The Irish standard., 1905-08-12

cardinal Gibbons recently gave his
view upon great wealth and the cor
ruption which follows its possession
to a representative of the New York
Journal He spoke as follows:
James G.. Blaine, one of the great
est minds in this country, once re-
marked TO me, Men are guilty of acts
Il members of a corporation which
they would scorn to commit as indi-
viduas.' In this remark lies the
secret of much of the commercial cor
ruption of these days.
mot only is it true that men of the
highest standing in the financial world
take part in transactions in their cap
acity as members of Il corporation
that they could not be induced to COM
nit as individuals, but it has come to
be true that the greater and larger
the corporation the less the respon-
sibility the individual regards as at
tachng to himself. The greater, rich
er and more powerful the corporation,
the more the individuals composing
1T thrust the corporation itself to the
front while shielding themselves be,
hind it's great bulk.
"The remedy for this must be found
in more intelligent and less compla-
cent public sentiment. A corporation
should be regarded as the sum OF the
individuals composing it, and each
should be held by the public to a full
accountability for the least or the
greatest of the acts of the corpora
ton.
1T may take years to educate the
public to this comprehension of the
responsibility of the individual in the
great corporations, but it must be
done if corruption, graft and the other
evils growing out Of our modern sys'
TEN of finance are to be checked.
"Our country is destined to great
ness. 1t must sweep onward and on.
ward, growing stronger at each step,
anu lIlcIc IIIuSL Dc lOlIllIlSo W llulI oul
commercial greatness. This IS a
young country and its possibilities are
but barely realized at this time. 1t Is
the growing giant, and no man may
know to what heights it will attain.
There should be no desire to halt or
check this growth and developement,
and it should be unhampered so far
as it continues within the lines Of
moral and ethical rectitude.
"To attack the ills that threaten its
growth cannot be construed in any
fashion as an attempt to block the
progress toward the goal of ultimate
greatness, however. Whatever may be
done along these lines will be in the
nature of actual assistance toward the
achievement of the great end.
"To build great individual fortunes
on foundations of dishonesty and cor
ruption will not aid the country in its
advance, but will destroy utterly in
time the power of growth and develop
ment. There must be no confusion
between the popular demand for the
elimination of all that savors Of cor
ruption and the outcry against wealth
Itself"
"Would you place any restriction
upon the continued accumulation Of
wealth by any one individual?" l
asked.
The Cardinal pondcred deeply, re-
luctant to reply for time.
"a question more for the master of
social economics than churchman,"
answered the Cardinal From my
own point of view, more would depend
upon the man than upon the fortune.
/ can imagine a type of man in whose
hands a great fortune would be a
great power for good, but great for.
tunes are rarely made by this type OF
man.
at would be unjust to suppose that
all or even a majority of millionaires
make an unworthy use of the money
they have honestly earned 1 know
many such whose generosities are
commensurate with their wealth.