Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1890-02-21
FATE OF : FORTUNES.
IL Doesn't Take Long to Scatter
Them In America.
There Are Not More Than Three Genera
uons between Shirt Sleeves and Shirt
Sleeves - Common FalIacy
About Great Possessions


Much apprehension is felt and often ex-
pressed concerning the concentration Of
enormous wealth in the hands Of few per-
sons, the idea being that sort Of plutocrat-
ic dynasty may be established which will
Tend 70 destroy republican institutions in
time and to subvert the liberties OF the peo-
pie. The impression il quite general, says
the San Francisco Chronicle, that there is n
source of great danger to the Nation in
these gigantic fortunes, and some REFORM
ers have even gone so far as to propose that
hereditable wealth shall be limited by law,
the excess over certain sum to 20 not IN
the rich mans legatees and devsees, but to
the State. This idea, however, has not been
received with general favor, for it antagon-
izes the theory Of property, which seems too
deeply seated to be uprooted even by Henry
George and his followers.
The danger OF dynasty Of plutocrats is
rather imaginary than real. Large fortunes
become catered in much less time than
might be imagined; or, to put it as it has
been already expressed by an American
writer, there are not more than three gen
erations between shirt-sleeves and shirt
sleeves" This rise and fall OF q fortune
could hardly be expressed more tersely and
systematically, and at the same time
with more truth. The representative Of the
first generation takes of his coat and goes
to work in his shirt-sleeves, and by un-
ceasinR industry accumulates a competence.
To him succeeds his son, who inherits his
fathers industry, and has, superadded to
that industry, the gift Of money-maling,
and he dies very rich. Then comes his son,
in whom the old stock shows marked signs
OF deterioration, and his life is given rather
to spending money than to earning it, so
that when he dies the fortune which he in
herited has vanished into thin air, and his
son has to pull of his coat and go to work
in his shirt-sleeves. as did the founder of
the family before him.
This is reducing the case to the slimmest
possible terms, for it must be apparent that
with family of sons and daughters the
acquired fortune will be dissipated even
more speedily. Take few figures by way
Of further illustration: Our imaginary rep
resentative OF the second generation dies
worth, let US say, $4,000, ,000 but he leaves
TWO sons and two daughters. His fortune
Is then divided into four equal parts, giving
$500, 900 to each child. Should each Of these
children have four children the share Of
each would be but S125000, even If the
original fortune were to remain unimpaired:
out out OF sixteen children 1t is certain that
at least one-half would be improvident, es-
pecially IL born to fortune So it is safe
10 say that by the end Of the second genera
tion the fortune of {2000,000 would have
dwindied to 81, ,000, 900, and that third gen.
,ration would see the money scattered far
and wide.
America has presented thus far but two
exceptions to this rule, in the families Of
he Astors and the Vanderbilts, and the
time has not yet fully run to say with GER
ainty that they are exceptions. But even
I they prove to be they do not destroy the
orce of the proposition as general truth
hat great fortunes can not be held together
or very long period, but will become
,roken up and scattered, returning to the
;eneraI mass OF the wealth or the country
rom which they have been segregated.
or course the absence of the law Of pri-
1ogeniture and of the law Of entail makes
his dissolution of fortune more probable In
he United States than it would be where
hose laws prevail In Great Britain landed
states descended from generation to gen.
ration because so strictly entailed that sue
essive holders have what in reality Is only
life interest in the land and only one child
axes that. With US entail is practically
Unknown, and public sentiment, and in
iivision among all the children, so that it is
ppracticable to transmit real property as
is transmitted under English law, This
loes away with any danger OF q landed
.ristocracy, and insures the ultimate distri-
,ution of the land among the people.
Again, there is a common fallacy about
great fortunes which often leads to con-
'usion. A man, Jay Gould, for example, is
poken Of as being worth S5O,OOO,OO0 or
rs, ,OOO, 900 and we picture him TO ourselves
IS sitting in front of his strong box and
Zloating on q mass of gold COIN which he has
from circulation, and which he
night throw into the ocean il he pleased.
'he fact Is that his wealth is represented
n the main by certain printed or written
pieces Of paper called stocks and bonds, hav-
ug a certain negotiable value, but each one
# these pieces Of paper, while it represents
I certain monthly or annual income for Its
lolder, also represents avenues of industry
or hundreds and thousands OF the Amer
can people, to whom the greatest calamity
hat could befall them would be Jay Gould's