This would have
been wise if intelligence and honesty had also been universal. But the
result proved it to be an exceedingly bad policy, for it created a large
class of voters who held the high privilege of citizenship so meanly, and
were themselves so venal, that they would even sell their votes to the
highest bidder. This, supplemented by the immorality of some of the
intelligent citizens, made politics corrupt and the name of politician too
often a by-word.
"In doing business, by which was meant buying and selling and
manufacturing, also financial dealings and commerce, the passion for
money-getting was particularly prominent. An astonishingly small
percentage of those that went into business, as they said, made a success,
if we except the large manufacturers, but in spite of that it was a
popular way of earning a livelihood. One thing that made it popular was
the fact that there was always more or less speculation in it. The haste
to get rich made men too careless of the rights of others."
"Do you mean that all business was conducted dishonestly?" I asked.
Pages:
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387