Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-22
NEW |OOLATRY
IS SELF|SHNESS
MONEY REIGNS IN THE LAND
OF THE FREE
Benjamin Fay Mills Analyses the
Ways of the Modern Men of
Power, Whose Law Is
Greed

Benjamin Fay Mills poke at the Eel
lowship service at Masonic hall yester-
day morning on The New IdolatrY,"
and announced that next Sunday morn
ing he would speak on The Battle
With Greed and Graft
He said that mis- subject THE New
Idolatry'' was suggested by the title
of DR.. Washington Gladdens latest
book. He said in part
The deadly danger of the hour is
that men will lose their faith in truth,
purity, honor, justice integrity, fidelity
and unselfshness and worship only
success at any price. The new idolatry
is the oil worship of Mammon and was
never so nearly universal as now.
''Dr. GLADDEN. quotes the managers of
churches, missionary boards, etc, as
saying The one thing we need is
money. This spirit enthroned else
where gives us The Reign of Gilt
the apotheosis OF greed and grab and
graft.
'In municipalities the grafters divide
up the earth like the old Roman trium-
virs. India starves to fatten the
British lion, and all the Christian ma
tions wait, like vultures, the safe
descent OH China. Wars of greed
against the Filipinos, the Beers and the
japanese mark the political virtue of
the hour.
almost all nations are absolute
monarches. ruled by the despots OF
finance and trade and their demoral-
ized satraps. National, state and city
politics aFe controlled by the boss
which is only another name for the
agent of unholy corporate wealth.
Even our local supervisors are deaf
to the unanimous demand of the
churches, the chamber of commerce and
nfI tot
to drive out the hordes of harpies prey
ing upon our youth through the toler-
ated gambling OF our race track. sup
posedly through fear of the political
influence of the money invested there.
I'VE are told on good authority that
state legislators are bought and sold
like fish IN open market and that the
prices of politicians are almost quoted
on the stock exchange.
"In our national senate almost all the
members are believed to represent
special financial interests.
"A recent Italian historian compares
Roosevelt and the senate with Angus
tus and the Roman serate, when Rome
had eaten of the forbidden fruit and
Augustus, striving to beat down the
social and political power of money,
saw crowded into his senate the dis
solute sons of wealth by force of the
IdCL LndL commerce was lHe SIIGIlSln
of the state. The writer says Like
Rome under Augustus, America now
can support neither its vices nor their
remedies
THE concentration of wealth in our
time is SO great that 5000 people own
one-sixth of our wealth and no one be-
lieVes that this wealth has been ac-
quired or is administered with any sim
cere regard for the public welfare.
The motto of the modern man of power
Is BE successful somehow We know
that the great fortunes are being accu-
mulated by the commission of every
safe crime.
1.-The Wall Street Journal says that
the business world has simply replaced
robbery by brute force by the subtler
methods of stealing and that the
moral law finds no expression in the
laws of business
Not only is the acquisition of wealth
regardless of the health and life of the
employees of railways, mines and fac
tories, so that peace hath her butcher
les no less than war; but the public
are poisoned by adulterated food. inn
pure water, deadly gas and in a thou
sand other fashions by the slaves of
greed.
"Worse yet, these conspirators
against the common good poison the
head waters or pubic morality. They
wreck vast properties, destroy secur.
tiles, control legislatures, demoralize
courts and subsidize newspapers,
churches and colleges in the interests
of private dishonorable gain
Wealth Is Anarchy
1.-THE only anarchy seriously to be
dreaded in America is the anarchy OF
dishonest and selfish wealth. The vast
commercial interests have usurped the
power of taxation and we cannot eat or
drink or wear clothes or build houses
or ride on car or use a telephone
without paying taxes to the unjust
greed OF those in power.
"Even our courts are frequently the
despair OF the poor and the strong arm