THE POPULAR CREED.
“Through tatter’d clothes small vices do appear;
Robes and furred gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold,
And the strong lance of justice pointless breaks;
Arm it in rags, a pigmy’s straw doth pierce it.”
- King Lear.
DIMES and dollars, dollars and dimes,
An empty pocket’s the worst of crimes!
If a man’s down, give him a thrust;
Trample the beggar into the dust;
(Presumptuous poverty’s quite appaling!)
Knock him over – kick him for falling,
If a man’s up, oh! lift him higher;
Your soul’s for sale, and he’s the buyer,
Dimes and dollars, dollars and dimes,
An empty pocket’s the worst of crimes!
I know a poor, but worthy youth,
Whose hopes are built on a maiden’s truth;
But the maiden will break her vow with ease,
For a wooer cometh whose claims are these : -
A hollow heart, and an empty head;
A face well tinged with the brandy’s red;
A soul well train’d in villany’s school;
But Cash, sweet Cash! – he knoweth the rule:
Dimes and dollars, dollars and dimes,
An empty pocket’s the worst of crimes!
I know a poor and honest man,
Who strives to live on the Christian plan;
But poor his is, and poor will be;
A scorned and hated thing is he:
Abroad, he leadeth a leper’s life;
At home, he meeteth a starving wife; -
They struggle against a fearful odds,
Who will not worship the people’s gods;
Dimes and dollars, dollars and dimes,
An empty pocket’s the worst of crimes!
Go get ye rich – no matter how;
No questions are asked of the rich, I trow.
Steal by night, and steal by day,
(Doing it all in a legal way);
Join the Church, and never forsake her;
Learn to cant, and insult your Maker;
Be hypocrite, liar, knave, or fool;
But don’t be poor! – remember the rule
Dimes and dollars, dollars and dimes,
An empty pocket’s the worst of crimes!
Title:The Popular Creed
Author:unknown
Publication:The Blackburn Times
Published in:Blackburn
Date:June 7th 1862
Commentary
This angry radical poem castigates the wealthy and suggest that there is one law for the rich and one for the poor. The refrain end with the phrase ‘an empty pocket’s the worst of crimes’ and this can be seen to reflect the growing incidence of poverty related criminal activity which accompanied the economic devastation wrought by the Cotton Famine. The poem touches on themes of female working class morality in the face of economic temptation an also includes the clergy in its list of the impervious classes. – SR