South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-07-21
The Uncertainties Of Wealth.

An "Old Subsefibet wishes to know
what proportion of those who sucseed in
| acquiring competency in business pur-
suits ultimately retain 1t. This problem
has been worked at by many statisticisns
with about the same results. OF those
who engage in business on their own &C
COUNT cnly three out of hundred escape
| failure, and only fye out of hundred sue
ceeS n svo.ding ~ ertirs collapse of their
first effort. Of coutss, those who at some
time or other have in hand a reasonable
competence, and may be said to have sue
ceeded IN business, ninety per cent. arc
| sAii the subjects of after reverses of some
sort, so thst Only ten per cent. of the sue
cessfUl ones keep their fortune unshaken.
Two things ought 70 be strongly i'm
pressed upon the yoGrg people of our
! country; The insecurity of riches even
VIXEN acquired, and their unsatisfying
character There Is no fallacy SO univer-
| s2lly cherished as the notion that wealth
! is surely means of happiness. The care
Of q isrge property is enc of the most bur-
deDsome os esrth's trusts. The only ma
terial good which Comes Ont Of any estate
is to be made out of moderate income
lar more easily than from large one, and
With fsySeF attendant disadvantages. Few
thoughtful men %9sla undertake the en-
tire stewardship Of large estate on a pos
tive bargain that they should receive no
more for taking care of it than ordinarily
falls into the cup of its owner. The
scramble after wealth is due to a wrong
estimate of the. good to be acquired
from it when it is gained. We speak
not now Of the immense Sacrifices
made in the pursuit, such as the
waste of health, character, peace Of mind,
and even life itself; but of the little to
come from it, in the way of reward, even
should the pursuer be successful. And
the c0rtcding care which each large addi-
ton brings czniiot be escaped by the wis
est use of it. The more Conscientious the
possessor may be, the more is he likely to
feel the burden of the stewardship. The
sweetest enjoyment in the use of money
Is in the dispensstioI Of bounty, but this
is sadly marred by the iudicious care re-
quife5 IN the selection of recipients. The
man who is earning d good living, with
something to spare annually for the sweet
uses of charity, is far less tried in this re-
spect. He relieves as far as he can the
cases of distress that appeal most strongly
to him, or touch his heart most deeply,
and is not oyerpressed in this direction.
But when once he has the repute ofwealth
the applications come in like q food
There is not wealthy man in this city, if
he gave judiciously in answer to every
honest appeal to his benevolence, who
would not soon divide his entire estate
among the benefeiaries. There is com
mon misapprehension on this point among
those whose sympathies arc Hot thus
tested. They believe that a rich fnsn
ought to answer every legitimate call on
his bounty, and If they know of any genu-
inc case of suffering brought TO his no.
tice which he has failed to relieve, they !
lay up the refusal to his discredit. The |
truth is, however, that the widest !
possible channel of benevolence can
not irrigate all of earth's barren wastes |
over which it might be made TO flow. |
Each steward of large property, howeV-
sr charitsbly disposed, tan select but few
Of the objects presented to his pity, and if |
MS large resources are publicly known,
must reject large part of the applications
made 70 bin. The selection of those to
be helped by him, and the rejection of so
many that ought to be helped by some
body, is great drawback on the luxury
If doing good. Most thoughtful men of
arge income appropriate certain sum to
,over such disbursements. They often
unwisely, and sometimes are
governed by mere whim or caprice in the
for it is human to err, even
With the best intentions; but there is no
possible way in which the largest sum
hey can set apart for charity could be
made to cover all the cases of real suffer
ng that come before them. Every one
inows something of the anxiety and vexa-
ion attendant on the care of property
where it is to be held sacredly in trust;
We have only just hinted at the burden
which even a wise distribution in charity
imposes, to show that on its most favored
ide the trusteeship is not position TO be
o eagerly eoveted.-Neao York Journal Of
J0mmerce