Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-07-03

|
had heard the statement until il
some Scar &c way ii took strong holS
Of me Why shouldn't money talk? i
GOES most everything else, good apl
bad 1t owns and operates railroads
and city governments; it raises botl
corn and nell: i, lowers the cage lute
the mine ANA debases the morality OF
| The purchasing agent. 1t fits a foreign
| nobleman better than his crown. u
builds hospitals and faro layouts. II
enlightens and multlates the heather
1t defends and sullies the flag. II
shows many human attributes and q
superhuman power. 1t reciprocates
| the affection of man so that those thai
those tina; love it, to the exclusion of
| all else, usually manage to attract it.
bringing to mind the old couplet:
What makes the lamb love Mary
"Cause Mary loves the lamb, you
know"
1t is jealousy tyrannical in disposition.
and flies from those who fail to show
1t due esteem
then it did talk. and 1 heard it talk
and talk, and, for while, heard almost
nothing else. Usually it babbled inco-
herent sentences, as tho it didn't know
exactly what it was. or what is was
for: but sometimes ii expressed very
definite ideas. 1t only talked when next
its possessor, sometimes it expressed
its possessor. and it seemed as tho 1t
were a sort OF photographic instrument
and as If the possessor were the record
it played.
heard a cowboys money once. just
after the second drink, in frontier
town. and tho there wasn't enough to
make much noise. its song was wild
and full OF action: "Lemme out; set
'em up; let her roll femme go, any
where, everywhere. whooppee! gimme
room" Then the roulette roll hummed
in reply: Come in out of the wet
little lamb, come in out of the cold
It's diamonds for mine. and New York
for mine ana the stock market and
Delmonico's" Then from down in New
York the brokers wad shouted over the
wire to the "banker's" roll: Come
come on. little sheep; it's commissions
every lIllt Ntu ZULU StiVdhh' ~ y -, -
losing numbers against you; it's you
to me in twenty plays, and me to the
Yacht and the gasoline" And the big
sack of the City National Bank reared
out to the brokers' wad: This way,
little fish; here's tip for bait, and
loan for hook, and sharp call for
barb, and into the sack you go. It's
power for mine and Washington for
mine-but-o hang those glasses and
those awful front teeth!'
| dropped into Bible class where
sleek and meek young man was talk
ing pious platitudes which could
hardly hear for the subdued rumble of
his money. The pennies and the nick
els talked charity. The small bills
talked generosity, the larger bills fru-
gality. while the big gold notes swore
they would abide with him always. A
lettering old man came In and patted
the boy on his back He smiled benev-
olently and also spoke in pious plati-
tudes But his money drowned out
his voice for me In blasphemy and
| wickedness beyond belief, so that l
| was driven out, and regretted my pecu-
liar sense of hearing.
l entered a church where an eminent
lay member was talking. He was say
| ing: "The Lord. in His infinite wis
! dom. has presented the coal to SYM
dictate of us God-fearing men who
but the rest was lost in the howl of
| his money, addressed to his" men,:
Take what you get and half starve;
take what you half starve on, or
starved" and another yowl addressed
| = 4ha af tho Wv hic =
| culiar God had overlooked: PAY more
or freeze"
| 1t was sad. I thought, that good
Christian money could so misrepresent
those who call themselves good Chris
| tian men.
| 1t met. in the Waldorf. large, ro-
tund man full of good natured. coarse
grained vigor. His money was noisy,
but not much noisier than his dia-
monds and his striped shirt. 1t was a
song his wallet sang, a song that
| had heard before, a sort of rollicking,
reckless, pirate ditty, beginning:
Fifteen men on a dead mans chest,
Yo, no. no, and bottle Of rum"
One more great financer l met, a
long, lean, rusty person who looked as
| tho he had been raised on SKINNED
milk. From his pocketbook, there came
in calliope tones monotonous repe-
| tition: More! More! More!"
had heard he money Of others cry
ing out, always with this refrain of
'More!" for aldermen and franchises
for assessors and reduced taxes, for
government land inspectors and GOA
and oil and timber. I heard a two
dollar shrek for votes. and for any
office with spout leading from the
public treasury.
I began to dislike money, and felt
that the condemnation visited on i;
thru the centuries was fully justified:
not love of money. but money itself