Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-12
TALK OF THE STREET.
Matthew Marshall Discusses
a Number of Very In
teresting Matters.
A WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS,
From Gould's Death to the Brussels
Monetary Conference.
HOW GREAT RICHES ARE GAINED.
Ingenuity and Hard Work &lwayS Neces-
sary for ey-Naking.
HOW GREAT RICHES ARE GAINED.
Ingenuity and Hard Work always Neces-
sary for NOney-Naking.
THE ANTI.OPTION BILL AND ITS SCOPE

letter for to-morrow's Sun. 1t is as follows:
The temporary cessation of gold shipments
last week encouraged specul alton for rise,
or rather discouraged sales for fall. As 1
have often pointed out, the prices of our
securities are not necessarily dependent
upon the quantity of gold in the country.
The outflow OF gold has not yet begun to
offset, in nominal amount, the paper money
injected into our currency by the issue of
legal tender notes against silver purchases
under the act of July, 1890 Hence, the
quantity of currency ahoat is steadily in
creasing, and until the gold shipments ex-
ceed the increase prices ought not to fall.
Still, imagination is very powerful, and
aided by the fear it produces of underlined
impending disaster, leads to the most ir-
rational behavior. The decrease of 81 1885,
200 in specie-presumsbly gold-reported
in Saturdays bank statement, without
gold shipments to account for it, looks a
little as if the metal was beginning to be
boarded, either in anticipation of the prem
ium which is expected to accrue upon 1t as
soon as any considerable amount has been
exported, or else to provide for the ap-
preaching January assessment Of personal
property.
An Advantage Under the Law.
Under the law, as it stands, State, city
and county taxes cannot be assessed upon
actual coin or coin certificates of the United
States any more than upon Government
bonds, and it may be, therefore, that, since
the bonds are difficult to get, some corpora
tion and private persons are temporarily
turning their bank balances into gold coin
or gold certificates for the purpose of re-
ducing their assessments for personal taxes.
The rise in Western Union Telegraph
stock, as well as in that of the Manhattan
Elevated Railway Company, which took
place toward the end of the week, is note
worthy chiefly because of 'the cause to
which it is popularity ascribed. In these
days of low rates OF interest and scarcity of
good investments, it should not be difficult
to understand why a stock paying per
cent, with a prospect of per cent,
should go to par, nor why one which pays
6 with a prospect of should go
above 130. But this explanation is set
aside in favor of one which ascribes the rise
entirely to the fact that the control of the
companies mentioned has, BY jay Gould's
death, passed from his hands and that of
his family into those of my esteemed
friend, Jupiter Morgan. Mr.. Morgan ought
TO be as much flattered by this preference of
ability and integrity to Mr.. Gould's as Mr..
Gould's family and friends have reason to
be panied, but such is fame.
The Attacks on GouId's Wealth.
The publication in the newspapers. by the |
way, of tine enormous amount of Mr. GouId's |
property accumulations has called forth |
anew the denunciations of that large class |
OF our fellow citizens who, having no talent |
for moneymaking themselves, and not even |
being able to comprehend the nature and |
the workings of the talent in others, jump |
to the conclusion that the bare fact that O |
man possesses as much wealth as Mr.. Gould |
is proof of his dishonesty.
Approval of many of the transactions in |
which Mr.. Gould made his great gains is |
impossible, but to say that they were dis |
honest, when judged either by law or BY |
the prevailing rules of commercial moral |
ity, is equally contrary to the truth. He |
was no worse q man than thousands of /
others who do exactly as he did-take |
every possible advantage and stick at moth
ing not crime according to law to accom-
plish their aims. The men with whom he |
dealt were as inscriptions as he was, and
once in awhile more skillful or more lucky,
so that they brought him to the brink of
ruin. Out of the jaws of defeat, however,
he snatched safety If not victory, and he
lived so to consolidate and fortify his
wealth as to hold it securely until his
death.
Labor and Ingenuity Get Credit.
Much of this wealth was actually created
by his own labor and ingenuity, and in
most cases not only was nobody the poorer
for his operations but the country as a
whole was richer. To take an unproductive
piece of railroad or telegraph property,
and bring it into a condition of comparative
efficiency and productivity, is an injury to
none and benefit to all. This is what Mr..
Gould did in the case of the Manhattan
Railroad Company and the Western Union
Company. and nobody lost the
millions he thus made.
1 think / have already mentioned on a
previous occasion-but it will do no harm
to repeat the remark here-that the popular
estimate of the number of men in this coun-
try who are anything like as rich as Mr..
Gould was, and of the aggregate amount of
wealth which they possess, is excessive
beyond all reason. Out of the 60,000,-
900 of our population, 100000 are
voters - that is, males of mature age.
One of our CITY newspapers
canvassed the entire country to
make up list of citizens who possessed |
5, COO, 600 and upward, and the number it dis
covered, including many whom happen to
know have nothing like 81 O00, ,000 was only
about 1900. The proportion in the country |
or men owning sl.Oo0oOO is therefore only
I
comes to the owners OF $4,000. 900 and up
ward the number is vastly less.
NIiIIonaires Few and Far Between.
In point OF fact, not only are millionaires
and multi-millionaires few and far between,
md the wealth which they possess in the
aggregate small fraction of that of the
world, butthose who at the close of their
ives have accumulated even moderate for
tunes are also few, compared with those
who have done little more than get living
ror themselves and their families.
This proves that, as l say, the talent for
making money, even on a small scale, is not
widely diffused, while that for making it on
/ large scale is a rare as genius for music, |
1ain ting, poetry or war. 1t Is not SURPRISING |
therefore, that the mass OF men should be
,uzzled to explain to themselves the pro- |
,ess by which men like Gould accumulate
Millions, but to say that it is one of robbery
5 shooting wide of the mark.
Interest in the International Monetary
ION ference becomes more and more languid |
s its proceedings rag on without shaping |
nv definite project upon which to take |
-ote. In fact, nothing approaching unanim- |
tv can be discovered in a sufficient num- |
Ier of the delegates to enable q forecast to |
n made of their ultimate action. Bi-metal- |
american memb bers, and both the Roths- |
mild and the Moritz Levy schemes have |
,een rejected without even debate.
No Determination Yet Anticipated.
The opinion which has from the first gen.
rally prevailed in this city, that the con-
srence will break up without achieving any
tactical result, is as decided as ever, and
he conviction that this country mus dis
ose of the silver question without the aid
nd counsel of Europe is taking hold OF
1anv who have hitherto fought against IL. ,