The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1891-07-22
The Safest investments.

The duke OF Marlborough has been
making tour of inspection through
our southern states, and in long arti-
Gle in the New York Herald he recently
gave his impression as to the opportu-
mites the south offers to English in
vestors He deprecates investments by
English capitalists in enterprises in
South American countries that really
have ''no settled form of government"
"In America, on the other hand" he
says, you have the most stable and
conservative form of government in the
world" The duke therefore advises
Englishmen to invest in American en-
terprises and particularly in those con.
trolled by American stockholders.
There are, however, great differences
among such investments, the duke ex-
plains, and he says:
"Breweries and stock yards and elc-
vators are very fine things, so long as
you can get them managed by local
American boards, who have u strong
share interest in them, but do not let
us blind ourselves to the fact that you
are really only buying good will, a four
walled factory, and lot of beer bar
rels. The real value of America is in
real estate, and in real estate l include
not only such property as Middlesbor-
ough, but also all American railways in
which you can hold an effective block
of stock which will control the manage
ment. 1t is in this real estate of enc
form and another that future unearned
increment of value lies. Breweries
will vanish, but coal regions and rail-
ways will remain.
you have an Anglo-Saxon race Of
sixty millions of people who work like
beavers, developing your property, and
adding to its value every day if you own
real estate investments, and this is far
better property than Buenos Ayres
water works and Argentine Great West.
ern, or even Buenos Ayres and Rosario
or Great Southern rails, where there is
nothing in the way of population. ex.
cept few million slow-going Span.
iards or Italians. This is simply com.
mon sense view OF Investment general
ly, and it seems strange that our En-.
glish public do not see the advantage
that is to be derived from joint enter.
| prise with American companies, man.
aged and directed in New York, rather
than in schemes that are run from Lon
don, and where the water that gets
into the concern before it ever belongs
to the English public is quite colossal
This is surely frank and it indicates
that the duke has not only 'seen the
cat" but that he proposes to harness
the animal for the use of himself and
his friends. 1t is in real estate, he says,
'that future anearned increment lies"
"Breweries," he continues, Twill van
ish, but coal regions and railways will
remain" Invest in those everlasting
sources of "unearned increment" he
says. in effect, and IAN Anglo-Saxon
race of sixty millions of people viii
work like beavers developing your
property and adding to it's value every
day." The duke is right. This is just
what those Anglo-Saxon and other mil
lions will do until they wake up to the
folly of their performance. Then they
will begin throwing on the ground the
burdens they now carry, and the duke of
Marlborough's friends will find that the
hand of the tax-gathefer is beginning
to take for the public these indirect re-
suits of individual labor. Thenceforth
capital will have to concern itself with
four-walled factories, beer barrels and
other products of industry, or go with
out interest. That is to say, the mo-
nopoly of natural opportunities having
ceased to offer chances for profit, CAPT
tai must go to work and earn any thing
it gets by performing it's true function.
the facilitation of the production of
commodities by labor For the present
the dukes advice is sound. How long it
will remain so, depends on the length Of
time required to enable people to up-
derstand their own rights and interests,
after the truth has once been made
plain.