Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-13
THE RUSH FOR WEALTH

'D'jevver notice" inquired the man with
this raveled smoke, ''how it's only these
big smudges thatve got about all the coin
there 10 on earth that are always batter
ing about what they call the mad rush for
Wealth. And did you ever hear any poor
dub that was scrambing along trying to
make dollar go about nineteen miles
further than it was ever intended to go
did you ever hear one Of that kind setting
up the long roar about this wealth rush?
Some day I'd sure Ike to pick up q
paper in which there isn't bunch OF
knocks from some Millionaire about the big
scramble for dough that's going on. or
said to be going on. in this country. /
| don't see how any such scramble can be
| coming of. myself, when pretty nigh all
Of the kale's already been gobbled but
that isn't the question. The point is that
these fellows with more millions than I've
that mad rush for wealth mazurka.
They're telling u. that the mad-rush thing
! is killing the character OF the people. and
putting dents in the higher and nobler.
and making all hands selfish and wolflsh
and bad-mannered and cruel and hard
hearted and mean and Grabbed and ten or
! fifteen other things like that. 1t may be
all right. but it has a twsty sound to me.
| coming from the people 1t does come
| from.
THE same heavy doughs are also always
| telling us that happiness doesn't neces-
! sarily follow the acquisition Of wealth. or
/ wealth doesn't bring happiness or turn
| ing 1t around and around to the same
| general essence and effect. 1t doesn' t,
| hey? Who's going to believe that? Who,
at any rate. Is going to gulp 1t without
| having had little whack at the PROPOSE
| ton in a personally conducted way7
| DO these bgwads imagine that fell
| low who's been scrabbling along for a
|. quarter of q century or so, smoking three
| fora nickel smokes. and lying awake
nights trying to dope out a shoe buying
| scheme for the kids and some plan to stake
| the wife-t0, vdinky little spring hat that'N
! allow her to measure up with the other
| women in her circle-do these hefty-wads
| imagine that such man is going to swal-
! low anything like that-that happiness
| isn't produced by wealth.? I'll bet there
are thousands of Missourans on that
! proposition right here in little old Wash
| ington. ybu' can take 1t from me-
| Would 1 be expected to believe the
| fellow eating diamond-back terrapin and
| tossing the hiss-juice of Gaul into his
! frame-would be expected to believe him
| if he gave his central works few restful
/ pats and then whirled around in his chair
and told me that chuck steak and Adam g
| ale beat the kind OF stun he was getting
away~with as fodder?
IF the big-dough engaged in taking a
| tour of the Riviera in 500. 900 choo -choo
| buggy We're to tell me that his game wasn't
| half as much fun as taking nickel's worth
| of trolley ride across the Eastern branch
would l be expected to gulp that?
If the big-roll who's riding around the
| world In a white yacht, 307 feet over all.
with a crew of eighty-seven men, and with
! Roman awnings Tapping over the main
| deck aft. and American beauty roses out
of the yachts refrigerator the table
every day of the year-if he were to stake
me to a little pat on the head and tell me
that he wasn't having half as much fun
as he'd have If he were confined to a little
| Spin for two bits down the Potomac on
one of the river boats-would I have to eat
that one up alive. too?
IF the fat-walet who drops out of his
buzz-wagon at Biffany's and buys birth
string Of emeralds and diamonds that sets
him back a cool S135 .O0O-if he told me
| that he has less fun in bestowing that upon
her than l have in sending up little To-
cent bunch of lilacs to the house on my
wife's birthday-would I have to make q
try al digesting that one. also?
It's the fine old bunk. this line Of Snug
serino stuff that our American trillionaires
are unwinding all the time, but don't you
think for one-eighth of a second that it's
fooling anybody. 1t isn't stopping anybody
from trying to pick up a few dollars even
II the picking of them up does involve a
| bit Of a rush. mad otherwise and q
| scramble. You'll observe that lot Of these
big-spinach people that doing that kind
| of talking engaged in a whole lot of scram-
bling to get theirs. and you'll also be able
| to recall. maybe. that a good many of 'em
d1dn t. care much how many mems hearts
| they broke. or how many they rode rough
| shod over, in order to get theirs. Now that
| they've got 1t all. most of it, they're
| turning around and stalking us to that lit
| tie boy runaway and roll-your- hoop stuff
and advising us to be content with stogies
| for the rest of lives / wish these
SNUG persons would tin that stuff, that's
what l sure wish!'