The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1893-06-28
INGALLS, Reviewed.

gals, upon "The Social Malady," pub
lished in the st. Louis Globe Democrat OF
the 11th inst, and find the questions
presented in the article Of such general
interest to well-infOrmed thinking people
as to lead me to believe it will interest
your readers to review it and point out
what seems to me to be fiat contradic
tions in facts and theories, stated by
Mr.. Ingalls,. He says:
First-CiYilization has no paradox 90
mysterious as the the existence Of hun
ger when there Is an excess Of fOod-of
want in the midst of plenty-thst one
man should have possessions beyond the
capacity Of extravaganza to squander,
and another, able and willing to work,
should perish for WRn6 OF embers, rags
And crust, renders society unintelligi-
BILE. So long as such conditions con-
tinue the brotherhood Of man is phrase,
justice formula and the divine code
illegible.
Second-Although the tendency Of
Capitalization Of wealth is excessive and
should be checked, 1t is not true that the
poverty Of the poor is caused by the
wealth Of the rich; only as wealth Is con-
Centrated can the forces Of nature be sub
jugsted and made subservient to ciVili-
zation; great private fortunes are insep-
erRble from high civilization.
Third-Even were it desirable to limit
Rooumulations society possesses no
agency by which it can be done; there is
no remedy prescribed today which has
not been Intellectually administered to
innumerable patients before - no ex-
pertinent in finance and political econ
omy proposed that has not been repeat
edly tried with no result but individual
disaster and national ruin.
Now, if Capitalization of wealth does
not cause general poverty among the
masses, then why is it that psupers and
trsmps increase more rapidly into larger
numbers as millionRires concentrate the
wealth Of a country into their own
hRndsP How is it possible to secure
general prosperity among the many
when the wealth Of nation is owned by
the feWP
If Capitalization Of wealth does not
impovsrish the masses, then the facts of
Roman history, cited bV Mr.. Ingalls,,
AaGly contradict him when he says:
At the time of Caesar 1000 plutocrats
practically owned the Roman empire,
and more than 100000 heads Of families
were mendicsnts, supported by oontribu-
tions from the pnblic treasury.
He also cites facts Of our present his
tory as follows:
The aggregate possessions Of the coun-
try probably exceed &l000U0,0O0 GOO
one-hRh of which is said to be under the
direct control of less than 10000 persons
and corporations. The largest private
fortunes in the world have been aCcumu-
lated in the United States in the last
half century. We have scores of men
whose annual incomes exceed in amount
the entire fortunes Of Morris and Wash
ington, the richest men in the country
less than century ago.
He does not give the present number
of psupers and trRmps, but from the CEN
sus and other reliable sources Of infor-
nation, it is estimated the number, with
unemployed lsborers, who are able and
willing to work, will exceed 100000
persons, while there are more than that
number of poorly paid wage-earners who
are wholly dependent upon their daily
labor to secure the bare necessaries Of
life, and these numbers are daily increas-
ing.
Now, let us see what Mr.. Ingalls, SAYS