The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-02-05

society more effectively from the con
spitacy against IT, welfare.
The trust question can NOT BE set
tied uuf5I the moral issues involved
are recognized and passed rpu11- The
principle Underlying Il private monap-
oily j. So easily understood mat Il i
Sfauge that any one should mistake
IT. ana Yet men 80 mlsfak Il. aad
men "a no Would nor think o. playing
the hlgnwHyTnan behind a tua-k ~
night Wtif ASSOCIATE th@mseEV-~ to-
gether and in broad daylight. apply
the hihWaymau methods - Industry.
What difference il there IN morals be-
tween one who. putting a revolver 10
YOUR head. demands your mon~} az
your life. and tn. trust ~.nagnates who.
COEnering "a necessity Of life. demands
an exorbitant price for hat which you
must have and which a. controls 2
UntiI recently a trust magnate's money
was accepted without question by
churches. colleges and charities but
men at the head OF religious and
benevolent institutions are beginning
u inquire about the methods employ
ed by tho~- Who AVE money - give
away. II does not require 4 pro-
pnttic eye - foreS.c the time when
this scrutiny viii be 50 close that fh-
exploiters ~ the nation viii fnd il
impossible to tai.e worthy institutions
in partnership with them In the distri-
b4lttft - ifAflf lli-E1ALF4t guns 4 f.
viii be some punishment 70 such
Wrongdoers TO BE- left 70 enjoy in soil
tude ina which they have gathered
together BY trampling upon every
sentiment Of brotherhood.
Trying 10 Improve the Divine Plan.
The hroadest Indictment that can be
brought against present economic con-
ditions iii the United states is that the
rewards offered by society are not only
not I'm accordance with. but are di-
rectly subversive Of the la2 OF re-
wards given as by the Creator. The
most imperative duty resting upon the
citizen i to bring the government rs
nearly az possible into harmony with
the Divine law.
When 20 gave Us the earth with
its fertile soil, the sunshine with it,
warmth ana the showers with their
moisture. He proclaimed. as clearly as
if His voice had Numbered from the
clouds. Go, work, and your reward
shall be propOrtiOnatc To your dill
gencc. intelligence ana perseverance.
law has been reversed, and each
decade shows a smaller ana smaller
percentage Of the wealth remaining
in the hands Of the wealth producers,
and q larger and larger proportion in
the hands Of tho non-produc"rS. This
condition is not only unnatural, il is
dangerous. 1t is due To man-madc
privileges u mmunities-to law
made inequalities in distribution. SO
great have these inequalities become
the President has sounded a note
of warning. Protesting that these
swollen fortunes" should not be
transmitted to posterity. he has sug-
geSted an inheritance tax to compel
the predatory classes to ~diSgorge At
the grave. | refer to this not for the
purpose of discussing remedies, but to
emphasize the necessity for a renedy !
The hope of the future lies in the be-
lief that a remedy will be applied. and
the very fact that Il remedy is being
considered shows how far reaching |
is the ethical movement.
To recapituIate: There is 4 moral
awakening that is worldwide in its
extent; its effects are especially notice |
able in this country, in the growth of /
altruism m, in the increase in church ac-
in the larger consideration given |
to sociological subjects and in the de-
for q nearer approach to justice |
in government. The bass of this |
movement is the idea Of brotherhood. |
and its purpose is not merely to stay |
each hand uplifted for another's in
jury, but to substitute in each the de- |
sire to benefit others in the place of |
the desire to OVerreach. The means
which the movement is to be adj
vanced is the cultivation of an ideal
viii meaSure life, not by what
one gets out of the world, but by what
one contributes to the sum of human |
hapDinnSc |