Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-09-23
THE WORST INHERITANCE.

lille It is true InaU young Hleh WHO
have inherited large fortunes sometimes
succeed in life, and become az useful TO
the world as though they had been born
poor, such cases are exceptional, Tor 1t IS
general rule the possession OF unearned
money. whether inherited or acquired IN
any other way, is the greatest obstacle
to life of usefulness.
This must be true in the nature OF So
ciety and of money itself, for money IS
nothing more than sybol ofwork done.
an order on society for value received.
Society itself is an organization Tor vol
untary cooperation in all work necess-
airy to support life and increase it's COM
fort, and money is the symbol Of labor
product. When man has dollar it IS
an assertion OH it's face that he has reely
and of his own accord, on his own &C
count, done SO much for his fellow men,
and is, therefore, entitled to SO much
from them. If he has not, then the doll
ar is false pretense, and he is a usurper
when he uses it to control their action
and to obtain power over them for his
own pleasure or benefit.
1t is very seldom, indeed, that man
attempts to accumulate an immense Tor
tune on his own account He does it for
his family He wishes to put his daught-
ers and sons beyond the reach OF want,
and he does not at all reflect that in do
ing SO he is striving to free them from
the only reliable incentive to usefulness;
to work for the benefit Of others; to take
part in the great scheme OF free CO.
operatoring through which the world
grows better and men grow freer and
less brutal.
The curse OF such a pretense as that
which attaches to the use Of unearned
money is never to be evaded or escaped.
There are those who can take unearned
money fortuitously into their possession
and instead of using it to control men
and woman for their own pleasure, can
use it for the good Of mankind, but such
cases are rare. For nearly oil the temp
tation is too great. Not one man in a
hundred thousand cen freely and fully
deny himself qualification that law and
society offer him freely and without the
price of his own effort in return. The
man who leaves his son yearly income
of $40, 900 does not know that he says
to the boy; Here is the labor of a
thousand men for 20 days, or SO men for
the entire year. The product OF all that
labor is yours without your doing any
thing in return for society. / must put
you beyond the reach Of want; beyond
the need of doing anything whatever to
help the world. Live as you please. BE
idle and useless az you please.
In niue cases out Of ten the young man
SO provided for against want starts
out to see life after the manner of young
Wanamaker, who squandered $4,000
in one orgie in Paris lately, or young
Osborn, who, left with an anual income
of$10O,0 600 dollars, began to gamble at
20, drank, frequent evil houses, Travelled
about the world in company with actres-
SEES and when he found himself penniless,
with wasted body, shattered nerves,
lowered vitality and emptled mind, he
found life as fat and as tasteless as
water after wine, and destroyed himself.
OF course, such q career is only possible
where young man comes into possess
ion of wealth that he has legal but no
moral right to. AS a son of indulgent
parents Osborn had grown up, as many
Others are growing up, i'll the belief that
life is only for pleasure, and that respon-
sibilities are only for the poor. Parents
who allow their children to hold such q
notion are to blame if their children act
upon it in later years.
1t follows, therefore, that the best leg
acy any man can leave his children is
highly developed and accurately trained
Intellect. Educa ton means knowledge
of human nature at all times and under
all circumstances and of the best means
of usefulness to mankind. Poverty means
the necessity OF using intelligence for the
good of others, that through such use OF
it mutual benefit may arise and the sum of
good in the world may increase. The
man who puts his children 'beyond the
reach OF want" who leaves them with
unframed aud undisiplined minds, with
out self-respect and self-control andfreed
from the necessity Observing their fellows,
leaves Them the worst curse of the ninth
circle of the cruelest hell of tortue there
is in the universe. Times.
A Sad Case