The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-11
By William Thorp.

If communication could be estab-
nshed with Mars and big bundle
of American newspapers and maya
zines sent up there, the intelligent
Martians, reading them. might well
exclaim:
why these people must be rotten
to the core!'
The harsh judgment would be par
donable, for the Martians would
come across graft" stories by the
dozen and the score-stories of
graft" in politics, graft in BUSH
ness. graft" in industry, graft"
everywhere No doubt the searchlight
of publicity is desirable and necessary,
but a searchlight blinds the eye to
everything except the object upon
which it is directed. And there is a
great deal in America besides graft
Why not look, for once upon the
bright side of the shield?
Called '.AIateriaIistic and Corrupt"
"A materialistic and corrupt ma
ton" That was how America was
summed up the other day by a writer
in the Saturday Review most anti
American of all English periodicals.
Materialstic? No people on earth
do more, or stand ready to do more,
for good works that are not material.
Let a man bring forward any scheme
for the uplifting OF his kind and
demonstrate it's claim to public sup
port, and he will get the money and
help he needs more readily in Amer
lea than anywhere else. No people
on earth spend anything like so much
money as the Americans do for chart
ties. education. hospitals, parks, libra
ries. churches and other good works.
Cathedral without Rival.
Materialistic? The most striking
protest against materialism in the
world to-day is being made in Amer
lea. 1t is the erection of the Cathe-
dral of ST. John the Divine in New
York city-"the largest religious edi-
fee to be started since the middle ages,
when thousands of zealots worked their
lives away rearing Europes famous ca
thedrals."
No other modern people has had
the splendid audacity to plan and
start a work that in time will bear
comparison with the mighty fanes
of Rouen, Ely and Cologne. Social
ed cathedrals are being run up all over
the world. but they are merely glori-
fled churches. This is to be a real
cathedral of the old kind. 1t will
probably take two or three genera
from fifty to seveny-five millions;
but after every other building in New
York has been replaced, it will stand
for centuries.
spends Wealth NObIy.
The American millionaire may
make his money in materialistic ways,
but he spends it nobly. During 1903
eighteen Americans gave a total of
more than $63S60,000 for educational,
benevolent and religious purposes.
Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rookie
Teller gave the most, the former $15,-
87S,500 and the latter $11, 990,667 The
biggest single gift was Mr.. Rookie
feler's $7,000,000 for postgraduate
medical college and hospital in Chi
cago. The total of the gifts and be-
quests of sums above $1,000 during
last year exceeded $S5, 900, 900. They
were for an infinite variety of educa-
tional and benevolent institutions
throughout the country, and, with few
exceptions, the donors bestowed the
money wisely and found out some
new thing that needed doing. In most
cases the charity was confined to
America; but, besides Mr.. Carnegie's
foreign gifts, John D. Rockefeller
gave 100000 for archaeological re-
search in Egypt and Babylonia, and
Henry Phipps of New York gave
large sums for the benefit of the
teeming millions of British India.
Millions for Good Works.
The vast sums given by the multi
mlIllonalreS are, however only a drop
In the bucket of money that America
spends for great and good works.
The states and the cities pour out
hundreds of millions for schools,
parks, Fairgrounds, hospitals and
other beneficient institutions. Since
II became Greater New York" the
metropolis has spent the round total
OF $l5S,OOO,OO0 on education, the
identification of the city, philan-
thropy and public health. Park prop
erty worth about six hundred millions
OF dollars is owned by the fifteen
cities of New York, Chicago, Phila-
delphia, st. Louis, Boston, Baltimore,
cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, New
orleans, Detroit, Milwaukee and
Washington. The maintenance and
development of these parks costs over
Slz,OOO,OOO annually.
Leads the World I'm Libraries.
The American cities are leading the
world to-day in expenditure for pub
TIC libraries. In this work they are,
OF course. greatly helped by Mr.. Car
hegle. In 1903 he gave $3,7S8,500 for
new libraries in Philadelphia, Wash
hgton, d. c., and other cities. In
addition. fifty Carnegie Libraries are
being built in New York city at
cost of $5,200,00O, while a magnificent
new home is being erected for the
New York Public Library at a cost
OF S5,OO0000. The Leland Stanford
University received 100000 last
year for a new library, and other col
Ieges got large gifts for the improve
ment of their libraries. Altogether, 1t
is safe to say that at least $50.OO0,000