Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-02-08
Ex-Prcsident Hayes Heard From.


College. The exercises were interesting
bat not peculiarly so. We refer TO them
because Mr. HAYES, ex-President OF the
| United States, took part in the perform
ances of the occasion. and m ade speech
| calculated 20 attract some attention rs
| coming from n man who has filed ths
| high Office lust mentioned, md may there
| fore be presumed to have studied many
social problems to which persons dine
rentlv circumstanced have never turned
| their attention. We said yesterday Una.
n condition of unrest in the pubic mino
might cause the evolution OF some new
| ;deas IN politico. economical science. ms
condition of unrest no doubt character
| ;zes NJ this time large portion OF the in-
| tellieent public in the most enlightened
countries In the world. Stagnation means
death. Sociology must. therefore, be
s,uaied AZ our colleges and universities. IL
| Il at these institutions that the most su-
vanced and the boldest thinkers are TO be
found. Mr.. HAYES had this fact in nina
when he spoke at Cleveland the other day.
lie did not violate the properties OF the
occasion when he decided to recognize as
| a fact what his most intelligent hearers
knew 10 be q fact. We quote from the AS
sociated Press's report, which says that
after referring to the beauty, culture, and
population of Cleveland, and the import
ance of colleges III large cities, Mr.. HAYES
said:
ain this day it is plainly to be seen that
there is q widespread and grave dlscohJ
tent with the. existing metnods anu
principles of business, with the distri-
bution of wealth, and even with
the present social order. On these
questions the New Testament 10 read
and studied as il was never read anu
studied before. Is property trust In pr.
yafe hands for the welfare OF society!
lie this the true sense IN which vested
rights are sacred? So the novel,
the pulpit. and the newspaper begin
"a teach These are forces 10 be con-
sidered. We do not forget that single
novel from the pen Of a gifted woman
sounded the knell of slavery IN the very
moment of its EXTREMIST audaclty and
power. Who are the wise friends In the
prosperous classes of vested rights and the
present social order? Shall we not name
George Peabody, Peter Cooper, and J0hn
+. Slater and the increasing host OF other
rood men who cheerfully admit that they
hold their property IN trust, and VINO DC
vote il. in part at least. to the public? The
sentiment grows that it is blot on the
family escutcheon If some large part OF q
great estate does not go for the benefit OF
the community in whlca 1t was created
and gathered"
We can recollect when STEPHEN GIRARD
and JOHN JACOB Aston constituted the
whole body of the millionaires of this
country; and they had no such fortunes as
are possessed at the present day, when
New York city alone can boast OF numbers
of men each of whom owns several millions
of dollars, and of few men who possess
hundreds Of millions of dollars. West Viz
p1nia and several other States have not re-
spectively as much property as is owned
by a single New Yorker; and we don't
know how many men there are In this
country who could buy all the real estate
in Richmond at its assessed value. Mil
lionaires, therefore, it is evident are be-
coming constantly and rapidly more nu-
merous, and if the existing social order
shall continue for few generations there
will be billionares-men worth thousand
millions of dollars; and so on indefinitely
until perhaps a thousand years hence there
will be quadrillionaires. Here let US
pause.
Why should people consult the New Tes-
lament on this subject, as Mr.. HAYES says
they do? We suppose because it is said
in the Acts Of the Apostles that the new
converts "had all things common, and
they sold their possessions and goods and
parted them to all accordingly as any man
had need" The fact that they sold their
goods shows that this new sort of CON-
munism hadn't made much impression on
the public mind. Besides, the little stocks
of goods would last but short time; and
that sort of living would soon cease. Be-
sides, it is expressly stated that the pro
perty AsANIAs and SAPPHIRA owned be-
longed to them and could have been dis
posed of by them as they might have
chosen to dispose of it. In q
word, communism is as impracticable as CO.
operation, and has never commended it.
self to general acceptance, though it has
has had advocates from the Apostles day
until ours. All the study that we have
devoted to this subject has not enabled us
to see in any system of social reform
which has come under our notice " the
promise and potency" of that happy day
when all men shall be in comfortable cir
cumstances. Men must labor with their
hands if there is to be food raised of
clothes made or houses built; but men
with all the necessaries of life will not
work with their hands. ToLsroi has seen
this point and holds that it is the duty of
every man to work with his own hands.
We might contend, and call it a strange
thing, that slavery comes nearer than any
thing else to practical communism.
Mr.. HAYES asks, rs property trust in
private hands for the welfare Of society,""
We answer at the risk of making an Irish
bull that if it is then there is no such thing
| as property, and the great Frenchman was
right when ne said that property was theft,
or thief. Who is the trusteep The man
whom we call the owner. For how large
portion of the community will he hold his
property In trust? For all the community,
Mr.. HAYES thinks. No. there is nothing in
that suggestion. A proper distribution of
wealth will never be made by the owners
of it. When it comes to be held that all
property is held in trust for society, the
next step will be taken, and the CON-
munity VIII constitute itself the trustee.
1t is all "a middle" but we need not
worry ourselves on that account, If, as we
have said heretofore, MAoAULAY was right
declaring that the condition of man.
kind-the social order-is constantly i'm
proving We cannot see our way out, but
| light will come from above. and when it
does come it will enhghten the whole
| earth.
Feeling In Germany Against Russia.
Tho statement in the German Reichstag
| during the debate on the Governments