Los Angeles herald., 1905-10-22

graft a little, as the opprobrium is to
follow anyhow? So they do-and they
don't look on it as a heinous crime, but
as a smart trick.
I'VE are conventionalizing grating;
that's what I mean. We make too
much of it. We tend to convert Grim
inals into heroes"
Have the magazine articles on graft
had much effect out here?"
mo, not so much as they have in
the east. There, the readers are at
close range; they know the persons
spoken of, and the cities, and it all
goes home to them. Out here we are
away off; we see it in perspective, and
don't pay much attention to it,"
Seymour and Epigram
"Then you don't think publicity does
much good in the suppression of
sraft?'
Some, yes; but not overmuch pub
licity. The fact is that neither pub
blicity nor laws are going to make
men reform
How are we going to do it, them"
I'm here!" was the reply, as he
smote the region of his heart. you
you reform him outside. All the law
in the world won't reform him if his
heart is bad. Get at the heart first"
Now, that's like a sermon. But Sey-
mours pipe was drawing well, and
sermon or not, there was no cause to
interrupt.
Laws are good things-don't mis-
take me on that. Laws have to be
enforced. The greatest thing humanity
ever did was to undertake to govern
itself"
How's that for an epigram?
1T has been trying to govern it,
self better and better for ages. We
have laws enough; we don't enforce
those we have. We don't need any
more laws. What we do need is an
awakening to the observance of those
row existent And that must come
from within; every man must reform
his own heart.
mad Rush for Money"
1.-THE trouble is that we have forgot
ten that fact in our mad rush to get
rich. Money is our goal; we measure
everything by It, Whom do we call
is rich-worth a million dollars. Mon
ey-get money-get rich! That's the
cry of the day. What do we care for
anything else-learning, culture, good
ness? Nothing-get money. Get yours!
Get every ones else Get any and
everything except get caught"
The lines between the sparkling eyes
those eyes would make gimlet seem
dull and inane, so keen and penetrat-
ing are they-the lines were very deep
now, and the black hat was far back
from the high forehead. Seymour's
fist was hitting the desk in sledge-
hammer fashion, and in his other hand
he waved the cold pipe as a general
would a saber. He was so deadly in
earnest that his muscles knotted and
ouiVered.
I'VE must change all that. We must
push money back into it's proper place
as a servant and a slave and not let it
be master. We must eXalt goodness,
high moral purpose, a clean heart.
They must be our objectives, and not
money, eternally money.
"Reform Comes From Within"
That's why 1 say that the only true
reform must come from within. You
can't legislate people into righteous
ness.
I'VE strive too much--we worry too
much. Every fellow is afraid the 9TH
er fellow is going to get ahead of
him In riches. We go crazy after
wealth. We neglect today in planning
and in trying to provide for it, we
fail to look after our present oppor-
tunities and they go all uncared for.
That's wrong. We ought to do to-
day the task of today and the NOR
rows task will come with tomorrow.
We need have no fears for tomorrow's
if today's be we'll done. We must seek
something besides sordid money grub
bing-that is the cancer eating out our
very life.
And this graft business is only a
symptom of it. We've always had
graft. But people never were so united
and intent on mere money-getting, so
this, an evidence of 1t. was never so
prominent before. We must cultivate
character, learn to care for other
things, higher things, get back to the
realities. Take it especially in a big
city and what is the one aim and OBJ
ject of life? Money-only money. What
show has man, no matter how good
or wise or learned or kind unless he
have money? None.
Hence, we have graft-coming to
the surface. So much of it that 4
blinds people to it's real character, and
becomes conventionalized. The peo-
pie must awake, and this awakening
must begin in the heart of every in
eividual first"
AS TO MOST REFoRMERS