The Washington times., 1905-07-26

Corporation Corruption Is
Handled Without Gloves.
POWER OF THE NEWSPAPER
Dread of Exposure the Counterbalanc-
ing Element, Is the Opinion of
His Eminenee.

NEW YORK, July 26.-Cardinal
Gibbons, of Baltimore, is spending the
summer at the farther end of Long
Island in the modest little rectory of
Rev. Father O'Hara, who is pastor OF
the local church. 1t was here In one
of the oldest settled spots In America
that his erninence discovered the evil
of corporation corruption.
Corporation corruption is fixed evil
that we must reckon with just as long
as the present condition of society exists
n this country" said he. Whenever
there is an amalgamation of great CAPT
TAI, or a large collection of men inter
ested in one money-making concern,
there is sure to be corruption. 1t IS
not new story. 1t is a story as old
as the worlds history. The only reason
that it comes so much to the fore at
present is that the methods of its de-
lection are daily growing stronger.
Corruption Always Existed.
Corruption has always existed. Cor
ruption, I am much afraid, Will al
ways exist as long as human nature
yields 10 the attributes that lead to
temptation.
The bright spot in the whole swamp
of present moral degradation is the
fact that the degradation is made
known Corruption cannot exist now
adays without being discovered after
a while. The greater the evil the
greater the possibility of remedy. And
that possibility OF remedy has now
become such an assured fact that il
counterbalances almost the evil which
the present condition OF money mad
ness creates,
Of 5er
the counterbalancing element. and that
fear, that dread, that horror of having
a name once respected dragged down
is due to the efforts OF the metro
poAtan press. 1t may not be good the
oiosy, it may not be good ethics, but
1t is certainly very good common
that the fear, the dread of exposure in
the public press keeps many man
sticking close to the path OF recutude
who otherwise would stray off into
the byways of personal graft,
Power of the Press.
There is nothing" said he. (which
man prizes more than his reputation.
And the only way TO effectually upset a
mans reputation is 10 expose him to the
public press. The power of the press is
incalculabIe. It's argus. almost search
light. eye Is ever looking for the weak
spot in humanity to throw II up into
bold prominence. Sometimes IL happens
that the defect Is shown in an cX,ag-
ser;4ted form. But as a rule the public
exposures Of public men are public bene-
factions
There is nothing that so touches
mans self-respect az what the newspa-
pers say about him. By newspapers, /
mean a great metropolitan newspaper
which can III one headline bring Justice
and dethronement TO man who has
always posed as "A popular idol OF
righteousness, but who is really 4 hypo-
critic.
Now. in this insurance scandal ana
various other unfortunate business
wrongs chat have been exposed lately it
is very much TO be doubted If any one
particular man would DO or his own ac-
cord what he did as a director or =
stockholder. A great many very hon
orable and reputable gentlemen are
more or less implicated In these scan
dais- When the sea ndais are brought
10 light and exposed these honorab bic
men justify themselves by saying that
they had only a very small part in 1t,
Their excuse is that perhaps they own
ed one share in a thousand and that
shares committed a financial crime their
one little interest was 50 small that il
did rot count
Does this excuse them"
Why, certainly not. They quite like
" erred through Ignorance rather than
Intention bat wrong is a wrong, no
matter how it is done.
Money a Trouble Maker.
The great troubIe-maker to this coun-
try is money. The great offset 10 that
evil is the American inclination to spend
it rapidly"
You consider, then. that American
extravaganza IS something of a bless
ing?" asked the reporter.
do. indeed Americans are not
misers, thank God! Otherwise we would
he In most deplorabie condition. All
the tendency OF life in this country is
toward the accumulation OF money, and
as soon as a man finds that he IS &C
cunulattng money he sets himself seri-
o;isly about the business of expanding
it That keeps the balance even; that
Keeps money where il should be, in con
ESant circulation,
Tainted Money" a Reality.
DO you believe there is such q thing
as tainted money!"
Indeed do. There Is no doubt what
ever that there are large accommodations
OF money in this country that are very
much tainted. However, ] have never
had an opportunity yet Of personally
deciding whether money was tainted or
not. No money has ever been offered
me that even had the shadow of sus-
picion connected with IL Ia that respect;
but that money has been obtained in a
way which churchman could not sane
tic IN this country is a matter of COM
mon knowledge
Evils of Divorce.
What do you consider to be the
great danger threatening the United
States at the present tinle?''
In a general way II is my opinion
that the great evil of The day is the
laxity regarding the marriage tie,
The increasing and prevalent misfOr-
tune and evil OF divorce is a horrible
thing To contemplate. 1t is such an aw-
fuI upsetting Of the family ties that If
II Is allowed to continue society will be
in a condition that should never exist
In civilized nation. IT IS not that the
evil Is so great with the man and the
woman who separate and renOunce their
marriage VOWS; the evil is one Of herl-
HYou think the evil OF divorce, then,
is a greater evil than the evil OF cor
porate c0TTuption?'
II do. because corporate corruption.
as / have already explained, rights it.
self by It's own wrong
NAVAL APPRENTICES