The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1922-11-09
How Wisdom viii Win


Quite to its amazement Wall Street woke up one
morning recently to find Henry Ford the richest
man in the world. What amazed them most was
that he had grown rich in spite of them.
Time was when Wall Street refused to help
Ford, when il looked upon him as a questionable
risk and wanted eleven per cent. Now Ford is
propping up the plutocratS of wobbly Wall Street
with a loan Of nearly $500, 100000. With finer
spirit he is letting them have it at four per cent.
Mr.. Ford made his mammoth fortune in a clean
and splendid way. 1t is no crime to be rich. 1t is
not officially wrong to acquire the greatest fortune
if you have gained that fortune by helping men in
stead of hurting them.
John D. Rockefeller acquired a great fortune.
Much Of his fortune was made by the most despic-
able practices. He brazenly defed the laws of the
land. He was not a man-helper. To gain his own
ends he would cruelty crush. His ambition was to
corner a commodity. He bought up hundreds of
patents and suppressed them because they econ
omized for the consumer on oil consumption.
Ford created something. He made an instru-
ment that consumes more Rockefeller gasoline than
all the oil-consuming devices known before. BY
his inventive mathematical and mechanical genius
Mr.. Ford caused an enormous increase in the Rock
efeller wealth. Compared to him John D.. was a
one-cylinder affair.
Rockefeller is not a loved name. He is not re-
vered. He is a very old man now. His face is
crisscrossed with lines. Years ago a troubled con.
cience overlook him and he set out to square him.
self. 1t is possible for a man to do that-that is,
if our Christian faith is practicable.
Polluted water will run itself pure, so will faint.
ed money. Rockefeller began his substantial phil
anthropies by the endowment of a theological
school in Rocheser, New York. Then he hurled q
great university into one city and a hospital into
another. Since then he has been b~olstering up
weak colleges, creating great pedagogical and re-
search foundations, and splendidly substituting a
b~enignant life-reScue work through meteorological
laboratories, hospitals and feeding stations the
wide world over.
With all his undeniable ~iniquities, the Rockefel
Ter who defed out courts will die. The Rockefel-
Ter who is trying to save life all around the world
and after saving it to lift il up to higher and finer
attitudes, is he Rockefeller who is going to live.
What will Henry Ford do with all his fabulous
wealth? Unlike Rockefeller, he has not cramped
his character to get his money. He is not burden
ed with Rockefelers handicap. But with all
Rockefeller's handicap, Rockefeller may yet over
take Ford in the enduring race, unless Ford does
more wisely with his greater wealth.
When wealth reaches beyond the proportions OF
supplying rational personal needs, it becomes not
an asset but a responsibility.
Henry Ford has proven himself to be 100 pei
cent the right-minded fortune builder. Future
generations will measure him not by his ability to
acquire but by his power to serve through spending
The Rockefeller-Ford race for riches is over
Ford wins. Now the race for wise spending is on
In this great race wisdom will win.