The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-05-23

VOLUM
erality. The men whose annual income
is from two to FIVE thousand dollars con-
tribute far more to church and charity
and public works than those whose
income is from ten to 6, hundred thou.
sand. It looks like big thing for MIR,
Inman to give thousand dollars to the
Confederate Veterans Home, but that is
only about a thousandth part of his
income. Many many whose income
vas thousand or less gave ten dollars,
and that was ten times as much as Mr..
Inman gave in proportion to income.
Then there is another big difference
between the gifts Mr. Inman did not
feel it-he made no sacrifice, but the
other man did.
q The sober. minded thinking people Of
this country have no feelings of envy OF
coyetousness towards the millionaires.
There is no communism in their hearts.
They applaud the honest accumulationa
of riches, and they commend the capi.
talists who invest in large enterprises
that give employment to labor and pay
just wages that will enable the laborer to
live in comfort. But there is some.
thing wrong about any system of politi.
cal economy that will do more than this
for labor. It should be so rewarded that
something could be accumulated and lsid
by for misfortune. Every man who
faithfully tolls for living is entitled to
food and clothing and a home-not q
shelter but home. he ID entitled to
something for sickness and The accidents
of flife-something to provide against the
perils of fire and food and pestilence and
famine and war-something for the edu
cation of his children and something for
old age. The rich have all these, and
they got them mainly from the labor Of
the poor. They got them by fair means
or foul. When the yellow fever visited
Jacksonville what could the poor do but
stay and suffer and die?
The danger that threatens our Repub.
lican Government from the concentration
of money is very great. One hundreth
part Of the population now OWN ninety
hundredths of all the property. tt is said
that money controls Congress, and I
reckon it does, but I didn't know unit!
recently that it claimed to control the
State Legislatures. A writer on the
Baltimore Record, in defending the rail.
road syndicates, says they are more hon.
est than the people who howl at them,
and that it is an easy thing for the syn.
dicate to purchase Legislature if they
chose to protect themselves in chat way,
and he says that the railroads have an
option at all time upon the majority of
the members. If this be so, may the
good Lord help US and deliver us from
the evil that is impending. But I do
not believe that it is true in Georgia or
in the South.
Now, I honestly wish that I had an
income of about five thousand dollars, so
that I could respond to some Of the daily
calls for help and charity that come to
me- by mail, for know that mostof them
deserve help. 1t takes about half that
sum for home, and I would be glad to
scatter the other half where it would do
most good, but reckon that home would
get the most of it anyhow, and 80 l am
trying to be content. I wish that every.
body had enough to do them according
to reason and their circumstanceu, but
wouldn't risk myself nor anybody else
with much of a surplus. They say that
the Vanderbilts are worth four hundred
millions, and the Astors two hundred
and fifty millions. If this government
is ever broken up it is the like Of thai
that will do it. Congress knows that the
only remedy is an income tax that will
be big enough to stop the accumulation
but Congress is afraid of the Plutocracy
and won't pass it. Such an income taz
would raise enough money to support the
Government aud take the tariff off o.
everything the poor man has to buy
Something will have to be doae. Com
munism is not dead. In some form Of
other it exists all over this country. The
recent manifesto of Thos. W. Rigginsor
and Ed Everett Hale and other New
England preachers and philanthropist'
shows how fast public sentiment is drift
ing toward chauge-some great radica
change in the holdings of property
There must be limit somewhere. It il
the common sentiment of mankind tina
no one man is entitled to a hundred
millions of money or a million acres O
land. Higginson and Hale and company
want the government to seize all th,
land, both public and private, and rem
it out to the people and keep an accoun
with every tenant, charging him will
rent and crediting him with labor. o
course, that means monarchy and serf
dom. What We want is more consiclera
tion for the labor that makes the wealtl
of the country. We want law that vii
prevent spectators getting up corners il
the necessaries of life. We want th
producers to have a fair chance at tn
consumers, and not let the speculator
make their millions out of both. w
want an income tax for revenue and
land tax that will force these foreigner
and others who own millions of acres Il
sell to settlers at fair price. Somethin,
has got to be done or the plutocracy vii
sink this government down to the realm