Atlanta Georgian., 1913-10-02
REFORMNOTICED
INATTITUDEO Of
BIC BUSINESS
Money Worship Has Ceased and
Higher Moral lone PercoIates
All SociaI Strata,
By B. C. FORBES.

DN d ~ L S4GDA1eSs
believe that the United states
satiated with riotous living. IS enter
ing a reformation-moral financial
industrial. mercantile. social
Great Britain. I fear. has started on
the downs grade This summer l
noted many regretable evidences oi
this
Should my reading o: the times
proves right. the results for American
Business Will he beyond computation.
I offer these observations and I'm
pressions with much timidity and
without doEnatism, though not with
out having given the subject great
deal Of thought-voluntary and In
volun,ary-for the matter has OBJ
truded on my mind daily for many
weeks Perhaps most people will dis
agree with my deductions; only !
hone they will think hrst and protest
second And. then. something Will
have been accomplished by having
stirred up thought on a subject OF
down-to-the- roots national import
ance.
Money worship, extravaganza.
vulgar ostentation, volup'uousness.
immortality in high places have never
been more rampant than they are to
day" you may assert
"That thew were yesterday" I
would say. for can see several signs
Of reforn-some signs very distinct
and a few much less distinct, even
vague. ,hadowy. Intangible as yet
Money worship has cooled Tho
dollar has proved that 1t is not al
mighty" As an idol, It has been
founs wanting II hns turned out To
have feet OF clay. The High Priests
OF Finance began 70 realize this
about FIVE years ago. Until then
they believed the O was an ire
sistibIe charm a key ~ to all power.
lever that could move men and
women. the whole earth. even. Pos
sess,on OF the charm was tho thing
no matter by what means possession
might be attained. They have since
learned the cold truth The people,
instead OF falling down before cum
ming. scheming High Priests OF FL
nance. have thrown them out OF the
temple and spat upon them
The experience has been chasten
ing. The American Financier OF to
dav is very different being from
the American F1nancier Of FIVE years
ago He has lost much Of his AFRO
gance. lie has learned that the
has limitations when welded
ID without regard for others. He
has learned that. after all. he, too.
has a master The Liliputians have
shown themselves more than a match
for obstreperous giants. To-day the
wise giants are bending to the will
OF the Lilliputians.
Have you not noticed a transforma
ton a reformation. IN the attitude,
in the whole life OF our leaders In n
nance in industry in raiiroading. in
commerce. Politics, the mirror or
social conditions. reflects the change
Big Business is cleaner to-day than
at any time since Big Business had
its birth. And this higher moral tone
is percolatlng through every strata
u activity.
Never in any other country were
there so many earnest movements
afoot for the hetterment and uplift
OF humanity-the laborer. the arti-
san, the farmer. the factory worker,
the sweatshop slave. the tenement
mother tho child laborer. the untor-
tunate the sick. the cousumptive, tho
schoolboy and schoolgirl. the college
student. the teacher the scsentis:.
The purses Of tho wealthy are being
opened wider than any nation has
ever before known. There 10 vorv
vieing among the ultra rich in the
boundlessncsS or theT giving.
A spirit Of thrift is manitesting IT.
self among the American people. And
thrift Is poor food for wsntonness.
The recent epidemic Of sensuou'
dances and immodest dressing wi,
probably mark the climax OF th'
period OF that riotousness OF which
the people have had a surfeit.
So small an incident az the de-
uberate slowing down OF our world
famous express trains Is, TO my mind
significant OF the new movement TO
ward sohriety and rea son.
The lower tariff, the new CurrsnC,
system. the popular election Of Sen
ators the impending overthrow o
Tammsny, the income tax. employ
ers' liability laws, proper credit facN
ities for farmers, pure food LAWS, tn
safety First" CampaiEn-aN theS
and a thousand other development
harmonic with the great underlyin
movement here suggested