The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-07-10
Health and Wealth.

three ways-by inheritance; by self
denial; by care, labor and attention;
often by some combination of these
three. Wealth is lost by ~extravagant
expenditure or by carelessnesS and
neglect.
Health may also be got in these
three ways. A man may inherit it
from his ancestors; he may gain or
keep it by denying his appetites for
luxurious food and drink, and for ex-
cesScs of all kinds; he may besides
have to work for it, by pains-taking
exercise, and q constant supervision
over his habits. In brief, unless a
man has inherited a large and vigor-
Gus stock of health, he must do as he
has to do when he does not inherit
wealth-earn it.
He may also lose health by eXtrav-
agant demands upon it, by reckless
expenditure or by careleSsness in
n%urturing and preserving it.
Moreover. the connection between
health and wealth is so close that if he
spends his wealth lavishly and reck-
leSsly On luxurious living and dissipa-
ton at the gaming table or other i'm
proper places far into the night, his
health will go with his wealth. So
again it often happens that he cannot
have both an excess of health and IN
excess of wealth at the same time. He
often loses his health acquiring his
wealth, and if he has to care anXiouSly
for his health he is not likely to accu-
mulate wealth.
Aroir haal+h - lilo vroo1th ~ thoF a
man may accumulate health not only
without wronging anybody, but in do
ing so actually benefits the world. A
man who gathers health and vigor
from the air and the water, from prop
er exercise and a correct life, does not
take one particle of health from any
body. There still remain in the earth
and atmosphere plenty of the elements
of health for all the rest of the world.
He, moreover, provides in himself and
his offspring a certain number of per-
sons who will not burden the commu-
nifty with sick and feeble members.
So, too, a man by his labor and his
self-denial may, without injuring any
person whatsoever, gather wealth
from the soil, from the manufacturing
forces of nature and art or from his
capacity to organize business enter
prises and so reduce the friction
of commerce. The wealth thus
created is besides a positive addition
to the comfort and The prosperity of
mankind.
A man cannot voluntarily be de-
priyed of his health. He may sacri.
nee it himself, just as he may sacrifice
his wealth, for the benefit of his fell
low-men. But 40 one can take it from
him. liz there were any way of do
ing so there would be but n result.
No man wsGIa deny himself or take
any pains whatever to acquire or pre-
serve this health, only for the sake of
being obliged to give it up to some
person, too luxurious or too lazy to
acquire it for himself.
The same is true Of wealth. No
man would accumulate wealth if he
knew ii would be confiscated by
the self indRlgent or the lazy the
moment he had got enough of it to
tempt them to take il from him. This
is the fatal defect of all socialist and
communist schemes. If put in prac-
tIce, men would cease to acquire
wealth and the civilization would de-
generate into savagery. /.
In some conditions men are forced
to give up their wealth to other peo-
pie. Slaves have to do it. Heavily
taxed people have to do it. What is
the result? Slaves and the heavily
taxed cease to produce much more
than enough to keep themselves alive,
and the races or nations which long
suffer such a state of things become
impoverished and go to decay.
There is one particular. however, in
not, differ from wealth. If it were
possible for a shrewd and cunning
man to obtain health from other peo-
pie, leaving them sick and feeble, he
would then be like the speculator or
gambler who obtains property from
others without productive labor. But
a man who should get health in this
way would add nothing TO the COM
mon stock of health. He would
merely transfer it from other people to
himself. This, however, would DO en-
unequal distribution, not an accumu-
lation of health. So the gains of q
gambler or Spectator are not an &C.
emulation Of wealth but an: unequal
distribution of property.
Such transfers add no moro 30 the
| general wealth of the country chan
transfers Of health would add to Its
general health. But any man who bJ
self-denial or labor accumulates ethel
health or wealth is not only entitled to
what he acquires, but his acquisition
is q positive addition to both the
health ard the wealth Of rhe world
Detroit Free Fress.