Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1901-08-10
NUMBER 40.
aJ.abel the stun IS Poison"

spirlt of financial gain has peryaded ana y
poisoning all of our civilization. Is II hos
true that the common standard Oh saIuo
among us, In all realms, is the doHaf He
respect men for their learning we hohoE
them for their piety, but we follow theh ioi
their money. The man who has money mas
the secret Of power. 1t used to be pfoFe[o
among ds that knowledge Is power
that the proverbial expression OF your
modern faith?
II have nothing to say against wealth. as
wealth | believe God endowed man Win
the acquisition faculty that he might ac-
ouire, And | believe that money not ohy
has power, but is capable OF being naue
power for God. But do not believe II was
ever meant to be made a standard OF value
in society, or government or morals II Is
that thing I cry out against-the misuse and
supreme endowment Of something Goa
meant to be useful indeed, but meant 1t 10
be kept incidental and subordinate always.
In this connection permit me TO can
YOUR attention to a letter Of Mr. StuyVesaht
Fish read at the recent commencement oL
your State University, in place OF an au'
dress on The Development Of the MatefiaI
/ Resources Of Mississippi" which the Chah-
| cellor Of that institution had invited MI
! Fish to deliver. Among many other lhlhss'
some Of them admirable and worthy Oh hlgh
consideration, this very successful man Oh
business after referring to the constitution
of 1890 which forbids the granting Of
legislative charters to business corporations
and requires that they be Incorporated oA'
der general laws, says:
"If YOU Will pardon a word Of criticism
from one who, despite his large and abld'
ing interest in, is not a c'dzen OF MisslSs,
ippi, let me suggest that In the making OK
such laws before the State had obtained an
the railroads and all the banks and all the
factories which it needs, costly error mas
been committed. That such institutions ana
corporations should be regulated by Ia"
goes without saying. The Northern anu
Western States have however been pru-
: dent enough to obtain their ral4Ways'
their banks and their factories before legis-
ating against them. They have not gone
out Of their way to make regulations which
: repelled capital and thereby prevented ana
8 delayed the development Of their own
& material resources. To her great and last
G ing loss Mississippi seems to have adopted
all the restrictive legislation Of the Older
y States, which have now no special need
t to invite foreign capital by encouraging tnS
+ DEVELOPMENT of corporate enterprises
''Now. that Is most astonishing for Mr
i, Stuyyesant Fish is one of the better sort O
: successful business men, whose words carr!
h exceptional weight, because of his charac
ter and his success. He sends this lette
to be read before the young men OF Misslss
u ippi on a high day at the University. o.
o necessity Of his character and the grayit
C of the occasion, Mr.. Fish writes CAREFUL
and gives utterance to his deliberate conYit
Il tlons, beliefs which he cherishes, maintain
and advocates And this Is what he tell
IS the Young men who are about to enter upo
-, an active career-that Mississippi ha
blundered in adopting a constitution whic
io forbids the granting of legislative charter
le to business corporations and requires the
n. to be Incorporated under general laws
=, and that this blunder consists in the ma
ing Of such laws before the State had
* tanned all the railroads and all the Oani
and all the factories which 1t needs /
calls it a costly error And he contras
this attitude with that Of certain Northel
S. and Western States which have been pr
ut dent enough to obtain their RAILWAYS, the
:, factories, and their banks before legislatir
- against them.
| Prudent enough'-that is charmil
,st euDhemlsm There have come into our col
ad mon speech in recent years two very sigT
acant terms We talk nowadays of .coI
VI mercial honesty and commercial moralit!
a as ii honesty and morality were thin
Tc. whose character can be changed by an a
~ iective If commercial morality and homes
- differ from the old morality and honesty,
7u Is because a standard lower than the
raj qulrements of the old-fashioned morali
raj and honesty has been erected for the co
n duct OF our business. And, in so far
that is true, it is calamity that Will $
en- the moral honor of our people.
ige IF you will pardon word Of critics
,as from one who despite his large and abidi
interest in Is no longer a citizen Of Mi
NV lssippl let NE suggest that such sugg
on lions as l have quoted from the letter
,ut, Mr. Fish, made to your young men by IA
Is whose position gives great weight to WI
-, they say are a most insidious poison. l
wy thing ought not to be allowed TO pass
the challenged. And Mr. Fish should be t
in the plaiuest terms that the moral nor
,oa of Mississippi is worth more to her In eve
'" way than the utmost development of
lel' material resources; that Mississippi a
mn | Msslssippians would give much and
saw far to secure the material prosperity OF
49,. state. but would never be willing to 81
an that by any sort of trick and that you
tol not willing to have your young men tau!
yer that honesty is only policy, and riShteo
re. ness conyentionalty, This sort Of th
49,, is far too common among the represen
anu tiyes Of the great corporations, and
ler calm serenity of their utterance shows
lin. stream of tendency in the wrong direct
;,bt If you can do no more you can cry
p. against it and label the stun as poison.
ann gomething of a Difference.
tul Sir he said to the manager of