The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1903-01-08
American Character.

that American character is on the
decline. This decline is generally
attributed to the materialistic spirit
which psrmeates the whole nation.
That this materialistic tendency has a
decided bearing upon the standard of
character, has long been admitted
by many Of our profoundest thinkers.
While this apparent evil is to be de-
plored, there appears to be no logical
remedy whereby this tendency of the
age may be checked and directed along
healthier channels, The ambition to
be multimillionaire is so firmly
planted within our being that all our
snnobling desires are subverted and
completely submerged in order to give
ourselves the greatest opportunity to
achieve the result aimed at.
While it is true that this desire to
own property, to become wealthy and
to be independent Of others is rational
and highly praiseworthy one, still it
must be granted that the means which
are employed to achieve the object
sought, are wholly responsible for this
noticeable decline in. American char
actsr. And while this decline is par
ticulsrly In evidence among q certain
class, there also exist many notable
examples to prove that it is not con-
fined to any particular region. 1t is
also we'll known that great riches in
the hands Of q few unscrupuIous in
dividuals can produce more evil in
ten years than can be ersdicated by q
century of religious teaching, or by the
combined efforts Of our philosophers
during the same period.
Herein lies the danger Of our modern
materialistic exploitation. Here it
has its royal mansion. Its grasp is
tenacious and far-resching. Already
statesmen and other notable personages
are measuring our civilization by the
proficiency with which wealth is &C.
cumulated. If this is true then, indeed,
have We reached the apogee Of civiliza-
ton. But, however much we may de-
lude ourselves into the belief that the
almighty dollar represents our highest
ideal of civilization, posterity can be
relied upon to render different YER
dict. God Mammon had no part in
the lexicon of Jesus, neither is it in
accord with the true philosophy of the
past or present age. If the present
generation insists upon turning its
counting houses into temples, its desks
into altars, its ink into holy water, its
ledgers into Bibles, as recent writer
puts it, and worships its money as the
only true God, then we can expect a
revival of the pristine civilization"
which the ancient Romans so highly
enjoyed-a civilization which still
smells to high heaven.
Fifty years ago the discovery of
municipal corruption on large scale
would have caused panic. Today
the unearthing of wholesale frauds,
political jobbery and legislative blind
ness only produces a ripple of excite
ment. Such exposures occur so fire.
quently that familiarity breeds con-
tempt. Our lobbyists and political
henchmen transact their business be-
hind closed doors, but if American
character degenerates in the same
proportion during the next fifty years
as it has within the past fifty years,
then we will witness the sludicrous
spectacle of seeing men buying votes
and selling franchises on the streets to
the highest bidders, just as the Romans
used to do.
Pref. VIM. James, Of Harvard Uni
versity, in the Clifford Lectures, Edin-
burgh, 1901, said:
"When one sees the way in which wealth-get-
ting enters as an ideal into the very bono and
marrow Of our generation, ono wonders whether
q revival of the belief that poverty is worthy