The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-02-02


the child! 1t Is self-glorification for the
parent which is at the root of this in
furious disposition of wealth. There
is only one thing to be said of this
mode; 1t furnishes one of the most effi-
cacious means of rapid distribution of
wealth every known.
There Is a second use Of wealth, less
common than the first, which is not
so injurious to the community, but
which should bring no credit to the
testator. Money is left by millionaires
to public institutions, when they must
relax their grasp upon it. There is no
grace. and can be no blessing, In CIV
ing what cannot be withheld. 1t is
no gift, because 1t is not cheerfully
given, but only granted at the stern
summons of death. The miscarriage
of these bequests, the litigation con-
nected with them and the manner in
which they are frittered away seem
to prove that the fates do not regard
them with a kindly eye. We are never
without a lesson that the only mode of
producing lasting good by giving large
sums of money Is for the millionaire
to give as close attention to it's distri-
button during his life as he did to its
acquisition. Peter Cooper, Pratt of
Baltimore and Pratt of Brooklyn and
others-these are the type of men who
should be taken by you as your model.
They distributed their surplus during
life.
The Proper Use of Wealth.
"The third use of wealth. and the only
noble use of surplus wealth. Is this:
That 1t be regarded as a sacred trust to
be administered by its possessor, into
whose hands it flows, for the highest
good of the people. Man does not live
by bread alone, and or 10 cents day
more revenues scattered over thousands
would produce little or no good. Accu-
mulated into great fund and expended
as Mr.. Cooper expended 1t for the
Cooper institute establishes something
that will last for generations. 1t will
educate the brain, the spiritual part of
man; it furnishes a ladder upon which
the aspiring poor may climb, and there
is no use whatever, gentlemen, trying
to help people who do not help them
selves. You cannot push any one up
ladder unless he be willing to climb a
little himself. When you stop boosting
he falls to his injury. Therefore, have
often said, and l now repeat, that the
day Is coming, and already we see its
dawn, in which the man who dies pos
sessed of millions Of available wealth,
which was free and in his hands ready
to be distributed, will die disgraced. OF
course, l do not mean that the man In
business may not be stricken down with
his capital in the business which cannot
be withdrawn, for capital is the tool
with which the business man works
his wonders and produces more wealth.
What | refer to Is the man who dies
possessed of millions Of securities which
are held simply for the interest they
produce, that he may add to his hoard
of miserable dollars. BY administering
surplus wealth during life great wealth
may become a great blessing to the
community, and the occupation of the
business man accommodating wealth may
be elevated 50 as to rank with any
profession; by this way may he take
rank even with the physician, one of
the highest of all professions, because
he, too, in a sense, will be a physician
looking after and trying, not to cure,
but to prevent the ills of humanity. To
those of you who are compelled, or
who desire, to follow a business life
and to accumulate wealth, l commend
this ideal to you as the only one worthy
of young men privileged to call them
selves graduates of Union college. The
epitaph which every rich man should
wish himself justly entitled to is that
which is seen upon the monument to
Pitt:
'He lived without ostentation,
And he died poor"
"Such is the man whom the future Is
to honor. while he who dies in old age,
retired from business and yet possessed
of millions of available wealth, is to
die unwept, unhonored and unsung.
Rules for Success in Life.
Let me give few rules founded
upon experience as to competence and
wealth, and how ITO win them:
First, concentrate your mind and effort
upon one pursuit. 1t does not matter
what that pursuit Is so it be useful and
honorable, and be the first authority in
that OF course, you have heard the ad-
vice not to put all your eggs in one bas-
ket. 1t is long since ] first told young
men to reject that advice and pursue just
the contrary course: Put all your eggs
in one basket and then watch that bas-
ket." More men fail to win competence
and wealth from disregard Of this ad-
vice and from scattering ones shot than
from any other one cause. Whenever
you see a man who is director in twenty
different companies and interested in va
rious pursuits, put him down as one sure
to become u jack-of-all trades and master
of none. This is the age Of specialization.
! have known many men fail, but very
few owing to their own business Gener-
ally because they have had outside in
vestments in avocations which they did
not understand. =
There is n second rule: You must not be
content with simply performing the part
assigned to you; you must do something
beyond that, and watch your employees 3
| interest at every point, no matter whether
| 1t Is your special province or not, and do
! not hesitate to apprise him promptly of
anything that you see in any part of his
business which does not commend itself
TO your august approval. You have heard
"Obey orders If you break owners" DO
not let the graduates of old Union be so
stupid. Break them any time If you are
clear that breaking orders will save own
ers, and then go boldly to your employer
and point out to him how foolish he has
been In giving such an order. Believe me,
the young man who does not know the
business of his special department much
better than his employer can possibly do
has not the elements of the future Million
aire in him.
There Is another good point: Never try
to make too good bargain either for
yourself or your employer. Be always
| fair. Avoid anything like sharp practice
1t is a poor bargain when both parties to
it are not benefited, and therefore happy
! at having made It,. Every unjust advan-
tage taken In business, sooner or later,
proves serious disadvantage. Men who
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