Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-02-28
Men Are Money Drunk.

1t is not generally known that John
w. Guiteau, brother of Charles j.
Guiteau, the assassin who shot Presi-
dent Garfield. is in many respects the
greatest statistician in the world
Yet, according to published state
ments, Guiteau must be a veritable
crank on figures; but his cranlliness
appears to be very profitable. Just
now the federal government, it is
said. is under contract to pay him
$4,000 for certain tabulations; and
the big insurance companies are his
profitable clients.
Guiteau has demonstrated by fig
ures that cannot be disputed that the
majority of men-or rather that men
as q rule are money drunk''-intoNi-
Gated with the spirit of speculation.
Guiteau is the only man who has sue
ceeded in getting inside the books of
Dun's and BradstreetS' commercial
agencies: and he has given out the
startling statement that the books of
these companies contained but per
cent of the names that were there 20
years ago! What a pathetic story
this is of the premature deaths I'd
But here is more of the same sort:
Guiteau says that of the men of
this country who live 10 be 90 wears
of age so out of every 100 are abso-
lutely dependent upon others for a
living. That is an appalling revela-
ton. OF every 1000 human barques
that with precious argosies set buoy
ant sail 500 are wrecked on the coasts
of business failure. Eight of every 10
who fight in the business arena bite
the sawdust For men do fight today
as they fought in the arena at Rome
and Antioch. And so of the 100 are
carried out dead or defeated.
Why? Because of speculation, eX-
travagance. gambling and other bad
habits. and many other things. More
largely because of speculation. Read
the list of victims of get-rich-quick
swindles at New Orleans. St. Louis
and Chicago. Men. women and chill
dren-all were trying to get some
thing for nothing.
And there is board of trade specu-
lation-a species of gambling where
the maelstrom swallows men alive.
The wheat pit is only Il few feet
across. but it has swallowed whole
fleets of business cargoes
Then there are the gambling dens
and slot machines. Men rush to these
| in their thirst for unearned money
| These men are not sober-they are
money drunk. like the others we
have mentioned. They are lured in
the dens drawn by the thirst of the
inebriate. They see rooms brilliantly
lighted. gamblers richly appareled
and sparkling with diamonds. and
rooms more or less luXuriously fur
nished. Poor creatures! These pal
aces of sin have sent thousands OF
money drunk souls down to hades,
The man who is doing well becomes
dissatisfied. He INDUCES at first light
| ly in the liquor of speculation. lie
reasons. Il work hard and save few
dollars. So and so makes dollars
where l make cents. Why should not
venture?" And he does. He may
succeed at first. He drinks deeper OF
the fascinating cup, and before he
| knows il he becomes a financial
wreck He was money drunk.
Alas. we are becoming a nation OF
spectators. The statistics furnished
| by Mr.. Guiteau shows this. The
craving for wealth. and the excite
ment and dissipation that follow be
come in most eases an incurable dis
ease.
Let the young men of today, the
young men of Rock Island. the young
men who read The Argus. think OF
the disclosures of the real history OF
the business world and take warning
The only safe road to success that
is worth aspiring TO is the sober
honest road. To become money drunk
| leads 10 ruin.