The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-01-29
The Wealth of New York.

1t is impossible not to be struck by the great
wealth and luxury displayed both in its public
and in its private buildings. 1t has been
commonplace to speak of the growth Of luxury
in the Old World and of the increasing sepa-
ration between the rich and poor 1t is often
said that the rich are getting richer and the
poor are getting poorer. L have always
doubted the fact The increase of wealth in
recent years in England and in Europe gener-
ally has been mainly. believe an ii1eroase in
ti,e number of moderate incomes and an -inTzs
crease in the wages of labor. But if the COM
mon saying is at all true anywhere, should
say that the APPROPRIATENESS OF 1T are rncst com
spicuous in such city as New York. Costly
and ostentatious houses are far more common
than in London. Shops for the sale of luxu-
ries are on an enormous scale. l doubt if there
exists anywhere in London, or in any capital
of the Old World, such an establishment as
that of Tiffany in New York, for the sale of
jewelry and other articles of great cost. 1t is
an establishment too it must be added, not
more remarkable for its enormous extent than
for the admirable taste of its designs. Other
"stores" on a similar scale, for the sale of
women's attire, indicate the scale on which
luxurious expenditure prevails among the
richer classes of America. And 1t must be
so. The growing wealth of America is founded
on the secure possession of every element
which can yield boundless returns. not only to
industry, but, above all, to capital shrewdly
used. In the Old World those who gain great
profits are accustomed to look to the futures
and not to think only of the present. Ihey
seek investments which will be permanent
record of their success, and be a lasting intiu-
ence in the society to which they belong.
They buy an estate, they build cottages, they
drain and reclaim land. In the New World
this incentive to saving does not exist. For
tunes are expended as rapidly as they are
made A few individuals OF great puOllc
spirit found or endow public institutions, or
become mun6cent supporters OF sclentlhc re-
search. But such persons Are, and always
must be, q very small minority. The tendency
of things is to lavish expenditure and TO luxu-
rious living | am not now arguing as to
which of the two systems is the better. One
great moralist of the last century has said in
celebrated passage that ''whatever makes the
past the distant, or the future predomlnate
over the present advances us in the dignity OF
thinking beings" But many political philos-
| ophers do not accept this doctrine, and are
| Jealous of the wealth or OF the distinctions
| which may be. gained by individuals IN one
| generation surviving in another. Whetner
| this jealousy be good or bad, it is certain that
| laws or customs which are inspired by 1t tend
| to the quicker dissipation rather than to the
| more equal distribution OF wealth. new I ork
| has all the appearance of being one OIL tne
| most luxurious cities in the world, while the
| discomfort of the working classes is often pro-
| pitiated, if I may believe the general consen-
| sus of INV American friends, by toleratlng
heavy taxation whicn those classes impose, put
| to which they do not contribute, ana Dy an
| expenditure of the funds so raised IN manner
which is generally extravagant and often cor
| rnpt.-Duke of Argyll in Fraser's Magazine.