Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-04-26
Miseellaneuus 8eading.
ACCUMULATION OF WEALTH.
II Can Be Done Honestly Only by Civ
ina Value Received.


ing Value Received.
Written for the Yorkville Enquirer.
One Of the cardinal traits of a gen.
uine moral character Is honesty. 1t Is
a bond Of social and commercial conf
dence. It Is the basis of real prosperi-
ty. We feel like not only endorsing the
sentiment that an honest man is the
noblest work Of God" but also adding
that an honest man is the bedrock and
bulwark Of society and the state.
A dishonest man Is a carbuncle upon
the neck, felon upon the finger Of the
social body. He causes sight Of ir-
ritation, trouble and inconvenience; he
works confusion and loss; and not
infrequently communicates poison to
the entire social system.
There is much complaint Of lack of
strict honesty in the land today, and
there are many evidences to sustain
the complaint. We can scarcely pick
up a paper without reading Of thefts
and defalcations, and the operations Of
fraudulent and swindling schemes, and
the extortions Of corporate greed.
Coincident with the carnival Of dis
honesty is the prevalence Of the gamb-
ling mania and may 1t not be that
these two things are somewhat related
as effect and cause?
The speculative spirit Is widespread.
1t permeates and infests all classes of
society from the lowest to the highest.
In the lowest it finds expression In
crap shooting and in the devices of
gambling dens. A little higher up, as
men grade society, it finds expression
in laying q wager on the ball game,
and the cock fight and the horse race.
Among the respectables it finds express
sion around the card tables Of fash
ionable parlors and drawing rooms, and
reaches the climax Of expression In
what Is commonly known as dealing
in futures"
There are many men who would not
bet on a horse race or stake money on
game of cards, but they will put up
money as margins on cotton contracts
and grain futures.
Doubtless there is a lawful dealing
in futures. AS things are, 1t Is pos
sible that in no other way could large
dealers In these products protect them
selves against serious losses in certain
cases in the course Of bona flde trans
actions.
But for the mass Of men who engage
in this kind Of dealing. it Is nothing
but gambling. They are protecting no
legitimate interests, they are simply
and solely indulging the gambling spir-
it. Their dealings amount to nothing
but a wager laid upon the future price
of a product. 1t means that one mans
gain is another mans loss, and it leads
to risks that are not legitimate and
safe.
But without arguing the question, let
us consider the result. The'safest rule
by which to judge Of the moral char
acter of anything is the old one given
by the Master Teacher, ''By their fruits
We shall know them" What are the
fruits of dealing upon the exchange?
It saps the essentials of sterling man.
hood, honor, patient industry and econ
omy.
If I can make $500 by venturing 500
upon margins, why hesitate to risk on
the venture the 500 in my hands as
a trust. I can soon pay it back, and
have a nice surplus for myself.
If l can make $500 on the exchange
in a day or a week, or even in a month,
why need be ploddlng along working
for $50 or $50 a month? And why
worry myself with stinting and econ
omizing at every turn and living plain
ly and frugally? And thus the essen
tials Of noble vigorous manhood COL
lapse under the touch Of the malign
transactions with their golden antici-
pations.
TIL ese dealings have untitled many a
man for any employment requiring
concentrated and persistent toll; they
have made thieves Of young men In
stores and banks; they. have made de-
faulters. and embezzlers Of those who
have had trust funds in their keeping;
they have brought many a family to
poverty, and many good name to
shame and disgrace, and many life
with bright prospects to a suicides
grave and to dark eternity.
These transactions kindle desire tC
get rich in haste, and he who makes
haste 10 be rich will rarely. If ever. be
honest. It will ever be true that "They
that will be rich fall into temptation
and a snare and into many foolish and
hurtful lusts." The gambling spirit SC
prevalent today in low and high cir
cles, in the den and In the pit, Is q
giant foe to honesty. 1t is subversiVe
Of that ancient command spoken from
heaven. thou shalt not steal"
If you would be an honest man, KEEP
out Of the Niagara rapids of specula-
tion. There are deadly falls just ahead
You may never get rich, but there Is
something better than riches. This Is
not a popular doctrine at this hour, bu'
that is because the popular vision Is
disordered and distorted. But believe
me, there is something more valuable
than money and that is unsullied man.
hood.
do not condemn money getting. On
the contrary, l praise it. Make all the
money you can and save all the money
YOU can, so you use it for God and hu-
manity. There is no virtue in poverty
On the other hand there Is a fearful
sacrifice of power and usefulness.
p,,t yourself down to 1t: make mOn-