Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-11-28
a .soeial Service" Dream.


dress, Sunday night at Ford han
Boston, by Rev. Paul Moore Strayer oi
Rochester. n. Y. How much mar
is worth to the community other than
how much money he has obtained Is
the new standard of success, accord
ing to the speakers views.
Men don't seek money lor the
moneys sake" he asserted MONEY
means power. II means that man
will be voted a success. A man VINO
wants to be great must get money
The lordship with which TINS genera
tion is familiar is of money. But the
competition for money doesn't de-
velop the finest in men. 1t doesn
produce as great moral quantities as
war We can't get rid of the game
but we can change the rules. Ihese
are three forces which control man
actions. self interest, conscience anu
public opinion Self interest is modi-
fled by conscience and public OPINION
which is the conscience of the com
munity We have gotten TO the place
where the conscience of the eonlInuh-
ity means more to man that his own
conscience and self interest so
cialize the rules of the game and the
game will be socialiZed.
There is an ideal standard for you
how many generations will it take 10
interest half the people in it? IL
sounds fine. but while tireless workers
know the cost of interesting even
some Of the best of humanity in social
service. they will be slow to expect
anv wild tumbling over each other OF
average human beings to embrace the
new plan.
Rey. Strayer says Men must go
into business as form of social SER
vice" 1t would be magnificent, bhe
nowadays men go into business to ac-
ouire money with which to crafty
their tastes and desires. They don't
care rap for the other fellow. 1t IS
their hunting trip, or their auto tour,
or their sporting visit to the white
lights, and not the opinion Of the
masses.
Rev. Strayer says We have put
business men under pressure to get
money. We must put5hem under the
same pressure to render social SER
vice" He will first have to reform
tidal wave of bad habits, animal pas
sions and depraved appetites, greater
Than old Atlantic in storm. we
picture him sweeping back such a tor
rent with toothpick.
These takers have sweet sounding
theories. but men have been doing II
for countless generations, and the only
progress made has been by getting
out and doing something practicai.
When theories are backed by acts,
they count
DR.. Strayer continued: Our modern
civilization means nothing, our beast-
ed Christianity means nothing, II II
doesn't apply to business. Very rev
men are in business today for social
service, yet the fundamental law OF
business is the finding and supplying
of a social need The business man
is entitled to his toll, but in some
cases it has become modern form OF
piracy. From the social point OF
view an article is worth what it costs
10 make it and sell it, and reason
able return TO the manufacturer ana
merchant. When we have arrived at
a consensus of opinion as to rea-
sonable return, all excess dividends
must be turned back to the com
munity in the form of better and
creaper article or higher wages"
A multi millionaire died, recently
and, although he had spent his life in
pirating the public, provisions for
public benefactions in his vii
amounted to barely one-half of one
per cent. of his accumulation. This
man had lived in lavish luxury, de-
terminedly protecting his family from
the evils of the business with which
he tore husbands from happy homes
starved children and sent wives anc
mothers 10 untimely graves. He hat
worked with a great and relentless
energy at the exact opposite of socia
service, to pile up the dollars which
he left to relatives-blood dollars
every one. But what did this Ticl
and powerful maker and seller o
booze" care for humanity other thai
those near to him in his worldly sci
fishness? To say that his man be
lieyed in a God of Love, in huma
Justice, or better existence beyon
this life, would be saerilege.
Thus the element of humanit
which would engage in social servic
are confronted by monsters of huma
greed who stop at nothing to ha
moral progress and to open paths I
ti1eir own easy dollars. They hay
no conscience and they care only f
community conscience to deprave an
debauch it.
..oxst-