Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-10-13
plsREsPEcT FOR THE DEAD.

ploughing up the ground in its course.
DlsREsPEcT FOR THE DEAD.
The paramount importance of the
almighty dollar" in the minds Of men
over all other considerations, is well
displayed in the attempts that are
being made to break the will of w. S.
Stratton. Here was man, who,
whatever faults and failings might
have been in his life. left noble be-
quest to be carried out after his
death The money was his. not an
| inheritance is necessary to keep
great house. a noble name, or an i'm
portant business. but the recompense
of his own toll the handsome product
following his own foresight and
shrewdness 1t was his absolutely
and he had right to do with 1t as he
wished. That right belonged to him
as surely as it belongs to Carnegie,
who is dispensing his millions with
lavish hand No relatives, no friends
nor lawyers can prevent Carnegie in
his glorious system of giving. for the
The only difference is that Carnegie is
living and can execute his will with
his own hand. Stratton is at rest for
ever, and strangers, disrespecting his
memory his grand intentions are cast
ing his will to the winds.
w. s. Stratton left his millions to
the wOrthiest cause ever conceived
by the human mind. He left it for
the aged. the sick, for weak little
ones cast adrift in this great, heart
less world. No doubt, in the lonely
places where he spent his years, ma
ture and natures God taught him,
perhaps unconsciously to himself, the
deepest realities of life. He favored
no creed, no society. His was the
broadest benevolence a man could
feel. The great, nameless host of
needy ones, the swarming, hungry
crowds were to have his wealth. No
stringent rules were to admit some
and bar others in the participation OF
that which he left, but to its utmost
. limit it was to bless and strengthen
} the weak The heart of man could
fix no loftier purpose, the treasures OF
our planet could be put to no better
use than to nourish that humanity
whose mother Is the earth, whose soul
is God.
Andrew Carnegie is realizing in the
concrete that which w. S. Stratton
conceived only in the abstract. The
former is deriving from his wealth all
: the fullness of joy and satisfaction
that comes to him who gives, and who
sees the benefits that his gifts are
bestowing upon others. Few rich
men in the worlds history have had
the forethought and wisdom to pro-
cure for themselves that unspeakable
those less fortunate. w. S. Stratton
; did not give himself that happiness,
but who will not say that he died in
joy and peace. thinking of the glorious
cause in which his hard-won millions
would be spent? II the souls that
have cast of this frame of dust and
gone to the world beyond can look
back, what must be their sorrow to
see all the noblest intentions that
have animated them while here
dragged In the dirt by a horde of
greedy lucre lovers, who hold the al
mighty dollar SO close to their eyes
that they can see nothing larger or
grander in the universe?
Money is great thing in these days
of struggle and competition, of con-
stant toll for the things necessary
to keep life in these bodies of ours,
and the man who longs for the COM
fort and worldly ease that 1t brings,
is not to be too severely censured.
The curse OF Adam weighs heavily
and the chatting soul longs for its
lost Eden. But the soul of man.
which never entirely loses its thirst
for the good, the beautiful and the
true, whether it looks for happiness
in the highest or the lowest, should
retain some spark of reverence for the
noble qualities exhibited by that COM
plement of Itself which went out from
the center of all to exist for a time
in fellow-being.
w. s. Stratton willed that his mon
ey should be used in worthy cause.
and every man. with whatever zeal he
may enter the contest which will in
sure him personally portion of it,
shall feel. should success crown his
efforts that he has sacrificed his self
respect and shamed the God within
him by stealing the bread from the
mouths Of the needy and thwarting
the highest purposes of brother who
has gone before to account to a Just
God for all the deeds done in the
body. PAULINE.