OCR Text |
Show The Canonization of John D. j Sky-trails of the fireworks shot off in honor of Mr. ; Rockefeller's 90th birthday still glow in the heavens, and ' we wonder if, in future, we shouldn't refer to him as "St. ; John." Every time Mr. Rockefeller gives away a dime, hits a golf ball, makes a profound observation, scatters another million or has a birthday, we are severally and collectively called upon to become pop-eyed with wonder and admiration. We are bade to pause reverently at theight of the, old gentleman singing "Onward, Christian Soldiers" in the matutinal ma-tutinal tub. We are supposed to be humbly grateful because Mr. Rockefeller permits us to be "so good to him" year after year. We'll say we're good to him year after year. We provided pro-vided him with the two billion dollars he has given away and, not to be forward about it, we think the common people who had the two billions taken away from them not without strident protest ought to get some of the glory. Reduced to black and white, Mr. Rockefeller's achievement achieve-ment is this: Pie exploited a national natural resource by methods which various courts denounced in scathing terms, and thus accumulated billions of dollars. Having1 obtained this wealth, he assumed a voluminous cloak or religion and, from under it, gave away a trifle of the spoils. We are willing to admit that this money has done good. A lot of it did fine work in China; some of it worked in Europe. But the people who furnished it have never been thanked, even by those to whom it was given. We call for three cheers for the American people, who gave Mr. Rockefeller his billions and then, in an unparalleled burst of self-effacement, gave him the credit for bestowing them upon other people. |