It only serves to show what sort of person a man must be who can't even get testimonials. No, no; if a man brings references, it proves nothing; but if he can't, it proves a great deal.
Joseph PulitzerRead
We all want prosperity, but not at the expense of liberty. Poverty is not as great a danger to liberty as is wealth, with its corrupting, demoralizing influences. Let us never have a Government at Washington owing its retention to the power of the millionaires rather than to the will of millions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True prosperity should not compromise individual freedoms; wealth can corrupt more than poverty.
Joseph Pulitzer stresses that while prosperity is a universal desire, it should not come at the cost of personal liberties. He argues that wealth can carry corrupting influences that threaten democracy and freedom, suggesting that a government should be accountable to its citizens rather than to wealthy elites, thereby highlighting the potential dangers of allowing millionaires too much power in political matters.
Themes
ProsperityLibertyWealthFreedomGovernment
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about economic policy, one might reference this quote to emphasize the need for a government that serves the people's interests.
More from Joseph Pulitzer
All quotes →What a newspaper needs in its news, in its headlines, and on its editorial page is terseness, humor, descriptive power, satire, originality, good literary style, clever condensation, and accuracy, accuracy, accuracy!
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Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.
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If you will give the matter a moment's thought, you'll see that memory is the highest faculty of the human mind.
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An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery
Joseph PulitzerRead
The American people want something terse, forcible, picturesque, striking - something that will arrest their attention, enlist their sympathy, arouse their indignation, stimulate their imagination, convince their reason, awaken their conscience.
Joseph PulitzerRead
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