Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-09-26
American Wealth and Foreign Mar

The period following the American civil
war has witnessed the accumulation of
many enormous fortunes in this country
and during the past decade sociologists
and political economists have been grave
ly discussing the evils which must in
evitaby flow from this centerng of wealth
in the hands of a comparatively few per-
sons. That there have been grounds for
serious apprehension in this direction is
not to be denied. This country has seen
not a few men acquire during the past
quarter Of a century gigantic fortunes,
amounting in a number of cases TO be-
tween $l00 600 and 5000. 100000, and in
several instances an effort has been made
to entail the property after the manner
of the English in order that the wealth
associated With a certain namc might not
be divided and dissipatcd. Then again
the people have seen the wealth of multi
mlionaires invested in gigantic combina-
tons like the Standard Oil company, the
Sugar Trust, and great transportation
companies whose enormous earning ca
pacity has apparently been equalled only
by their ability to absorb competitors
and the public has asked itself what is to
be the end of all this.
in the first place the safety of our peo-
pie from the dangers of plutocracy of
wealth lies in our laws regarding the in
heritance and distribution of property.
1t is but a few years, for instance, since a
single man held a controlling interest in
the Western Union Telegraph company as
well as various great railroad properties,
Il ~ = ln of u
growing power; but at his death the great
CT part of his wealth passed into the
hands of five persons and the next genera
ton of the family of which there are al
ready a number of members will undoubt-
eddy witness the distribution Of the great
wealth of Jay Gould in fortunes the size
of which will excite not even passing com
ment.
The vast fortune, of which the fourda
tons were laid by the late Commodore
Vanderbilt, passed almost solely to his
son, the late William II. Vanderbilt, ant
while the latter sought to keep the i'm
mense aggregation of wealth intact to {
certain extent by willing the larger por
tions to his two eldest sons, the fortuna
was shared by eight sons and daughters
The fourth generation will undoubtedl.
see the fortune begun by Commodore Van
derbilt distributed among a score Of per
sons, if not more, and in a comparativel!
short time the Vanderbilt millions vii
seem insignificant as compared with othe
immense fortunes which are now beinl
built up in various parts of the countr!
by single individuals who began life Will
nothing.
II is also to be borne in mind that not
few American millions are going ahroat
annually as a result of the fad now preva
lent among foreign nohemen of marrying
American heresses. SO long as foreig1
lords cast longing eyes on American for
tunes and American girls look with favo
on foreign titles, If not upon the bearers
we shall not need TO borrow trouble abou
wealth becoming ominous in this country
hut rather a z to how great the balanc
of trade against us may become. Part q
the Gould millions about which some pee
pie worried so much have already gon
abroad, not to mention scores of other in
stances, and now it is announced tina
some of the Vanderbilt millio. are ais
to be transferred to Great Britain, wher
they will bother American sociologlsts an
American political economists no longer.
American fortunes will continue to b
accumulated and dissipated, but the pre-
cess ought not to have terror
longer for those who have re
garded vast accommodations of wealt
as hydra-headed monsters. At bps
big American fortunes are not likely I
be visited upon more than the third c
fourth generation of those that laid tn
foundations therefor.