The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-06-10
The New Wealth.

There may be nothing in the Wall street
rumor that GEORGE GOULD, the son Of Mr.
JAY GOULD, has gone to London to put on
tho market there a large block Of Western
Union stock. It Is true, however, that the
great operator has in his young son faith
full agent and pretty apt and docile pupil,
whom he can make useful to him In his
financial enterprises In various ways.
This young fellow Is only recently out Of
school, and throughout his boyhood and
carly manhood he has enjoyed all the ad-
vantages and suffered from all the tempta-
lions OF the son OF very rich mana man
whose wealth is equalled by that OF very
few in the world. Yet as soon as his beard
begins to grow we find him at work in Wall
street very much as II he was a young broker
with his fortune still to make. According to
all the indications, GOULD the son, is likely
to follow In the footsteps Of his father or to
try to do it. with the advantage Of starting
out with vast accumuations to help him
along while tho elder GOULD at his age was
expanding his energies on the invention of a
mouse trap In order to make little money.
Thus We see that tho younger GOULD in
stead OF being ruined by the money made
for him, and falling into habits Of soth and
dissipation, is stimulated by it to business
activity. He has been put into the traces
early, is easy under the hairless, and seems
to be pretty we'll broken to steady work.
Moreover, his case is not an exceptional
one. Tho fortune left by Commodore VAN
DERBILT has been greatly increased by his
living son. and the sons OF WILLIAM H. VAN
DERBILT are also men of affairs, ambitious
Of making further accumulations. The sons
OF many OF the men who have made the
largest fortunes during the last quarter OF a
century are so proceeding that 1t is manifest
that they do not mean to let the money rust
They are steady business fellows. Of good
habits enough, and In many cases harder
workers than thousands Of young men who
will inherit nothing.
In former days in this country 1t was com.
monty assumed that tho money gathered In
one generation would be dissipated In the
next, or II not SO soon as that at least In tho
generation after. OF course there were con-
spicuous exceptions. but they were not fire.
quent enough to prevent peoples anticipat-
ing evil for the inhcritors Of fortune. Rich
mems sons were expected to turn out worth
less fellows-spendthrifts, drunkards, and
loafers, or, II not as bad as that, incapable Of
managing their patrimony with prudence
and skill. 1t Is ruin to boy to inherit a
large fortune, was the common saying Of old.
Yet we see that the vast fortunes which
have been accumulated with unparalleled
rapidity since the wharf.-the very new and
unprecedentedly great fortunes likely to
be pretty generally well cared for by their
inheritors. It is probable that they will be
kept together and even increased. very
rich mans son In New York is now scarcely
more likely than any other young man to DO
drunkard and q riotous liver.
A considerable proportion of the inheritors
OF fortune may go to swell the rapidly in
creasing class OF men OF leisure, but the very
possession Of wealth imposes on the major
ity the necessity OF diligence In affairs The
very care large fortune requires In these
days Is likely to mako a man OF business OF
It's possessor. Investments must be changed,
and to do that with prudence demands close
attention to the subject and thorough study
ofit Some people even 60 so far as to argue
that the corrective for the evil Of too great
accumulatlons In individual hands will be
the intolerable burden such fortunes will I'm
pose on their holders, who will have to wear
themselves out to take care OF them. Up To
| ehAo eA'hcb hO"oNoib Wo huNo hOL hcdIu vi
anybody who has refused to accept an addi-
ton to his wealth, no matter how rich he
might be, or how enormous the new load
because the money would be too heavy q
load for him to carry.
The dissipation Of accumulated wealth L.
also prevented In very many cases, both
when the heirs are male as we'll a. female
by trusteeing the money, and the class Of
rioh men Of leisure 10 chiefly made up Of
those who benefit by such trusts. Besides