored the few and discrilninated
against the many. And while this is
true OF our higher schools. our COM
mon school system Is to . disheart-
ening extent engaged In imparting
useless, or comparatively useless
knowledge, because wealth demands
it. Commerce Is wholly for the ben
eft of tie dollar. All our trouble
with the railroads Is the result Of the
dollar demanding the whole loaf,
the welfare Of the man out
Of consideration altogether. The
producer is fleeced and the consum-
er is fleeced because Of the unlimited
greed Of capital. Society rests upon
the dollar. Whoever has wealth Is
to the charmed circle.
Whoever has none Is barred out, and
the country is run In the interest Of
The most important and most
thing In this world is a.
man. This world was made for him
or he was made for the world, it
not which. All that the
world is he has made 1t. He found
It . rough world and beautified it; he
found it over-run with briars and
thorns and he covered it with beauty;
he found that it contained valuable
treasure and he dug it out: he has
adorned it with cities and paintings
and statuary; he has founded bene-
ficent governments In his own blood:
society out Of chaos, built
schoolhouses for the education OF
the children; built railroads and
commerce and has made
It a grand old world. It is HE world.
This is his country; this is his gov
aud "by the Eternal" the
must be conducted in
his interests, and not ia the interest
or gold AMI silver bullion coined In:
to dollars. Man first. and. money
second, is to be the rallying cry Of
the masses henceforth, until justice
to mankind in all the spheres Of life,
is enthroned beyond the possibility
Of dothrOnement.-fW Western Rural