FLAWED IDEALS
Disillusionment with Humanity
PHILIP JOHN BAYER, the founder of Quaker State Refining Company, was one of America’s big business magnates. Eleanor Ritchey, the unmarried granddaughter of Philip John, inherited an enormous sum of money and other valuables as her inheritance.
But she hated human beings, and chose to remain single all her life. She died on October 14, 1968, at the age of 58. Having no human beings as her companions, she developed curious habits in pursuit of pleasure. For example, she would buy innumerable pairs of shoes, since she never wore a pair of shoes more than once.
Similarly, she would buy stationery boxes with astonishing frequency, to mention but a few of her idiosyncrasies. She donated 1,707 pairs of shoes and 1,224 boxes of stationery to the Salvation Army.
Many lives are wasted because they are misdirected. No real ethical fulfilment is possible without a balanced set of humane ideals.
Stranger still was her interest in dogs. Whenever she went out in her car, she would pick up stray dogs on the street, bring them home and look after them with special care. In this manner she collected about 150 dogs. When her home could no longer accommodate such a huge pack of dogs, she initially bought a 12-acre piece of land to ensure their comfort.
In her will, she had it mentioned that all her wealth should go to her pet dogs. Only after they had all died, was it to be transferred to the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. The June 6, 1984 issue of The New York Times carried the news that the last surviving member of the pack, Musketeer, had died. It was 13-year-old, and had become so weak that when it walked, its legs trembled, and while coughing it fell to the ground.
Even the bequeathing of her wealth, although altruistic in purpose, was marked by eccentricity, and was obviously the offshoot of a flawed idealism. How much better it would have been if her efforts had been equally directed towards the betterment of human beings. Without a sound set of ideals, humanity had become less than nothing for her, and her energies were frittered away in senseless phobias. How many lives are thus wasted, because, they are misdirected? No real ethical fulfilment is possible without a balanced set of humane ideals.