The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-02-19

y
wered by "What is going to become of
me, John?' And so, instead of the
great body of American citizens giving
themselves trouble about matter
which is in their own hands, and q
danger against which they can protect
themselves, they may better leave it to
the few who have no control over
events, and who must submit to what
ever the vast majority Of their fellow
citizens may require of them.
As my readers may suppose, l know
nothing about the use of money in
politics beyond what I see in the news
papers, but I have observed that, in
the cases of bribery and corruption
which there come to light, the guilty
parties are seldom very rich men, but
almost always professional politicians,
who are aiming at power rather than
wealth, and who get the money they
employ from other men of like charac-
ter, who expect to share in the advan-
tages to be obtained. In fact, the mis-
take which our rich men make seems
to me to be that they take so little part
in the management of public affairs,
and that herein lies the weakness Of
their position.
In the great Italian republics, such
as Venice, Genoa and Florence, which
throve by commerce and manufactures,
the rich men were at the same time the
rulers of the State. They combined
with the money-making talent that of
commanding the obedience and respect
of their fellow citizens, and they had
the ability of directing the political as
we'll as the commercial affairs of their
respective commonwealths. Mere pos
SCISSORS of money have never been men
Of political power. Crassus, the wealthy
Roman, bought indeed the Office of
proconsul of Syria, but he was ruined
from his want of the talent necessary
to administer it. Another rich Roman,
Didius Julianus, once purchased from
the Pretorian guards for an immense
sum the post of Emperor, but he held
it only sixty-six days, and was then
defeated and beheaded by the ADLER
Severus.
The English aristocracy are wealthy
and govern Great Britain, but they do
it by virtue Of their craftsmanship and
and not by that of their money. The
English noblemen are not luxurious
idlers. They serve their country day and
night, in Parliament, in the army and
the navy, in the counties where they
reside, and in the fields of foreign diplo-
macy. The rich French mobiles, on the
other hand, giving themselves up to
pleasure, have sunk into insigniflcance,
and even the Orleans family, with their
enormous possessions, have, as recent
events attest, no sort of political inf1u'
ence. If our American nillionaires
ever become dangerous in politics, they
have got to exhibit much more talent
for the business than they now do.
Besides, indications already begin to
show themselves that the owners of
great fortunes in this country will have
as much as they can do merely to de-
fend themselves from depreciation, to
say nothing of their taking the aggres-
sive. The hostility exhibited by West
ern Legislatures against the railroad
companies, the attacks upon trusts be-
cause Of the masses of property which
they control, the clamor for progress
sive income tax, which every day be-
comes more and more marked, and the
constant effort to make the rich pay as
much as possible the expenses of gov
ernment, all demonstrate the existence
of force perilous to the conservation
of wealth in &! few hands. In addition,
there is the natural difficulty of using
money profitably without laborious ex-
ertion, which makes of a millionaire
the slave Of his millions and exposes
him to continual losses. 1t is a familiar
saying that it is harder to keep money
than it is to get it, and nothing has yet
occurred to invalidate its truth.
1t also used to be said that fortune
never survived the third generation.
The grandfather made it. the father
enjoyed it, and the grandchildren scat
tered it, leaving the great-grandchil-
dren to begin the work of amassing it
over again. The fortunes Of the pres
ent day are too big to be thus quickly
dissipated, but they are liable to dimi-
mutton. all the same. AS the great ice
bergs that come down from the polar
seas resist heat longer than the little
ones, so ten and twenty millions Of
dollars will last longer than single mil
lions, BUT their end will come some
day. It may be postponed by causes
not now within our observation, but 1t
is unavoidable in the long run.
I Icannot see, therefore, any occasion
for anxiety in these accommodations OF
wealth by individuals. They will not
be permanent, and, while they last,
they will do no great harm. Their
owners neither have political power
now nor will they have hereafter, and,
as to the pernicious influence of their
example, it is counterbalaneed by Its
benefits. anu not one of those who
regard luxury as demoralizing. 1t has
a refining as we'll as an enervating ef-
feet, and if our rich men spend money
on costly homes and furniture, splendid
banquets, and sumptuous apparel, they
also spend it for pictures, music and
architecture. Moreove, by multiplying
human enjoyments, they furnish ne"
occupations for the industrious, and II
the sight of these enjoyments stimu-