Widnes Examiner. — 1904-02-06 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

WHITAKER WRIGHT,  LOCAL PULPIT REFERENCES.  Reference was made to the Whitaker Wright tragedy in several Warrington pulpits on Sunday, and lessons drawn therefrom. At Wycliffe Congregational Churchon Sunday evening the Rev. John Yonge observed that the tragic ending of a career which the world had worshipped as a consummate success had compelled the attention of everybody. Most likely, and most properly, it would be matter of earnest comment in many, if not most pulpits that day. Every newspaper, national and local, had striven to define and fasten the tremendous lesson. It remained to be seen how far the vast multitude of gold seekers in this country, and allover the world, would be arrested and influenced. Certainly it had seemed of late as if men were almost losing their reason in their search and struggle for money. The supreme love—at one time mainly attributed to America—for "the almighty dollar"—seemed to have taken equal possession of crowds in this country. It was still raging there—as witness the recent wild scenes in the Cotton Market of New York. But it was raging as fiercely here—as witness the terribly increased prevalence of the gambling habit,in which men tried to gain, by what they called luck,—without work, without wit, without worth—a larger livelihood than was gained by arduous and honourable toil. And as witness again, the silly, senseless quest of hidden treasure excited by the mischievous expedients of certain journals to secure circulation and profit. It seemed likely that, at any rate, this latest " craze " would be peremptorily and properly stopped by the salutary interference of magistrates and police. The scathing description of the searchers as "wandering lunatics" accurately given by several magistrates; the prompt infliction of costly fines, and the assurance that fine would be followed by imprisonment for any further exhibitions of folly would effect, it was to Le hoped, the speedycure of this lunacy. But in order to de this, the offending journalists must be dealt with, as well as their misguided dupes. The whole thing was mischievously bad. All this free gift of monay—whether by treasure hidden underground in certain well-defined areas, or by cheques showered down through the air by I means of balloons, was most reprehensible. t might be profitable to the investing journalists; it might be profitable to some lucky discoverer, but it was the promoting of a tremendous gamble, and was evil. It fostered the desire to get money for nothing,without either labour or desert. The whole thing should be sternly discountenanced by all well-wishers of national good.. The caseOf Whitaker Wright, however, was of a very different order, and was of far more terrible significance. It demanded and deserved the notice it was receiving, because it was an extreme illustration of a very prevalent mania. This man was by no means the only .sinner of this order. He might have but few compeers in t.he methods of his I sin—but he had crowds of companions who went to do the same evil. His case might do unexpected good if it turned any of these back before they ran the excess of riot .he had illustrated and prevent their falling into like calamity. The rev, gentleman proceeded to reiate the story of Whitaker Wright's life, which he said read more like a sensational and improbable novel than a record of actual , fact. Having first committed moral suicide, Whitaker I Wright had completed it by physical suicide, and so, he passed off the mere of Time, the victim of his ownselfconfidence, and self seeking and inordinate passion for I money. He had made gold his God, but he found, that gold was a God that could not save. No man could pursue such a career as Wright's without perpetual falsehood, in word, in deed, in accounts. Falsehood 'developed Into fraud, into downright theft and robbery. Such a schemer as this had continually to use every artifice of duplicity, of misrepresentation, of cajolery. He had to requisition the patronage of good and even of great men, in order to screen his nefarious deeds. When this man secured the Earl of Dnfferin and Lord Loch to invest their money and give their 'names to his companies he was able to blind and deceive everyone. And it was all to make his own pile! Do not let them,thepreacher continued, fail to discern the lesson that this great criminal taught. It was the lesson of the folly and sin of covetousness, the evil of avarice, of making haste to I be rich, the guilt of living to make money. t taught the positive iniquity of seeking to gain money by methods that were unscrupulous and dishonourable. Whitaker Wright was one of the greatest gamblers of his day. The passion for gold was akin to the passion for , drink. When once it got a man, it compelled and drove ' him as it would. Let them beware of making gold their God in however small a measure, beware of living supremely for this world, for as sure as ever they did, they would find in the end that it would elude their grasp and leave them helpless and undone.