The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-12-07
The Uses of Rich Men.

It seems that In the estimation OF Mr..
! FREDERIC HARRISON. a radical English So
cial reformer. rich men have some uses even
in a republic. for he writes an essay on the
| subject in the last number OF the Forum.
The uses Of rich men In a republic" ac-
| cordng to Mr.. HARRISON. are to give their
money away for the public benefit. There
| Is no limit to the forms in which rich men
| could DO Of use II they tried" he says. land
! to the public benefactions they could con-
| for IL they put their minds to it," For In
stance. the artistic benefacton affords
an almost unbounded field for their phil
anthropic cultivation. yet they neglect
1t entirely. No millionaire ever seems
to think of giving his fellow citizens n
series OF free musical entertainments, n
historic pageant. much less free dramatic
performance" The millionaires have the
means. and they alone have it; but as yet
they miserably fail to recognize their part"
Moreover. he warns them that it is to their
selfish interest to provide those pageants.
for the day may come when the world will
have agreed to abolish rich men altogether
as an obsolete institution" and unless
they give away their money or spend their
money as people who are not rich suggest,
on that day"
Mr. HARRISON says accordingly that he
proffers this advice to rich men in q spirit
OF kindness. He gives 1t to them because.
pending the arrival Of the next century.
when the ACCESSIBILITY of getting rid OF
thom as n social necessity will come up for
settlement. they may be able to demon
strate that after all they are OF some little
use in the world. and thus put off the day
of their extinction. He earnestly invites
them to convince the public OF this before
1t is too late
Mr.. HARRIsoE's theory. then, Is prac-
tically that II an individual accumulates
more money than his needs require. the
surplus belongs to society as a sort of moral
right: he must give the rest away for the
general benefit. OF course, under the en-
forced application Of such theory there
would be no rich men. Nobody would ac-
cumulate money II 1t was not to be his own
when he had piled 1t up. There would be
no property. Everybody would live from
hand to mouth. after the socialistic plan.
Private wealth would be abolished. Human
nature would be transformed.
II man cannot accumulate million
dollars and spend 1t In the way he likes be-
cause it is his own, nobody can hold any
property at all to dispense as he chooses.
He must spend in treating his neighbors as
much as they decide that no ought to give
them. or they will abolish him as an
obsolete institution" II he has more than
they think he needs. they will abolish him
as useless to them il no does not give them
free circus or whatever else they want
II that is to be the state Of things which
the next century will try to bring about.
rich men are moro likely than ever to hold
on to what they have got. They will not
submit to being blackmailed. as Mr.. HAIR
RIsoN suggests, to prevent the threatened
footing OF their property, but will husband
all their resources TO resist the pillage when
1t comes. People will not give away money
under such compulsion. Benevolence will
lose its essential quality IL it is bestowed
for such purpose. A man who hands out
his purse to a highwaymau holding pistol
pointed at his head Is not influenced by
charitable impulse.
Mr.. HARRIsoS's threats Indicate that he
Is a type OF social reiormer whose abolition
Is required by the well-beng OF all men.