The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1905-07-12

| fui'e ene power TO dull their sensibil
tues, to stide their cousciences b,
presuming, assuming, and finally be.
heving that they are what they arc
hos' they have practically acc mplish.
eo their own self:destruc.ion by pass,
Ing counterfeits upon themselves.
The pretender becomes Dor.
rover and the borrower becomes a
thief.
Wealth, to most people, is something
that is sought for largely because
other people seem to enjoy and prize
1t, not because Of a conviction of in.
d,vldual need Of it. It is the adop-
tion of another's standard or criterion
OF happiness. It is the ATTEMPT TO
put on another mans coat because It
seems to look well on the other man.
! knoW OF lawyers, great legal minds,
! who would be happy if they were
merely practicing law, but their
clients have money SO they want
money. They have caught the dis
ease and they are not happy. They
devote their lives to acquiring riobae:
they sacrifice every other aim and
purpose in life; they become and are
rich, hnt that is NOT what they want
to De, or what they are fitted to be.
And what is the disease they have
caught? 1t is the malady of making
money easily. Mark the word steas-
ily."
We have heard for years that the
American people worship the dollar.
tell you they are led astray by the
easy dollar" by the ease with which
great wealth is often accumulated.
1t is the desire for unearned wealth
which sidetracks educated men and
women from their real careers.
believe that not 20 per cent. Of
the young mon and young women in
this audience are meant to be rich.
They are meant to be great phv-
sicians perhaps, or great lawyers, or
great preachers, or great teachers, or
great painters: but when they 60 out
into the world probably 80 per cent.
will be tempted to seek wealth, to Join
il the chase for what the other man
wants.
Ii could persuade those of you
who are meant to be teachers, or
preachers, or writer's, or lawyers, or
musicians, or painters to teach, to
preach, to write, to plead and to
paint unswerved by the tremendous
influence of the great majority, I
should have done sufficient service
for this day.
But that is not my thought. What
IWant to tell you you must do if you
are to save yourselves and this coun.
try is to avoid the pursuit Of unearn-
ed wealth, the accumr ;;nsion of easy
money. That is graft. The man who
gets q dollar without earning it does
himself an injury. and the world a
wrong. Such a man is an abstrac tor.
lie is not . producer. He seeks to
support himself by the sweat Of anoth.
.er mans brow. He does himself an
injury, because he disables himself
He loses the ability to create, TO pro-
duce, to earn. He becomes Q CRATER.
Aud he does the world q wrong be.
cause the man who gets his neigh
bor's money without earning it, with.
out giving his neighbor full return, is
not only e rohber; he makes the world
. graft" 5. ,2'
Graft 10 the advanced stage Of the
craze for unearned money. Primarily
il is not 90 much the desire TO- set
sauo,nlething for nothing, or, rather Il .is
notonly the desirs to get something
for nothing, but it is an attempt 4 tcj d
get something fer the CRATER in con- Of,
siderations Of his parting with some
thing that does not belong TO him. ,.
y is . wrong greater than that Of
u the counterfeiter who merely makes
and passes counterfeit coin. The graf.
ter is . man who robs the counter oit,I
er, who made the coin; the CRATER
then passes the spurious ooin TO the
public as genuine. ss
The CRATER 10 q double villain.
The sessential element Of graft is i
breach of trust 5ss 81
~ ;1s Graft ie well nigh universal. We
meet il in its various forms every
where. Its most sommon form, .hIoow.;
eyer, % the Illicit use of 81 power ur d: /
authority. Tie legislator WIN IL "a.
Aaenced ~ the argument which ap- 81
peals 70 his pocket rath har, than 10 his
sehse of ciyio obligati ticns, practices 4
form of graft which ;is dangerous to
the community The public ii q awak.
ened NOT, =, .sn,.g :. d AZ.