Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-01-21

with what you are. Go learn TO know
the underside OF worldly splendor.
that you may feel its moral misery and
its puefiiity." The traps pride sets
for us are too ridiculous. We should
distrust association with q thing that
makes us hateful to our neighbors and
robs US OF clearness Of vision.
He who yields to the pride of riches
forgets this other point. the most I'm
portant OF all. that possession In pub
lie trust without doubt Individual
wealth. h ms legitimate as Individual
existence and liberty. These things
are inseparable, and II is a dream
pregnant with dangers that offers bat
tie to such fundamentals OF life. But
the Individual touches society ut every
point, and all he does should be done
with the whole In view. Possession.
then, Is less privilege OF which to be
proud than charge whose gravity
should be felt. As there Is an appren-
ticeship. often very difficult to serve,
for the exercise Of every social once. 90
this profession we call wealth demands
an apprenticeship. To know how to
be rich Is IN art. and one Of the least
easy Of arts to master. Most people.
rich and poor alike. imagine that In
opulence one has nothing to do but to
take life easy. That is why so few
men know how to be rich. In the hands
Of too many wealth. according to the
genial and redoubtable comparison Of
Luther. is like harp i'm the hoofs OF
an ass. They have no idea of the man.
ner Of its use.
SO when we encounter a man at once
rich and slmple-that Is TO say. who
considers his wealth as n means OF full
filling his mission In the world-we
should offer him our homage. for he Is
surely mark worthy. He has sur
mounted obstacles. borne trials and tri-
umphed In temptations. both gross and
subtle. He does not fall to discrimI-
nate between the contents OF his peck
etbook and the contents OF his head or
heart. and lie does not estimate hts
fellow men In figures. His exceptional
position, instead OF exalting him,
makes him humble. for he Is very sen
sible Of how far he falls short OF reach
Ing the level Of his duty. He has re-
manned a man. That says 1t all. He
il accessible. helpful and far from
making Of his wealth a barrier to sep
arate him from other men; he makes 1t
a means for coming nearer and nearer
to them. Although the profession OF
riches has been so dishonored by the
selfish and the proud. such a man as
this always makes his worth felt by
every one not devoid Of sense Of Jus
tice. Each OF us who comes In contact
with him and sees him live Ia forced to
look within and ask himself the Ques-
ton, "What would become OF me In
such a situation-should I keep this
modesty, this naturalness. this upright
ness which uses Its own as though II
belonged to others" So long as there
Is human society In the world. SO long
as there are bitterly conflicting inter
ests. so long Ms envy and egoism exist
on the earth. nothing will be worthier
OF honor than wealth permeated by the
spirit Of simplicity. And 1t will do
make itself beloved.
More dangerous than pride inspired
by wealth is that inspired by power.
and mean by the word every preroga-
tive that one man has over another, be
it unlimited or restricted. / see no
means OF preventing the existence In
the world of men Of unequal authority.
Every organism supposes q Hierarchy
of powers; We shall never escape from
that law. But I fear that IL the love
Of power Ia so widespread the spirit Of
power Is almost impossible 10 ind.
From wrong understanding and mis-
use Of 1t those who keep even q frsc-
ton OF authority almost everywhere
succeed I'm compromising IL.
Power exercises n great influence
over him who holds II. A head must
be very well balanced not to be dis
turbed by It. The sort Of dementia
which took possession Of the Roman
emperors In the time Of their world
wide rule is a universal malady whose
symptoms belong to all times. In ev-
cry man there sleeps q tyrant await
Ing only a favorable occasion for wax
Ing. Now. the tyrant II the worst on
envy Of authority. because he furnishes
rs its intolerable caricature. whence
come a multitude Of social compiler
tons. collisions and hatreds. Every
man who says 70 those Dependant on
him. do this because II u my will and
pleasure" does III. There 10 within
each one OF us something thst invites
rs to resist personal power, and this
Is very respectsbie. for At
bottom we are equal. and thees 10 no
,ne who has the right to eysct obedi.
snce from me because b. 70 he shd
Inn I. II he does 20 his command de-
grades me, and have no right TO sui.
Ter myself to be degraded.
One must have lived In schools. In
I'm the army. In government
,fiices, he must have closely followed
he relations between masters and
servants, have observed little every
where where the supremacy Of man
exercises itself over man. to form any
dea Of the injury done by those who
Use power arrogsutly. OF every FREQ
Ioul they make n slave soul. which IL
o soy the soul OF rebel. And II APP
Years that this result. with its social