The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-30
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tContinued)
 Mr. Lampirthy looked at tne hasn ae,.,, snr ayes and the wild. earnest face with \ rlance of cold disspprovai, The mans voice had auickened ms oioo1' hut had not touched his keen inteiiect' He had heard this sort of thing oe- fore in Hyde Park on a Sunday.
 s.You are a Socialist" he said coiu- fv eYou think both riches and poV- erty are evils. and that there Wouio be a sort of millennium If the mohsy s. were taken away from the ricn anu UT vided among the poor.
 q do not think that" Father Fran cis replied once more lowering ms voice to the tone of man who Wishes to convince by argument rather thah rhetoric "In fact. am sure that any scheme of that sort would be unsuc- cSssful. Al the best, it would be only a temporary relief of the present Tn : eaualities. The money would be poured out. hut if would flow back again. as if always has flowed. to the men or strength and will and intellect.
 q think" continued Father Francis, ''that you misunderstood my words. when I said that the sod of Mammon must be destroyed. I was not think- ing of the poor when I made the ap- neal. was thinking of the whole SO cial system, which is rapidly moving backwards with every advance or CIV n. is eating out all that is best in human nature. Society Is advancing. and be- coming moro complex, but the indivio- ual is deteriorating. Most of the eVils, and nearly all the unhappness. in the world are due to the fact that the Key to the whole system is money.
 That is a statement which requires proof"
 your eyes to your fellow Nine out of every ten people, l might say ninety-nine out of every hundred peo- pie. whether rich, poor, or Of moaerase ,e means. spend most of their life in the pursuit of wealth, or of the bodily measures which wealth can purchase. Money is the main central fact in their liyep. All else revolves about 1t. Ana SO long as that Is the ease, so long must there be unhappiness in the
 T do not see that" interposed Mir. Lampirthy.
 evil when men have nothing else to fail back on. nothing else on which to centre their thoughts? Do you not see that the poor man is miserable because he has not enough of the only thing he values? Do you not see that the man who is comfortably off in abso- lufely devoid of everything that can raise his brain and soul above the ma &arfai nature or n1S 0Ally Wautb duu pleasures? Do you not see that the rich nann--Well need not speak to you of that You know how much happi- ness wealth can bring man Of brains and energy and character. As for the life of the rich idler, it is beneath con- tempt"
 Money" replied Mir. Lampirthy. "is merely a means of exchange--an in- separabIe adjunct of social life whether 1t be in the form of cheques or gold OF seashells. It must always be important, because 1t is necessary.
 ''Important?' said Father Francis. AYes. but not the most important thing in the world. Why should all else be sacrificed for 1t? Why should men lie' and cheat. and wear out their brains and bodies and souls in the desire to possess it? v#ry little of 1t will suface for a life of comfort What, after all, does a man want but food and clothes and a roof over his head. and time to devote himself to the hetterment of his soul and intellect? But what do we find to be actually the case? Each generation requires more than the one which preceded 1t. The luxury of one is the necessity of the next, the self denial of the one that follows. The world is sweeping on from one plane to another, from the standard to am other It thinks 1t is advancing, and so 1t is in luxury and civilization; but