Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-06-05
Anion aud Amerifau
WENDELL PHILLIPS FORTUNE
WHERE HE GOT TT.
rrom lhe Clcrelnnd PlaindeaIer.

From the Cleveland Plaindealerl
Wendell Phillips has an income Of S6o,-
4 year. Exchange.
The above announcement, which A. going
the rounds of the newspapers Is OF no extra
ordinary importance, only II serves " {" point
q moral and adom a tale That Wendell
Phillips is a man Of great wealth, Is a fact
which nobody who knows him will deny.
An income of 100000 year is certainly an
evidence that he is in no imminent danger
Of coming 90 want But the fact that he Is
immensely rich provokes the inquiry how
he became 50. Although a gentleman OF
education, we have never heard Of his being
distinguished in either OF the learned pro-
fessions 1t is not known that he ever per
formed a DAVIS labor in his life, IN any de-
partmcnt Of productive industry. We hear
nothing Of him a a successful merch ant.
lie is only known as a strenuous advo-
cate Of the rankcst form Of aboliuonism,
and as an extremist among the most eX-
tremc haters Of the South and ats lnstltn-
tons; but the public are not informed Of
anv instances in which the sincerity Of his
regard for the African race has been illus
tratud bv any acts Of generosity towards
that unfortunate class of mankind. If IT
will not be considered disrcspectful, We
would like to be told, by some Of his many
admirers. how much Of that income Of
100000 a year has been expended by that
distinguished philanthropist, either for the
benefit Of the poor white people in his own
vicinity or for the amelioratiOn Of the con-
Sition Of the poor black people in other and
more remote localities. And while they
are about il, they will confer a great favor
upon an admiring public by letting us know
q. L. l,,y hIs wealth
We know that he never earned it 10y the
sweat Of his brow, nor by the useful en-
ployment Of the mental abilities which the
God Of nature bestowed upon him. The
presumption is that he inherited the for
tune which yields him the annual income Of
100000 and il is more than probable that
lac knows where it came FROM and how 1t
was accumulated.
Much as we dislike the principles Of the
man, we cannot be persuaded to lsay word
90 bis disparagement that is not founded in
truth. But the announcement which stands
nj the head Of this article should be accom-
panied, wherever il goes, by the fact, which
will hardly be denied, that Wendell Phil
lips inherited his wealth from ancestors who
accumulated immense fortunes by the manu-
iacture Of, and traffic in, New England rum,
and by the African trade. For a conlirma-
ton 81 the truth of this statement We appeal
10 Dr. Cheeyer, now Of New York, who was
horsewhipped in the streets ofSalem, Mass,
for writing the story about Deacon Giles
distillery, and to those now living who were
in the employ Of the Phillipses while their
vessels were in the trade Of the west coast Of
Africa. The wonder is that this man, who
knows where his money came from, and how
it was obtained, does not make restitution
TO the extent Of his ability, instead Of a vast
and worthless expenditure Of words in pro-
fessions fphilanthrophy. Restitution, while
the highest proof Of sincerity, is also an es-
sential element of honor, honesty and JUS
tice. And, now that the negroes, emancipa-
ted at the instigation Of Wendell Phillips
and his admirers, are in helpless and al
most hopeless condition, il may not be too
much to expect that Il portion Of his wealth
will be disgorged for their relief.