The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-02
WEALTH OF THE NORTHEAST.
A Contrast Produced by the System
of Gold MonometaIlism.

We learn from the New York papers
that the Board ofAIde1men received on
Monday from the tax commissioners
the tax assessment books for 1896,
From those assessment books it is as
certa.ncd that the total real estate as
sessment for the city for the current
wear is Sl,731, 500, 143-an increase of
Ss5.48O, ASS over last year; that theI
total assessment on personal property,
corporations and bank shares is $374,-
g75, T62-an increase of $4,736,866 over
last year; and that, therefore, the total
increase in value of assessable property
for 1896 over 1895 is $685., 243.
These enormous figures make one 5
hair almost stand on end; and, con-
templating them, we stand in wonder
az the extraordinary genius and thrift
and industry which could have pro-
duced such an astounding increase OF
wealth in one city in the course of a
short twelve months.
But the contemplation, if we look al
little more closely into the matter, may
not continue to bealtogether OF approx
ing wonder. There may possibly enter
into it elements that may give rise toI
disturbing reflections. Let US extend
our gaze from the contemplation OF the
increase in wealth of New York CITY
alone i'm the one year 1895 to a con
temptation Of the increase in wealth in
the three Eastern States Of New York,
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania dur
ing the census decade 1S80-'90, and
compare with the ten years increase IN
wealth of those three States the ten
years increase in wealth Of a large
group Of less wealthy States of the
Union The figures, we may remark,
which we are going to use, are the Off
cial figures of the United States Cen
sus Bureau, and they are as accurate
therefore as anything obtainable. Nc-I
body needs to be scared by the figures;
for, in addition to their being wonder
fully significant figures, they are the
simplest in the world.
The combined population of the
States of New York, Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts, was 13,494,810; the
population of the twenty-five
States of Maryland, Delaware, Nir-
pinia. North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee,
Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, In
diana, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkan-
sas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mime
sofa, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Colo
RADIO and Wyoming was 81, 432, $50. The
twenty-five States, that is to say, had
nearly three times as many people to
help on the accumulation Of wealth
during the decade as the~three North |
eastern States.
The twenty-five States had thirteen
times as much territory to operate on
as had the three States; and they had |
81 ,704, 552, 1863 more of assessed wealth |
than had New York, Pennsylvania and |
Massachusetts together at the begin
ming of the decade 1S80-'90 which we
have under review.
Well, now, the twenty-five States |
named evidently had a magnificent
start in the race for wealth during |
1SS0-1890 as compared with the three |
northeastern States, for they had an |
greater capital, three times |
as many people and thirteen times as
much territory. ne territory Of the |
twenty-five States being at least as pro |
life as that Of the three States, and |
the 100000 people of the twenty-five |
States being, man for man, as indus |
trious and capable as the 100000 |
people Of the three States. readers of |
the Times-Democrat VIII have no diff |
guilty in coming to the conclusion that |
the Twenty-Five States with their inn |
mensely larger territory, their inn |
mensel n larger population and their inn !
mensely larger capital to start with In
1880, ought in combination to have far
the three States in the in
creased accumulation Of wealth in 1890. |
Our readers VIII readily agree that, i'll
the twenty-five States with their al
most iucalculable advantages over the
Northeastern trio In 1850, did not IN
$50 show a far larger increase Of as
seesabIe wealth than the trio, there
must have been and must be some IN
fuenoes at work which greatly handi-
capped the twenty-five States of the
South and West and Disseminated in
favor Of the Northeastern three, in the
pursuit of wealth.
Now. let us see; the increase in
wealth of the twenty-five States dur
ing the ten years 1S80-'90 was $2,402,-
800, sol, their assessable wealth in 1890
being that much greater than it was in
1880. The sum of So. 402 .5O1 is Il
large sum, and even when divided up
among twenty-five States means a
large sum, almost 100000, 600 10 each
one of them. But the Northeastern
trio made during the same decade
much more gain of wealth than did all
the twenty-five Middle, Southern and
Western States put together. This isl
a statement which some of our readers
may be disposed to receive with in
credulity; but the figures of the census
say that the statement is true and COM
pei belief.
The increase in assessable wealth of
the twenty-five States during the ten
years amounted so we have just seen,
to S., 4O2, 600, sol; the increase in as
sessable wealth of the Northeastern
trio of States duringthe same ten years
was $4,000, 145,772 Which Ineans that
the addition to the wealth of the three
States during the decade was about
$2OO.000,000 greater than the addition
to the wealth of all those twenty-five
States put together
Now surely that is a sufficiently
striking fact to merit more than mere
passing attention Are $4,000, 900 of
Americans outside OF New York, Penn
sylvania and Massachusetts not able TO
add assmuch to their accumulated
wealth in a given period of time as
1900, 600 Americans in New York
Pennsylvania and Massachusetts,?
Whether they are able or not. they
didn't do # qt any rate i'm the interval