Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-09
ACCUMULATED GOLD
Taken for the Subject Of Sermon
to Youths by Andrew Carnegie.
OBLIGATIONS OF WEALTHY MEN
To the Community and the Sacred Trust
Imposed Upon Them.
WHY RICHES SHOULD NOT BE HOARDED

Andrew Carnegie. His subject was "Ioung
Men and Business Life; or, the Gospel OF
Wealth" Mr.. Carnegie met a fine audi
ence. Every seat on the main floor of the
church and in the galleries was occupied.
1t seemed little odd to look upon Mr..
Carnegie occupying the pulpit of the late
DR.. Chaplin. But he was well supported.
and if he had become embarrassed in his
effort anv one of the five gentlemen sitting
behind him could have come forward and
meritoriously filled the part of sort of
understudy. These were Rev. Charles H.
Eaton, pastor Of the church; Rev. DR.. Rob
ert Collyer, Sir Edwin Arnold, George
Gunton and John Bartholomew.
Mr.. Carnegie's address was delivered in
an ofl-hand, conversational manner, and at
times the disposition to applaud proved to
be uncomfortable. But it was all forgiven
bv general consent Mr.. Eaton introduced
the speaker, and at the close of the address
made some supplemental remarks. Then,
alluding to the representative character OF
those on the platform in the matter of
nativity, and the fact thai the national
hymn of England, of Germany and of
America was set to the same music, he pro-
posed that the congregation should sing
''My Native Country, 'Tis of Thee, which
was done with thrilling effect
Accumulated Wealth the Slave.
Here are some of the more striking
things which the millionaire said in the
course of his address:
Accumulated wealth, which, by fiction,
we call The properly of one, has become the
slave OF all, at work day and night promot-
ing the general wealth of the community
Unless it be hoarded in the form of Jewels
or the precious metals it is impracticable to
devise any mode of using it which will not
promote the general good Small sums, no
doubt, can be wasted, but great wealth to-
dav, under our conditions, must inevitably
be kept at work chiefly for the benefit of
the masses, whether it's nominal owners de-
sire it or not This was exactly the re-
verse in ancient times, when it was boarded
for selfish, miserly ends, which aroused the
hostility of the early teachers to its accumu-
lation. Their opposition has little bearing
upon the question to-day, since wealth, un-
der present conditions, is no longer pri-
marily for the Individual, but for the peo-
ple and cannot be diverted from working in
their behalf.
':The gospel of wealth is comprised in
few words. Surplus wealth is a sacred trust
which its possessor is bound to administer
in his lifetime for the good of the COM
munity from which it was derived. 1t
teaches that the man who dies possessed of
millions of available wealth, which was free
and his to administer during his lifetime,
dies disgraced.
1t recognizes of course. that men must
keep their capital in business as long as
they labor, for capital is the tool bv
which they work wonders; but bevond the
capital necessarily SO employed the aim of
the millionaire should be to die poor. The
use of surplus wealth for objects which |
commend themselves to the administrator |
as the best calculated to promote the genu- |
inc improvement of his fellows is believed |
to be the best possible solution of the ques-
tion of wealth and poverty. Those into |
whose hands surplus wealth flows thus be-
come trustees and administrators Of the |
public.
The Proper Use for Wealth.
''The only proper use of wealth is to ad- |
minister it carefully in helping men and
women to help themselves. He who gives
to beggar of whose conduct he knows !
nothing probably commits one of the worst |
actions of his life, for he has in all proba- |
bility encouraged sloth and drunkenness,
and by so much as he has encouraged these |
he has discouraged sobriety and industry, |
he has rewarded vice and punished virtue i
His act is in no sense creditable, even to his |
heart, to say nothing of his judgment. 1t |
is done to relieve his own feelings, not to |
benefit his brother, and must rank as a |
thoroughly selfish act, done in violation of |
the dictates OF stern duty.
''The question arises: How are the |
hoarders who evade the gospel of wealth to
be reached-thcse who fail to administer
their surplus as trust for the good of their
fellows? We must let the worker alone
during his life, but after his death the State
should step in anc demand its share of his
hoard, through graduated system of taxa
tion. Every fortune left by a hoarder should
contribute to the State in proportion to its
size, small amounts left those dependent upon
the decedent being exempt, but the scale ris-
ing bv steps until with enormous fortunes
reaching into many millions it should be
decreed that 'one-half goes to the privy
Golfers of the State
This is the proposition which the laws
of Venice exacted from her Shylock Our
modern Shylocks should be made to contrib
ute at least as much. -
Causes Preventing Great Fortunes.
Another cause prevents the growth of
great individual fortunes. I refer to cor
porations, limited liability companies We
hear much Of a few individuals who are sup
posed to own the railway system of
America. This is a great mistake. The
1
between New York and Buffalo alone, for
instance, is owned by more than 10, 600 peo-
pie. The Pennsylvania Railroad between
Philadelphia and Pittsburg is owned by a
greater number than it employs.
$50 1t is with the entire railway systems of
the world Our banks are owned bv thou
sands of shareholders, there is scarcely a
manufacturing or transportation, CONNER
cial and mining company in the world
which is not the property of thousands of
people of moderate means. The number of
widows and orphans and of estates inter-
ested in these is surprising. In several
cases which L have investigated these
amount to one-quarter, and in some cases to
one-third Of the total capital
"While mans necessities and the desire
for wealth have up to this time, and are to-
day. the great incentive and mainsprinp of
progress, yet there has always been another
incentive, the desire for fame. a birher
motive than that of gain. In the breast
animated by ambition. the desire for wealth
has no place. We have LAWYERS sunerior
to considerations of wealth: we have few
Judges who are not so. Men who choose
the noble career of teaching can have no
intense desire for wealth.
Exceptional individuals Left the Race
'eFhe medical profession is renowned for
and devotion to the hoIv
cause of the slleviation of human misery
Statesmen, generally, have wholesome
eoutempt for wealth. 1t is certain that
man anxious to become wealthy would
Indeed, the whole range of the professions
l..