The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-04-25
AMERICAN MILLIoNAIREs.
Is the Tariff "Robber" Tariff, and Does
itcreate "Kobber Barons?"
rR g. Horr in New York Tribune :

| Tor several years PAST A"Vo peen ma inc
the charge that a protective tariff rohs
the people, and builds up class of
lordly manufacturers who become enor-
mously rich out of the money extorted
by such a revenue system from the con
sumers of goods here in the United States.
They have been stating, with constant
reiteration. that, if it was not for this
protective system here in the United
States, property would be much more
evenly distributed among our people
and that millionaires and men who own
colossal fortunes would be unknown in
this country.
| The statement is, no doubt, outrage
ously false, and men who establish and
successfully manage the enormous man
ufacturiug industries of the United States
are not s'robbers." The most of them
are benefactors of the working people.
and do more to furnish labor aft good
wages for the toiling millions of the
| United States than any other class of
citizens. The great bulk of the money
received by these men is paid out for
wages, and for raw material which is
produced by the labor of other citizens.
The Tribune has repeatedly stated
such to be it's belief during the last two
years. It has frequently stated that q
large majority of the large fortunes of
the United States have been made in the
pursuits of life which are in no way
affected by protective tariff.
Iii a simple method of stating that the
very rich men of this country have be-
come rich by following business that is
not in the slightest degree either bene-
| fitted or injured by tariff laws. Early in
1891 The Tribune published short list
of wealthy men, taken from the columns
of ''The World" and pointed out the
fact that not one in five of them had be-
come wealthy through the protected in
dustries. Soon after the publication of
that article The Tribune resolved to as
certain as nearly as possible the exact
facts of this whole matter. It determined
to try and secure an accurate list of mill
ionaires of the United States. This in
quiry was begun over a year ago, and has
been carefully and diligently prosecuted
up to the present time. The list is nearly
complete, and it lis proposed in short
time to give it entire to the readers of
The Tribune. The undertaking has been
one of great labor and very careful in
veStigatiOn, and while no one can get
such list that will be absolutely cor
rect, still enough is already asce1tained
to enable me to state with perfect truth
fulness that many of the notions so preva-
lent among the people who are always
talking about the rich barons and i'm
mense fortunes accumulated by so many
American citizens are simply wicked
exaggerations.
1t is only few days ago that The
Tribune published a letter from one of
these modern advocates of calamity and
distress, asking how it happens that
there are $1,000 millionaires in this
country. In reply to that question 1
stated that did not know how many
there were, but that careful examina-
ton would show that there are by no
means nearly so many as that number.
Ihe list which has been prepared with
so much care is now SO nearly complete
that am permitted to state that instead
OF there being 81, 600 actual millionaires
in the United States, there are really not
1000, and Of those 2,T00 made their for
tunes in business not affected by the
tariff, and the other 1,200 secured their
fortunes in part through business which
is aided by the tariff, and many of them
partly by other kinds of EMPLOYMENT.
When this list shall be completed, it
will be found that a large majority Of
fortunes of the rich men of this country
have been made in the mining Of silver
and gold, in railroad transactions. in
dealings in bonds and stocks, in specula-
tons on Change, in patent medicines. in
inventions secured by patent rights, in
the enormous increase in the value of,
real estate, by dealing in groceries and
dry goods and other merchandise, by
foreign commerce and by various other
occupations which depend in no way
tor their success upon tariff laws, except
as the tariff has conduced so largely to
the general prosperity Of all kinds of
business in the United States.
Very few of the men who have become
conspicuous in the United States during
the last thirty years, as jurists, in. the
pulpit, at the bar, in literature or in
journalism, have shown any great ca
pacity for money making To manage
great business affairs, and to run our
great corporate enterprises, requires
high order Of intellect And vet. the
men Of lasting fame produced here in the
United States of America have, few of
them, been men of wealth. We hear
very much nowadays about how MANY
places of position and power are secured
by the use of gold. Such has been, no
doubt, too often the case. but as rule,
such men have done little in shaping the
history of this country. Most of the
men whom the people have come to love
in this generation have died compare
lively poor. Only think of the list. Lin
coin, Grant, Sherman, Thomas, Garfield,
Morton, Webster and Clay. The list
among the men of letters would be
equally significant. But am DEPRESSING.
only aimed in this short article to an
nounce to the readers of The Tribune
that such list is being prepared and
will appear in the columns of The Trib-
une within few weeks. When that list
shall be completed and properly CLASH
fed, shall hope to analyze it and draw
from it lessons of great value. Enough
is already known to show that the state
ments constantly made by the free-traders
that most of the fortunes of the United
States have been made by s'tariff rob-
bers,'' is absolutely false. This state
ment is only one of the many falsehoods
manufactured and retailed by the men,
bers of the Golden Club and their Ameri-
can allies to bring into disrepute the pro-
tective system.
The Tribune started in on this work to