24
Procee..din~8
of the
[Oct.
hiJating suffering and allaying distress. In law, the one is n. shyster, polluting this noble profession by his very touch; defrauding those who trust their interests to his care; the other is ever ready to protect the innocent, to shield the weak from the merciless demands of the strong, iild to see that injustice be done no man, however humble or obscure. In politics, the one is a" ringster," full of deceit. false, "a thoroughbred fraud," seeking only self-advancement; the other is truthful, honorable, patriotic, seeking to advance his country's welfare; the one, by his conduct, says, "I have no use for any man unless I can use him; " the other, by his life, proclaims, "I am a man, and whaUver is humanity is akin to me," and deserves my earnest co-operation in its laudable efforts; the one, as he often occupies positions of trust and honor, is like the moon, which reflects the unfruitful rays of a borrowed light, thereby deceitfully appearing to be a beautiful luminary, until the telescope is turned upon it, when the astonishing fact is revealed that it is only a dreary waste, a sepulchral orb, full of yawning chasms and horrible abysses of darkness, upon whose surface charred and desolate peaks rise in dismal chains, like foreboding phantoms -a world in which every principle of vitality has long sincc been destroyed by its own internal, desolating, volcanic powers; the other-'-in all the relations of Hfe, abounding in generosity, magnanimity G.nd true nobility-is like the sun, the real luminary of a grand system of worlds, which sends its rays of heat and life into every nook and corner of the surrounding universe, producillg life, growth and development, thus causing all nature throughout her endless gradations to resound with her thrilling songs of joy and gratitude. I
But what influence does Masonry exert upon State? Is it adapted to the promotion of the true interests of every ci\'ilized country, in every epoch of its constantly chAnging condition? Is it.peculiarly adapted to that end in our country at this time? Every age in a country's history has its own peculiar evil. The predominant evil of the last epoch is not the prcvailing evil of this age, and the prevailing evil of this age will not be the chief evil of the next era~ This leading evil of every age is simply the form in which the selfish tendencies of the people most strongly manifest themselves at that time. The hour forbids elaboration here, and I must confine my observations to two epochs. What, then, is the characteristic evil of the present era? What is the predominant vice of our day? What is the evil which seems to be permeating the masses of our people and affecting all classes of our citizens; the evil whose baneful influences have reached even those who have been honored by positions of trust and power-an evil which is every day extending, which seems to know no abatement, which looms up like a portentous cloud, above our political horizon, which~asts a foreboding shadow across our political sky, whjch, strange as it may seem to you, in this hour of peace and prosperity, even threatens to undermine our Republican institutions, and to destroy our civil liberty? It is that which has been designated as the root of all evil-"the love of money." If there is one vice which can more completely than another extinguish the fires Of patrjotism, and paralyze the benevolent impulses of the路 heart, that vice is the inordinate. love of gain. When this desire to accumulate wealth becomes so general and so excessive in any people as to lead them to regard lightly the means by which it is gained, then dishonesty invades all kinds of business, hypocrisy and deceit characteri7拢 the times, ndulterations and counterfeits abound, "corners" and gambling speculations prevail, every man begins to suspect his neighbor, honesty itself is doubted, moral integrity hangs her head in-shame and weeps over her own downfall, while civil liberty-the daughter of virtue and intelligence-wings her sad flight to realms more congenial to her own prOUd spirit. There was a time in our RepUblic when to show what ought to be done was to secure the adoption of that measure. How is it to-day? What measures are now adopted, and how are they secured? Let the legislative history of the last two decades answer. How many measures of dOUbtful expediency (not to say of doubtful honesty), involving millions of dollars, have marked this period? We live in a most magnificent country. Nature has lavish 1)" bestowed upon us everything necessary for our comfort and happi-