The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-04
COULD BUY A WHOLE NATION.
Hanna's Opulent Committeeman and
What Their Riches Could Purchase.

Hanna's Opulent Committeeman and
What Their Riches Could Purchase.
"What will you give, gentlemen, to-
ward the election of Mckinley?''
"Well, I'll put up the State of Flor
ida
"I'll chip.in with North Dakota"
Count me in for Wyoming"
That is the way the members of Mr..
Hannas Union League Club finance COM
mittee might respond to Il request for
contributions to the campaign fund if
their wealth were invested in Western
and Scuthern..re real estate, and they choose
to be lavish in their disposal of it.
The poker player who raised his oppo-
ncnt out of the game by putting deed
to ''the hull Territory of Arizony' into
the pot would not have needed to BLUM if
he had belonged to that committee. Mr..
Rock Teller could lose the Territory OF
Arizona and never miss it,
When we read in old world romances
how some feudal lord has inherited a
whole village we feel ourselves in II
strange atmosphere. 1t seems incredible
that an entire community should hold
its homes at the will of one man. But
if one of those European mobiles should
come over here and aspire to join one of
the committees through which Mr.. Han
ma is striving to improve the lot of the
workingman he would find the owner
ship of n single village Il very trivial dis
tinction. Mr.. Rockefeller owns the
equivalent of towns, cities, counties and
States. Mr.. Vanderbilt could give This
daughter the State of Idaho for Il wedding
present and not feel the need of retrench-
ing single item in his living expenses.
Mr. Huntington could fence in Nevada
for game preserve and have enough left
to buy Arizona for cattle ranch. Here
is list of those members of the Union
League committee that are worth 50, 000,-
600 or more apiece:
John d. Rockfeller S125, 900. 600; Cor
nelius Vanderbilt, 800, 600 600; c. p.
Huntington. S60,000,0C0 j. Pierpont
Morgan, $50 100000; Joseph NIlbank,
500, 900, 900; Andrew Carnegie, 500. 000,-
900; William ID. Sloane, $4,000. 600: John
Sloane, SO, 900, 900; David Bows, S12, 600, :
900; Herman O. Armour, So, 000,0 00
Brayton Ives, SO 900, 600: John ID. Starn,
100000 900; George Bliss, $4,000, 0O0
Samuel Thomas, s., 100000 Charles IL.
Tiffany, s., 900 900; lie Grand Is. Cannon,
So, 800, GOO; Henry II. Cook Sc. 500, 000
Seth NJ. NIilliken, S6,000,000 james A.
Burden, 81, 600, 600; John G. Moore, 81, OOO.-
coo; Edward d. Adams 81, 900, 900; George
f. Baker 81, 500, 900; Cornelius \. Bliss,
81, 500, 900; NJ. c. ID. Borden, 81, 600, 000
William Brookfield, IS, $50, 600: William
C. Browning, $350G.00 Charles T. Cook,
50, 500, 900; John II. Davis, So, $50, 900;
James II. Harper, So, $50, 000 Charles b.
Fosdick, $3.50, 900; Marcellus Hartley,
So, $50, 600; Augustus d. Juilliard, 50, 000,-
900; Charles Laner $4,000 600: Edward
H. Perkins, Jr., So, 600, 900; Frederick d.
| Happen, $1,000 900; William II. Webb,
| So, 600, 600; Alfred Van Santvoord, &, O00,.
| 900; Charles y. Peabody, $500, 900;
James A. Garland, 50, 800, 900; Woodbury.
| Langdon, 81, $50, 600; Thomas L. James,
81, 200, 600: Joseph II. Choate, 81 600, 600;
William S. Hawk, $4,000, 900; Whitelaw
Reid, $4,000, 900; Washington +. Conner,
s., 000, 600; total, 1852, $50, 600.
And here is the assessed valuation of
all the property, real and personal, in II
group of States and Territories Mt the
time of the last census
Florida, sol, 76l,711 North Dakota,
I $SS, 203,054; Montana, $112, 937 1884
| Wyoming, $32, $40, 40l; New Mexico,
| SAB, 227 ,6S6: Arizona, S2S, 050,2 34; Utah,
| $106, 110,310; Nevada, $50, 800 094; Idaho,
| 500, 74S, 1877: total, 1858, 925,3I1
| Besides the members of the committee
| already enumerated, there are two dozen
others worth over IL million apiece, and
able TO buy in the aggregate State like
| Nevada or Idaho. But let us leave the
| little millionaires out of account and con
1 llHe OURSELVES W tllOSc I'LL pOTUilnU enough
| to rank as really good citizens. The group
| of States whose value barely balances the
wealth of these gentlemen contains $50,
| 5l5 square miles and had BIS 2GD inhabi-
tantS ut the time of the census In
| extent it is greater than the entire Union
was When Jefferson became president,
with England and Wales thrown in. 1t
I exceeds the area of all the great powers
of Europe combined, except Russia. All
| the intrigues and activities of Central
and Western European politics and
| ife-the clash of races in Austria Hun
| gary, the tramp of the German regiments,
the rise and fall of French ministries,
| the clamors of Italian mobs, the struggles
| of parties in MISUNDERSTANDING performed
on Il stage smaller than that which could
be bought by the upper crust of Hanna s
| Union League finance committee.
AS for Alsace and Lorraine, the prize
| that has kept Europe under arms for Il
| quarter of II century, Mr.. Rockefeller could
| lose them through II hole in his trousers
| pocket and never know it until his
| book keeper tried to balance hi accounts.
II we should substitute Delaware for
| the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico
| in the inventory of property within the
| reach of Mr.. Ilanna's committeeman, as
| we could do without materially affecting
the totals, the States included in the
| lists would have twenty-five electoral
votes. That would represent over $50
600 900 per vote, which. of course, is
absurdly high. Mr. Hanna expects to get
his votes good deal cheaper.
1t is not easy to realize the meaning
of $751; square miles. 1t means over
five hundred millions aclcs-569, 2SD, GOO.
to he exact That is equivalent To 3,5jS,
O60 farms OF 100 acres each. At five persons