The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1906-07-19

rlgnC TO assume Cnat lt is such; that
like everything else, greed begins its
existence in simple innocence and
perishes only on the advent of the
grim reaper.
This country is known the world
over for its haste. Having once di-
gressed from the old adage "Haste
makes waste" it has become necessary
to demonstrate the falsity, in a sense,
of that adage by inventing and discov-
ering means of utilizing the waste. In
| this respect Americans have been
wonderfully successful and have far
outstripped the other nations, tho not
in all things to their credit; for it is
said that in Chicago, in the meat in
dustry, some awful things are done.
But to cite the worst or best is unfair
when we wish to show how bad or
I good our turnips are, so it will be nec-
essary, in this paper, to look at each
one and see what signs Of subsequent
putrefaction really exist; and tho we
may have our suspicious aroused, we
must not censure legitimate economy
in our study of many things to ascer-
tain their natural sequence so far as they
have to do with the question at hand.
In other words, we must, thru some
manner of sound reasoning, be able to
account for the facts that the more we
fget. the more we want, and that the
more we have the more terrible be-
come the ends to which we 90 for
the sake of becoming the possessors of
more wealth than is rightfully our
! share. These conditions are true of
every trade, profession and industry;
and for the purpose Of making clear
the workings of greed in its various
stages of development, let us suppose
the careef of the average young man
of today.
If we were to ask him what his
object In life is, he would doubtless
say he had two objects, namely, the
necessities of life and enough more to
enable him to lay by bit for rainy
day. That he should so provide for
the future is well worthy of emulation,
and is mentioned here, not as arebuke,
but merely to show that no sooner is
one required to make his own way
thru life than there is evidence of an
aspiration that grows greater or is
stunted according as it meets with
success or failure. If he is crowned
with success, we find, after ten years,
the rainy-day fund invested in such
manner that he expects in few years
more to own the controlling interest in
some business. The greed has now
become more pronounced; the anxiety
; as to providing sustenance is no more,
, and the gaining of the several objects
he has had in life is fittingly followed
by peculiar desire for greater accom-
plishments.
So far, none can say that any but
lofty and honorable principles have
, been followed, nor that the resultant
, success has not been deserved; but as
/, there is an end to all things, so is there
J to this. We now have captain of in
J dustry whose first aim was to keep the
J wolf from the door. The frugal econ
| omy that paved the way for later sue
, cess is no longer so potent a factor,
} and more drastic measures must be
I adopted that he may eventually be-
/ come one of those whose only consola-
t tion is that they have accomplished
!, their purpose. But how, we ask, can
. it be possible that any form of econ
omy and right living can be the step
t ping-stone to acts that are direct
f violations of moral and judicial law
Y And what has an Unsuitable craving
0 for wealth to do with or in what man.
}, ner it is an incentive to evil? Let us
Q see.
Q An invention or discovery is, in
Il itself, step forward in science and is
8 to be commended 1t is even more
i than that when it tends to facilitate
o the manufacture of an article, OF
Il whereby hitherto useless material il
found to be adaptable to usefulness
o provided, however, that the benefits
l. thus accruing are distributed among
ol humanity at large; but when it il
k made an instrument with which those