The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-09-05
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.

Commenting on the million-dollar failure of the
banking firm of o. D. Brown & Co., New York
City, the New York Journal praises Pierpont Nor
gan and the Standard Oil people for their shrewd-
ness and financial sagacity in forcing Brown to the
wall. The Journal calls the triumph Of Morgan and
Rockefeller example Of the survival of the ttest
The law of the survival of the ittest as applied
to the struggles Of life is apt to mean the law of
the dishonest man the hustler 1t is apt. too as
applied by the hustler and Spectator to mean that
the end justfies the means In that sense it means
the abrogation of scrupulousness and the enhrone-
ment of deceitfulness. 1t means also. that in the
struggle for success the scrupulous man is driven
to the wall; and hence, is deemed by the unscrupu-
lous unfit to survive. 1t does not mean the race to
the swift and the battle the strong but it means
that by unfair methods the strong or the weak
is driven to and crowded against the wall It
means, too, that conscience is blunder. honor an
otfense and that the Darwinian law as interpreted
by its votsres, condemns the scrupulous man. The
law is protest against the ten commandments
and condemnation of the sermon Oh the Mount.
1t is a substitution of the ethics of David Harum
for the moral principles laid down by Our Savior
for intercourse between man and his fellow crea-
lures. We know that in. the eyes of Eternal JUS
tice it is and viii be different and that different
Interpretation viii be applied to the law and that
different result viii follow. For the present.
however the path Of the scrupulous man is strewn
with thorns and his balance at the bank not always
satisfactory
There is a remarkable passage in the second
chapter of the Book of Wisdom which deals eff
fectually with INSCRIPTIONS men, 1t is a rather
11nr1lpa b,,+ IL.
lous man must swallow it. Let us reproduce it
here for his edifcation. The Holy Ghost. referring
to unjust and INSCRIPTIONS men, declares: "That |
they have said, reasoning with themselves but not
right. The time of our life is short and tedious.
our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud
and shall be dispersed as mist. and our name in
time shall be forgotten. Come therefore and let
us enjoy the good things that are present Let us
Cypress the poor and the just man. and not spare
the widow nor honor the ancient gray hairs of the
aged. But let our strength be the law of Justice.
for that which is feeble is nothing worth Let us,
therefore, lay in wait for the just for he is con-
rary TO ways and upbraideth us (by his life). |
with transgressions of the law.
He abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness:
and he prefereth the latter end of the Just and glor
eth that he hath God for his father, These things
they thought and were deceived for their own mall
ice blinded them: and they cared not for the jus
lice Of God, hoped for the wages of justice, nor
esteemed the honor of holiness For God created
The soul of man incorruptibe, and to the image of
ais likeness he created him. But by the envy
Of the devil, death came into the world And they
follow him that of his side" The trite boast
that ''the end iustfys the means" is confronted
with the pagan philosophers aphorism "Finis
.oronat opus--the end crowns the work" and not
until the grave closes over does the end come
for him. He shall then know whether his crown for