Satan's Reception of John D.
New York: Knapp Press, 1907.
Only edition. 5 x 6.5 inches, in original illustrated wrappers. 54 pp, printed rectos only. Some old dampstaining visible on wrappers and page margins, otherwise very good.
A scathing indictment of John D. Rockefeller, delivered in the form of a poem running 54 pages and some 1,070 lines. The author (about whom, alas, we know nothing) envisions the newly deceased Rockefeller (who actually still had a decade to live) strolling up to St. Peter with a cadre of lawyers in tow to argue his case. When St. Peter is unmoved, Rockefeller starts to list his good deeds:
On Earth I gave millions to religion
So claim a favorable decision
To aid my fellows my soul was yearning
I made donation to seats of learning
Although countless moneys I have hoarded
I trust my private gifts you've recorded.
But St. Peter, who apparently follows the earthly press, is unmoved:
We know your earthly history very well
As we have read the record by Tarbell...
Your charities were not above reproach
And very near to business lines approach
Ten millions to some charity you sent
Then raised the price of oil one-half percent
So profit came with every donation
Beside the plaudits of a great nation
Your charities were tainted by deceit
And carried on your advertising sheet.
The more Rockefeller pleads his case, the more details of his selfish motivations are revealed by St. Peter. At last, realizing the Pearly Gates will not be opening, Rockefeller is forced to make his way to "Satan's dark abode," where he is welcomed with open arms. A rare item, about which little (if anything) seems to have been written. We locate one copy in OCLC, at the New York Public Library.
Item #19867
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