CRUCIBLE OF REVOLUTION 27
of the reforms suggested by the men of money and capital and
maintained that a device such as a national bank, by making the
money piles smaller, would only spread the poison of usury among
a larger number of the population.
Weitling on many occasions preached moderation and temper
ance to his fellow workers. He urged them to seek after honor
and knowledge, to cultivate the arts and sciences, to appreciate
"the real treasures of a progressing civilization," rather than those
that "moth and rust could corrupt, and thieves break in and steal,"
and he clinched his arguments by numerous citations from thir
teenth Corinthians and from the Gospel of Matthew. He preached
that the respect of one's fellows and the approval of history were
the most precious rewards which any man could win on earth.
They could not be bought with earthly coin. They were the
cherished possessions of men who live by faith and for the spirit,
not for the satisfaction of their creature comforts.
There followed a long exposition of the principles of Chris
tianity and of the laws of nature and a plea that they might be
made the basis of all human legislation, so that nationalism and
sectarianism might be superseded by devotion to one common
human brotherhood. In the new order equal work would be re
quired of all, and all men would receive equal rewards, equal edu
cational opportunities, and equal rights. Private property and
inheritance would be abolished, democratic processes of election
and recall would be adopted, and state officials would be the
servants of the people and would enjoy no preferential treatment,
either in the assignment of labor or the distribution of goods. Free
dom of speech and action would be limited only by respect for
the equal rights of others, and all would be free to develop their
physical and intellectual gifts to the utmost. Criminals who vio
lated the rights of others would have these rights taken from them
and perhaps, in extreme cases, would be banished in disgrace, but
there would be no capital punishment. Principles such as these,
adding up to ten points in all, Weitling regarded as nothing more
than logical elaborations of the golden rule to be taught all men
barré
(Barré)
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