Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-09-21

i've lHeTe, DCC happiness VIII HOl cOllc.
They send footmanned and postillioned
equipage to bring her; she will not ride
TO their door. They send princely es-
cort; she will not take their arm. They
make their gateways triumphal arches;
she will not ride under them. hey
set a golden throne before a golden
plate; she turns away from the BAN
quet. They call to her from uphol-
stored balcony; she will not listen.
Mark you, this is the failure of those
who have had large accumulation.
And then you must take into consid-
Grafton that the vast majority Of those
who make the dominant idea of life
money getting. fall far short OF affiu-
ence. 1t is estimated that only about
two out of hundred business men
have anything worthy the name of sue
cess. A man who spends his life with
the one dominant idea of financial ac-
emulation spends life not worth liv-
ing.
So the idea Of worldly approval. II
that be dominant in mans life he is
miserable. Every four years the two
most unfortunate men in this country
are the two men nominated for the
presidency. The reservoirs of abuse,
and diatribe. and malediction gradual
ly fill up, gallon above gallon, hogs
head above hogshead, and about mid
summer these two reservoirs will be
brimming full. and hose will be at
fQnhp6 nd
away on these nominees, and they will
have to stand X. and take the abuse, and
the falsehood. and the caricature. and
the anathema, and the caterwauling,
and the filth. and they will be rolled
in 1t and rolled over and over in it
until they are choked and submerged.
and strangulated, and at every sign of
returning consciousness they will be
parked at by the hounds of political
parties from ocean to ocean. And yet
there are a hundred men today strug
Cling for that privilege, and there are
thousands of men who are helping
them in the struggle. Now, that is not
a life worth living. You can get SLAM
dered and abused cheaper than that!
Take 1t on smaller scale. Do not be
so ambitious to have a whole reservoir
rolled over on you.
But what you see in the matter OF
high political preferment you see in
what is called social position. Tens
of thousands Of people trying to get
into that realm. and they are under ter
rifle tension. What is social position?
1t is difficult thing to define. but we
all know what it is. Good morals and
intelligence are not necessary, but
wealth, or show of wealth, is abso-
lutely Indispensable. There are men
today as notorious for their libertinism
as the night is famous for its darkness
who move in what is called high social
position. There are hundreds Of out
and-out rakes in American society,
whose names are mentioned among the
distinguished guests at the great le-
wees. They have annexed all the
known vices and are longing for other
worlds of diabolism to conquer. Good
morals are not necessary in many Of
Neither is intelligence necessary.
You find in that realm men who would
not know an adverb from an adjective
II they met 1t hundred times in
day, and who could not write a letter
OF acceptance or regrets without the
aid of a secretary. They buy their Ii
braries by the square yard only anx-
ious to have the binding Russian. Their
ignorance is positively sublime, max
ing English grammar almost disrepu-
table. And yet the finest parlors open
before them. Good morals and intel
ligence are not necessary, but wealth
or a show Of wealth, is positively indis-
rensable. 1t does not make any differ
ence how you got your wealth, if you
only got it. The best way for you to
get into social position is for you to
buy large amount on credit, then put
your property in your wife's name,
have a few preferred creditors, and
then make an assignment. Then dis
appear from the community until the
breeze is over, and come back and start
in the same business. Do you not see
how beautifully that will put out all
the people who are in competition with
you and trying to make an honest liv-
ing? How quickly II will get You into
high social position? What is the use
OF toiling with forty or fifty years of
hard work when you can by two or
three bright strokes make great for
tune? All! my friends, when you really
lose your money how quickly they will
let you drop, and the higher you get
the harder you will drop.
Amid the hills of New Hampshire, In
olden times. there sits mother. There
are six children in the household
four boys and two girls. Small farm.
Very rough. hard work to coax a liv-
ing out of it. Mighty tug to make two
ends of the year meet. The boys go to
school in winter and work the farm in
summer. Mother is the chief presiding
spirit. With her hands she knits all
the stockings for the little feet, and
she is the mantuamaker for the boys,
and she is the milliner for the girls.
There is only one musical instrument
in the house-the spinning-wheel. The
food is very plain, but it is always well
provided. The winters are very cold,
but are kept out by the blankets she