The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1882-02-02
The Good Of Riches.

Forty years ago the men who
could count their wealth by mil
lions were very few. But though
they are common enough now,
great wealth still, to some extent,
creates invidious distinctions, as it
doubtless always will. Yet so many
fortunes are constantly made among
us that, in this country at least,
wealth is not worshipped and
wealthy men.receive little Difference
and no homage. He whom his
neighbor knew as a poor man, and
whom they have observed daily
through all the stages and transac-
tions by which his wealth has been
gained, is not likely to be regarded
as more worthy, just because he is
now rich. Herein the public judg-
ment honors itself. As wealth
alone is neither wisdom nor virtue,
it certainly can not be a just title
to honor, and it may be hoped new
er will be so regarded by any con
siderable humber, particularly in a
country under a free and popular
government.
Still there are some peculiar and
and erroneous views in reference to
the accumulation and spending of
riches--opiniOns based upon the
communistic idea that wealth should
be equalized-that tho accumula
ton of wealth in one mans hand is
at the expense of some one else, Of
course this is far from correct. sim
ply because theIworld's wealth islnot
a fixed quantity. Wrong relations
an bad laws no doubt do make an
inequitable distribution of what we
have, but this main fact, that wealth
is constantly increasing and chang
ing is the answer that what one gets
for his labor is not robhing anoth-
er. Nature give us air, sunshine,
water aEd land, and out of these
grow all wealth, and wealth is moth
ing more than the value of labor.
In the accumulation of wealth, the
survival of the littest" doctrine APP
plies. He WHO can best adapt him
self to the circumstances of the
times will be the winner of the g Id
en- prize. The poor man and rich
man are natural products-both are
the result of special environment.
OF couse we do not Aow speak of,
nor take into account, any artificial,
dishonest means of acquiring
wealth, for this is robbery; but ac-
cepting the law which naturally gov
ems men in social dealings, we can
only see riches and poverty as natu-
raj results, The man who deserves
riches gets them; if he does not de-
serve them he will have to starve
and make room for wiser or more
industrious mortals. 1t is the strug
gle for existence that develops the
man,and t put any restraint on the
natural and honest desire to accu
mulate wealth is both foolish and
wrong.
Again, the man with twenty mil
lions of dollars cannot eat them nor
wear them out on his back in clothes
nor consume more than an minutes
sinai part of them in any way what
ever. Even if he could, the more
he consumes or spends in a rational
way, the more employment of use
full and profitable kind he gives to
others. He might bury his money,
but that method of preserving for
tune has gone out Of fashion. lie
wants to earn something, and he
therefore puts it to some use. He
puts it perhaps into railroad bonds;
if so he stimulates railroad building |
and causes the employment of thou
sands Of men. He may build an
iron mill with it, or start manufac-
turing enterprise. If so, he enables
other hundreds of thousands to earn
their bread. Or he may invest it |
in grain. If he does he stores up
food for the many, making the flu
lure price Of it lower than it other
wise would be. Even if ho'puts it in
TO government bonds he does q use
full thing, of benefit to the whole PEG
pie, VIII sc government credit is
thus upheld. In short the million
aire, no matter how he employs his
money, helps instead Of hurting the
poor man. He can get no benefit
from his money himself without ben
others. The rich are not to
be held in honor or esteem because
they are rich. Only servile minds
could be capable of that, At the
same time it is folly to assert that
rich men, possessors of great for
tunes, are a curse to a country.
They are positive necessity TO or
ganizcd industy, and therefore to
They take nothing
from the poor man, but enable him
to obtain much. They redeem a
country from a dead level Of mac
tivity and rescue it from unprogres
siye poverty. Hence the frequent
as -ertion that as the rich grow
richer the poor grow poorer is not
true-certainly it is not true in
The rich do indeed grow
richer, but the converse not only |
does not follow but has no founda
ton. The condition of the poor
the world was never, on
the whole, so good as now. A thou !
sand agencies of humanity and civ
ilization, unknown in former times,
are constantly at work for their
amelioration.- rradesman.
Balloons.