The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1892-08-10
THE DEMORALIZING DISTRIBUTION OF
WEALTH
e Flaming Sword.


cannot see history repeating itself In the
affairs of the U .ited States, writes S. s.
King in his great production, "Bond-
holders and Bread-winners." Nations
have risen and fallen, leaving their tombs
as gloomy monuments along the great
highway Of the worlds history. A fatal
evil with many of them was the gather
Ing of vast wealth into the hands of q
few. Do such symptoms threaten the
well-being of this nation to-day? Let us
see.
Last summer Superintendent Porter
sent out census bulletin No. 104, relating
to the assessed value of property In the
United States, whereby it appeared that
q very gratifying increase had been made
during the past decade, the total now ex-
ceeding twenty-four billions. Then all
the good, orthodox brethren of the two
old parties fell to figuring. They were
sure the actual value was two and one-hslf
times the assessed value. Then twenty
four billions and something, multiplied
by two and one-half, yielded slxty-two
billions and something, and this divided
by sixty-two millions and someth ng (the
number Of people,, resulted in quotient
of 1000. The figuring was faultless and
the conclusion was correct. Therefore,
the average actual wealth of every man,
woman and child in the nation was
$1,000! Then the orthodox party organs
shouted and shrleked, "Hurrah! Richest
nation on earth! Every man, woman and |
child worth $1,OOOp (At this writing,
some months later, there are several par
ties still snxiously looking for their
Shsre.) The only thing on which the Or
gans differed was as to the proper need
Of praise that should be awarded to each |
party for this great result; the writer,
desiring to be an impartial arbiter be-
tween the Republican and Democratic
parties, would award to the former party
sixth-tenths Of all the glory of financial
legislation In the last decade, on the
basis that it has been in power six years.
The Democrats. must content themselves
with four-tenths.
But is the nation rich because the peo-
pie posses sufficient wealth, if evenly
to give each person $1,000?
If every person has 81, 900 it may well be
said that the nation Is rich. But when a
small percentage of the people possesses
vast wealth, and that rapidly increasing,
while large percentage possesses little
Or nothing and that rapidly decreasing,
The nation Is neither rich nor prosperous.
Suppose hundred families, of four per- {
sons each, live upon and own hundred {
farms, and these farms show gratifying {
increase In value during the past decade, I
30 that each fSmily's possessions should l
be worth $4,000. Here each person
would possess an average actual wealth .
If $1,000, and the community would be |
! happy, prosperous and wealthy one. But
suppose that ninety-seven of these fami-
les are living upon mortgaged farms, their I
lebts increasing faster than their farm G
7alues, the community as a whole still I
moving very gratifying increase in '
wealth, but all that Increase being in the
lands of the three men who operate the 4
'ank, the railroad, and the factory, could t
t then be said that the community was {
! happy, prosperous or wealthy oneS q
Hardly. The three families would be
)rosperous - eminentlv so-While the q