The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-20
What Is Expected of Men
Growing Wealthy in a
Community Such as
Birmingham


of our colleges Many of them are be-
coming huge factories for the manufac-
ture of money-makng and food-consum-
ing machines Education itself Is getting
To be lopsded | heard the other day
tnat certain college professor was as
serting that the time would come when
a mans influence would be measured
in terms of square feet and everlasting
good by the merchants yardstiek \
Philadelphia banker recently expressed
the view that the accumulation of wealth
Is the first condition and prerequisite
in the development of sound knowledge
polite culture and true religion. The mode
/, err world is elamoring for mere mag-
uitude in some material form. If 1t wers
proposed to determine by that standard
which nation shall be greatest, the first
step would be to summon the statistic
clan and the surveyor. An acre in MIDI
desex is worth a princlpality in Uto-
phai.' is fair compendium of the creed
which many young men are carrying Qua
into life with them.
Men are more than ever thinking IN
figures. living in figures and dying Id
| figures. There is perpetual, restless wors
ship of the modern goddess called Hurry
Several years ago President Gilman, in
| diagnosing our most insistent national
disease, said that 1t consisted in being
| possessed of the statistical DEVIL The
in the last decade has been TO possess
and to exhibit wealth. Wealth has bes
come in our American life the great badge
of distinction. The average citizen IL
more apt to ask what street a man=lives
on than what kind of life he lives. The
NEST lively topic of discussion Is stocks
and bonds and merchandise. Someone
has said that In Russia aristocracy ID
determined by military distinction. that
in England II is determined by birth1
that in America II is determined BY
| wealth. Thus we have the doctrine that
laughs to scorn the old-fashioned idea
that man lives not by bread alone
Apotheosis of Wealth
''What does all this mean, If 1t doe9
rot mean the apotheosis Of mere
wealth? And who is to temper this
spirit? For l am one of those who be.
lieve that it is going to be tempered
Indeed. l believe that an age of moral
warfare is already succeeding an age
abnornally obsessed with the crude
ideals which have been describing. II
we are not altogether progressive we
are certainly near progressive as
Colenol Roosevelt would express it. III
we have not altogether stopped short In
the mad race we have been runntngs
we have at least paused to take our
bearings and are at last in measure
willing that the. scales of heedlessnesS
shall fall from our eyese, as President
Wilson recently suggested. We have
concluded that. after all, 1t may be
worth while to be getting ready for
old age and the still waters, One on
the most encouraging symptoms of re-
turning health is the fact that we are
ne longer so awestruck by the rich
We are more inclined to ask concern-
ing man. not merely what he IS
worth in terms of money. but also
what he would be worth IL all his
money were taken from him. We are
beginning to have better understands
ing of the meaning of Joubert when
, he said that Might and Right rule
the world, but Might only until Right
is ready We are beginning to have
4 lxeener appreciation of the sentiment
tCoruinued on Page Twenty-four)