Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1895-12-26

Last Wednesday Cornelius Wander
bits new residence was opened at New
port with a ball. The palace cost
100000. An exchange says that two
hundred guests gathered around the
$4,000 fountain by the grand stairway.
1t estimates that these two hundred
guests represented $4,O0O0OO,000 and
further says: "If that doesn't entitle
them to be termed the cream Of the
cream skinned milk ought to be good
enough for most people"
The Atlanta Constitution comment
ing on this says:
There is touch Of i'll nature In these
comments Ours is country for all
classes, the rich and the poor, all colors
and all races. A billion dollar ball Is
just as much in keeping with the spirit
of our institutions and the tone Of our
society as any other gatheringwould be.
1t is good thing for the people at
large that the rich are pleasure seekers,
and their extravaganza is in many
ways a blessing.
"The Vanderbilt ball turned an i'm.
mense sum Of money loose, and 1t de
rectly and indirectly benefited thou
sands of tradesmen and toilers. Every
state in the union would be better of
if it had a few Vanderbilts building
palaces, giving balls and scattering
millions of cash in every direction.
This is the way to look at It,"
We do not believe that billion dol
lar ball is in keeping with the spirit
Of our institutions" A billion dollar
ball represents thousands Of homeless
and destitute people, made so by the
robbery Of the owners Of the billion
dollars or their forbears. Two hundred
people with billion dollars are repre-
sentatives not alone of wrecked homes,
but of crazed minds, despoiled virtue,
Of prisons and poorhouses, Of thieves
and felons. They are representatives
of hundreds who were well-to-dO today
and tomorrow are homeless through the
scheming and rascality of those who
watered and manipulated the stocks Of
railroads and mines and other prop
critics which were turned over from the
hands of the many into those of few
rascals who knew the outs and ms OF
thievery and often became the pos
SCISSORS of great properties without the
expenditure Of any money. No, the
billion dollar ball is not in keeping with
the spirit Of our institutions" unless
cheating, lying and stealing are in
keeping with the spirit of our lnstitu'
tons.
We deny most emphatically that
every state in the union would be the
better off for having few Vanderbilts.
For every Vanderbilt that every state
should have 1t would have to count Its
hundreds and thousands Of idle and
homeless, and the few millions they
turned loose would not restore those
who have been robbed and ruined to
their own.
Tramps and paupers were unknown
to this country until the millionaire
made his appearance. With the COM
ing of the millionaire has come the in-
crease of crime, of sanity, Of tramps,
of paupers, of idleness and anarchy. For
many years this country moved steadily
forward and the people were prosper
GUS in the largest sense Of prosperity
without the presence of a single man
worth a million. With the coming Of
the millionaire have come all the ills
tina are known to the body polite. AS
the millionaire increases his wealth the
people and the government have be-
come poorer, until today we are told
that but for the generous action and
liberality Of a few domestic and foreign
millionaires our government would be
without credit in foreign countries.
When the government kneels at the
feet of the millionaire it is no wonder
that one part Of the people uncover
their heads and shout their praises
while another and feebler part Of the
people are ridden over and trampled
under foot Whatever else Is in keep
ing with the spirit of our institutions
we feel sure that billion dollar balls
are not and whatever else a state
produces that is for its good a palace
building millionaire is not to be mem
toned as a Observation-Disclosures
(Va.) Star.