The copper era., 1911-09-15
Money
By Dr. Frank Crane

ing to them our left palm- It IS narO- ly to be wondered at that we find diff ficulty in being taken seriously.
 And our advice has been so confus- ing that we have not had much effect. For now we exhort the youth to all she virtues, giving as an inducement the assurance that thus they will be enabled to get on; and now again we turn to those that have gotten on and warn them of the danger of riches. It might as well be asked, if riches be dangerous, why acquire them; and II virtues lead to riches, are they really worth cultivating?
 It may be well, therefore. to set down a few common sense facts in re riches and the relation of the same to the moral values.
 In the first place, money Is simply the token or sign of our common hum an wants It means power, power over others, power to make our per sonality felt No wonder we want it.
 Again it means liberty. Poverty Is . curse 1t ties the hands. It binds the mind It narrows the soul. One who has to sweat ten hours a day for bread has no time nor strength left
 
 Money means also a full life. We can gratify our cravings, whether tbey be for beer or art. for Paris gowns or Wagner music. With money we have q chance to grow without 1t we are stunted
 Money, therefore, is simply concen- tratsd-we might say canned-human- value.
 It naturally follows that it Is good or bad, never of itself, but only as giv ing opportunity to it's possessor. Here, then. we have the moral gist of the whole matter: money is simply-op- portunity
 It unlocks the door and bids the eramfed and chafing passion go and do It's will It liberates desire. Hence It simply emphasizes a man. If he Is good he can now be better, having more scope; If bad he can, and prob ably will, be worse If idle and use less, he becomes a living fountain of likeness and uselessness, poisoning others
 So. money Is like any other gift; as beauty, which adds power to the per son; or genius, which multiplies the efficiency of the mind and hand; or position. for kinship magnifies 8 com mon man to heroic proportions, in his influence on other men.
 Now, the sole relation of morals to power of any kind Is this: that the moral sense adds to power-responsi- bility
 The root of any genuine moral feel ing is altruism. Given any desire, 1t becomes moral as it takes a direction toward the welfare of other people; it Is immoral exactly in proportion as 1t disregards others and looks only to self.
 Wicked people, therefore, are those who live, think, and do for self alone; and that whether poor or rich. Who ever says, '1 would like to be rich, for I could do so much good with my money" should examine himself and ask what good he is doing with the little he has. It's all a matter of re- lation. If one is not helpful and lib eral on $40 a month, he would not be so on s4,OO0 month.
 In the ultimate realm of morals there are no commandments; there is only one test-do I live for myself or for others: am I altruistic or egocen- tric
 The dawdling smart set, fitting from bridge to matinee, from theater to bedizened restaurant, from the club to the horse race, are wicked; but no wickeder than the better poor who want to lead such a life, and who curse their lot because their selfish ness is bound and chained
 To the real man, therefore. riches means nothing at all, as to his char acter; it simply means an opening to give vent to his character. And a olear-eyed soul, that sees and realizes what responsibility means, is never eager for power and opportunity. It is easier to be good in moderate means than in riches for the principal reason a great load of responsibility 'It is hard for a rich man to enter the king dom of heaven" just because a rich man to be moral must be great And. unfortunately, great souls are scarce among great fortunes.
 The greatness of Jesus was not in his wisdom. magnetism, nor ethical perception, but in the fact that he was utterly altruistic; that Is, he used all his powers not to advance himself but to help others. His tormentors un- willingly told the truth, and stated un- knowingly his very secret, when, as he heads at him and cried:
 He saved others; himself he can not save!"