The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-04-09
OUR ROBBER
Alfred Henry Lewis in Human Life for April.

Have you been recalling Mr. Harri-
mans confession? You have missed
your duty as q citizen if you have not.
me disclosures Wrung from the great
rairoadcr should be ripe with warning
for every voter-every an wmho loves
his country.
Secretary Shaw in the many
speeches and interviews which ne has
laYished upon the American world. not
only wonder bus trembles Al our
Prosperity" For myself. / incline 70
ii diStruSt Of that "P~rOspcrIty Wh!c1 -
dazzled our Would-bc President from
Iowa. Tur age is moncN-mad-an ast
rabid of greed. FOLK speak Of Pros
perity;" but is the prosperity 81 dark
cnncgs-thc prosperity mat SpeculdtcS
but doesn't earn, rcapS where II hdSH |
soVVn. our money MANAGES create com
panics as confidence men create gold
bricks. with the one felon purpose OF
seIIiu- their worthless stocks ANA
bonds TO the %credulous ana the ignor-
ant. Good companies, companies which
might honestly upport Il respectable
volume Of stocks ana bonds. are water
cd 10 ten fold their value. Ten millions
of stocks and bonds are issued, where
one million would have been the limit
of The c~onpanY's dividend and interest
producing power: ana those millions Of
watered securities are flung upon the
market. The banks are gorgcd with
them. Billions Of credit-bonds and
Stocks-are reared on It basis bat
might support millions. And what is
credit but II noncy-hungcr-a VOLTS
mouth waiting To be filled.
business rs the term was understood
in honest. fortunate days when a nan
was rich who had Il hundred thousand
dollars, has been OYcrsIadoWcd by
sBcculation-Which is not business, bat
gambling. What is the sure ana ma
tural %upcorne? What would be the re-
suit to an individual if, for every dol
lar of property he possessed, he gave
his note for II thousand dollarSI He
Would pull down troubles on his empty
head, to which perhaps the troubles
Of MicaWbcr offer q best parallel. 50
with those money maniacS and their
companies. They nave given bonds and
written notes for a thousand fold what
they are worth, and each is trying to
unload on the balance Of mankind
Wherefore, among other criminal
things. we have this railroad lying and
cheating and sWindling and robbing.
as old by Hartman, to be followed
by Investigations that trail respected
names in the mire.
What lies at the base of our
troubles? 1t is greed-dull, ignoble,
inScnsate greed, that SeiZeS without re-
Election and Graves beyond power to
enjoy,-a greed that drags down the
hour as wolves drag down the deer!
What is at the bottom of that greed?
For years we have taught each other
that money is the one victory IN life.
Men We're exaltcd for the possession of
money, until a nobility Of gold has
been raised up. These old nOblemen
have been made objects of envy, Ev-
erybOdY has struggled to get into their
caSte-the caste of the millionaire. 1t
couldn't be done by prudent
lation, no honest profit would serve.
The one nance was to Speculate-to
gamble. And the world, thus reason-
ing, abandoned trading for ~sWindling
with the foul results which we witness.
What | have said applies to the
world of "high finance" and %ransac-
lions which call for seven figures. But
the smaller fellow is having his trou-
i,les on precisely the same lines, and
goes about their solution by the same
Door, dangerous means. Sometimes it's.
the smaller fellows wife. She enters
INTO misconceptions with other Ia
dies, or plays bridge whist beyond her
blinded depth. She hires her work
done when she should do it herself,
and demands an automobile when n
ought to take Il street cal. sometimes
it's the smaller fellow himself who
wants the automobile, or uxuries even
less moral and more expensive. IN
any case, you are presented with the
spectacle of Il gentleman and q lady
wins far beyond their income. The
man can figure this GU to his own sat
isfaction. upon the back of an en-
VelOpe, with the stub Of 4 lead pencll.
He requires SO much money; he cant
carr it. His needs have passed the
salary mark. He must gamble or
steal. He begins by gambling, which
with Il bucket SHOP on every corner
and a pool room in every block is not
difficult. From gambling to stealing
is often but a step, and the end comes
when the man runs away, or donS
stripes. or solves h problem with a
pistol.
NO; these conditions are not con-
fined to cities. Even the farm is no
longer an isle Of safety. With q tele-
phone in every farm house, and the
other end of the wire in a brokers'
office. the gambling habit OVerWhelinS
the a~griculturist as it does the me-
clanic and the tradeSman. Speaking
of telephones. it would seem as thoush
certain of our advances nav advanced
us down hill.
simplicity Of the fathers-a moral
aWakeningt-a rctur to old idcalSl
Somewhere between the preacher and
the prosecuting attorney will lie the
Way. The preacher should, thunder,
the prosecutor indict. The one must
lift up the work where the other lays
it down. When You can't preach 1t
into these maleflctors. YOU should
nunieh it into them. and hnmbly trust
the pcnitentiary to take the place OF
saving grace.
When al is in. h public itself is to
blame for the sensoless great riches,
and the equally senSelesS great pow
erty that stare at us from every side.
Sometimes the public goes to sleep al
the switch of its own interest. some
times it becomes its own Benedict Ar
nOld. and sells out to the enemy How
ever. for the public's own credit be 1t
said it is more often fool than rogue.
The public is q strange, blinded
creature. 1t viii fall upon a street car
conductor and beat him to rags over a
refusal to issue q transfer check, and
then amble placidlN to the polls like
sheep. and vote rogueS INTO ONCE
executive, judicial, legislative-to per
NIT, nay, assist, the company Tor Whlch
tina offensive works to steal
further franchises. water further stock
and commit further crlmlnal atfocl-
ties that measure into millions. STRAIN
ing a gnat but swallowing q camel,
the public, having thrashed q conduc-
tor, the caSuS belli q scent fare, re-
mains INDIFFERENT while the corpora
ton that pmnIQyS him rOhS il of rights