St. Landry democrat., 1883-08-11
Our Miili0naires.
,Demorest's Monthly.


Demorest's Monthly.
1T is a curious circumstance that
wealth concentrates in few hands more
on earth. We have followed out the
traditions OF Jefferson III this country,
and given every one an equal chance
an the making of money, upon the
theory that this would result in an
equallizing of fortunes. 70 help to
bring about this desirable result our
laws call for an equal division Of prop
erty on the death of the parent. But
unrestricted competition has not borne
4out the claim of the Declaration OF
independence that "all men are equal"
The facts of the last fifty years show
that opportunity, brains, and unscru-
}pulousness will enable individuals,
within short lifetime, to gather to
themselves enormous sums OF money,
which, different institutions, would be
sl;ffused among the masses OF the peo-
pie. France for instance, is very
.gich, country, but, outside of the Roth
scIild family, has very few million
aires. 1t has a poor and frugal work
ing class, but the great bulk of the
French people belong to what is known
as the '.middle class, and are well to
do. In Great Britain there are greater
contrasts of wealth and poverty, but
facts recently published go to. show
that the number of very rich is not
large. 1t is safe to say there have
been more millionaires created in the
United States since the beginning of
the Civil War than have been devel-
oned by century of banking, manu-
featuring and trading in Great Britain.
! There are no single fortunes in Eng
land comparable to those of Vanderbilt,
yIould, Mackay, Flood, the Astor and
Stewart estates, and probably htty
,,thers which might be mentioned. The
great fortunes in England have been
aggregratin2-some OF them-for CEN
turies; ours date back to the first year
of the Civil War, when vast accnmula-
tons were rolled up in contracts for
supplying our armies. Then the
Jeffersonian theory, which said to the
government Hands Off" left the
transportation field open to the mo-
taxed the public, the government de-
clining to interfere until very recently
but our highest court has at length
decided that the nation is supreme,
and has right to supervise railway
passenger and freight charges. The
freedom of our institutions has been
vastly more advantageous to the cap
5talist than the poor workman. Should
} the present tendencies continue the
middle OF the twentieth century will
see the United States viii, a vast la
boring population, a middle class. and
u few hundred millionalres, who will
monopolize the great bulk OF the prop.
.erty OF the country. But the signs of
sle times indicate that before the close
of this century the people OF the Uni
ted States will make such changes in
our institutions as will discourage vast
;sccumulations OF property IN few
hands.
The demand that there shall be no
disturbance of the present swindling
tariff and no agitation of the tariff ques-
tion in the next Congress, is In the IN
terest of the monopolists who flourish
and fatten under the present system.
The question is but imperfectly under
stood, not only by the people but BY
snany pretentious newspapers, and, II
all agitation of it can be suppressed in
the next Congress the people, when the
next campaign opens, viii be as 1gno-
rant of itas they are now. The Demo
cratic leaders and press will not have
time to fully explain it, and the monop-
.f,Iists will be able to bamboozle the
voters as they did in 1880, by hOwling
FOR the protection at American labor,
when they are really robbing the Am
.erican people for the benefit OF the
n,annfacturers. The Democrats should
take up the reform of the tariff at the
.nntset. agitate in and out of Congress
and educate the people thoroughly as to
IFS merits, so that in 1884 they may vote
intelligently for their own interests and
protection, instead of ignorantly for the
interests and protection OF a few thou
sand soulless monopolists, who are
growing richer and richer on these
Substances. Claiborne Guardian.
z, s,,oal l1inoe of. the death of General