Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-11-16

at the age of thirty-seven is
the close of a modern
'Rake's Progress" as sad as any
that American life can show.
Born with a splendid physique
and robust constitution and pos
sessed of wealth to satisfy every
caprice, this young man killed him
Sd L in the prime of life simply by
fat living. His death came sud
dhly from apoplexy while he was on
hunting trip in Wyoming, taken to
restore his failing health.
ApopleXy is disease brought on
by fast living and excuses. Ex-
travagances in eating, drinking and
other pleasures of life cause harden
ing of the arteries. Then an artery
In the brain breaks and that means
sudden death from apoplexy.
THE Rake's Progress" depicted
by Hogarth, the greatest pictorial
satirist England ever had. is the
Typical illustration of youths ruin
by fast living. The history of
Charles Gates is as close parallel
to Hogarth's rake as a modern
American case can be to an eigh-
teenth century English case. Like
Hogarth's rake, Gates received in
early youth large fortune without
having been trained in any high or
useful ideals of life.
Like the rake, Gates was immedi
ately surrounded by a flock of para
sites and toadies. The rake spent
his nights in the nocturnal taverns
and gambling houses of old London
where he was constantly engaged in
brawls. Gates spent much of his life
in bars and cafes, and was not in
frequently engaged in brawls.
The rake ruined himself by gam
bling and Gates gambled almost
every day of his life. The rake was
arrested and so was Gates, not once,
but many times. The rake's story
has more brutal features than Gates
life, but that is because some con-
ditions of living have changed. To-
day we rarely send wild young
man to a mad-house, as happened to
the rake, but the essential facts are
the same in both stories. The rake
may have suffered more misery at
his latter end, but Gates killed him
self more quickly.
Science has recently warned
Americans that fast living, whether
in the extreme form practised by
Gates, or in It's lesser forms, is de-
stroying our nation. Doctors have
saved the lives of many babies and
young people by conquering cpl
demic diseases and thus heightened
the average Of life as compared with
previous generations. On the other
hand, the expectation of life beyond
middle age is decreasing on account
of fast living and chronic diseases,
especially arterio-sclerosis and ner-
yous diseases. Thus while we are
saving many immature and defective
lives we are wasting the lives OF
mature men who in many cases have
Poor Gates was proud of his fast
living, and boosted of it. Like many
wealthy young men, he had the
speed mania.
speed is life," he said. I'm
used to special trains and like
them. I'm not happy unless Pm
making ninety miles an
hour. The faster the bet
ter-that's my rule. When
/ start for a place / like
to get there.
81 give away $1,O00,000
year in tips. / can't
take it with me when l
die. believe in spending
it as l go along. l don't
know how much it costs
me to live. / work hard
the greater part of every
day, and when l am
through like to enjoy myself"
Charles Gates began his rake's
progress at a period of the most
reckless stock gambling this country
has ever known. His father was
John w. Gates, the most notorious
gambler of that period. When
Charlie was a mere boy John w.
Gates was a wealthy business man,
and speculator, but 1t was in 1900,
when the young man was about
twenty-five years old, that his father
began to acquire vast millions.
g.. 49,