Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1896-12-03
A Philanthropist's Philosophy.
BY PHILIP W. AvIRETT.

sorbed by the practical cares Of hls
immense establishment on Broadway
and its branches all over the world
would not think that he has deep and
profound theories upon those of the
deeper and sadder Of human problems;
the problems Of human government,
and the problems of the hereafter OF
that subtle essence of man called soul.
Such however is the fact, that while
Mr. Rouss has not troubled himself
much about the axioms Of the Contat
Social of Rousseau, the pessimIsm OF
Spinoza, the dogmatic assertions OF
Karl Marx or the palpitant piuiu!ness
of the latter day Platonics, he has none
the less clear and crystalized Ideas
upon the themes by all Of them inyol-
we'd. The responsibility of wealth Is
one of the things which he has thought
out with great care, and no branch OF
this subject has engrOssed him more
than that which has involved IN the
relationship subsisting between pos
SCISSORS Of great wealth and their pos
terity. Discussing this question with
the writer one calm October Sunday
afternoon as they drove along the mag
nifcent boulevard of New York great
park, with wealth in every degree and
in the hands Of every generation IN ey-
idence about. Mr.. Rouss said Go
back to the first principles in this mat
ter and what DO we fnd2 From the
first dawn of human existence until
now self-detense and selt-asseruon
have been the great malnspnngs OF the
human race. The fowls of the air and
beasts of the field set us an example
which proves that the survival Of the
fttest is the great law Of nature. Moth
ing can exceed the tenderness OF the
tigress to her young up to the point
where instinct teaches her that the
time for their self-assertlon has come.
Thenceforward the motto Of the tiger
cub must be: Fight or die So with
the birds. In Virginia | have often
watched how teuderly the old bird fed
her young until their wings had been
tried and were found strong enough TO
enable them to fly alone. How quick
" then did the old bird drive the
Young ones from the parent nest.
"In the realm where nature rules
there is no pauperism the great duty
of self-assertion reigus supreme. My
idea is that mankind should teach this
upon higher plane. 1t Is abnormal
10 allow a child to be idle, no matter
how rich its parents may be. 1t does
not matter how much money man IN
herits. If he is incapable Of doing any
work with hand or brain he Is a pau
per ; he is drone in the human hive,
and his existence is as destructive to
human happiness as dynamite. The
dignity Of labor is the greatest Of all
dignities. The genius Of work is the
greatest of all genius. Teach a boy to
appreciate this in time and it does not
matter what may happen afterwards
| If he then inhsrits money he will know
its value. The power he has had trans
mitted him will then be safe. Know
ing the truer dignity with which hl'
ancestors labor has invested him h'
will not .lurder manhood and seli-re'
lance by seeking artificial distinction
He will re pect the memory OF his dead
and he will never, under any circum
stances, dare to despise the source.
from which wealth and power come.
In justification Of these theories o
Mr.. Rouss it is Only necessary TO cite
the results Of their application TO hi
own children. While the crown jewe
Of them all perished before bis prime
there is nowhere in New York the rec
ord Of another such rich mans son a
that left by Charles II. B. Rouss, wh'
stood by his fathers right hand in al
the struggles and pryatiOns which at
tended the laying Of the foundation 0
his present fortune. This young man
while endowed by nature with a rare
graceful and pleasing presence and fit
ted by every attribute Of personalit,
to achieve success by some Of thos
short cuts to fame to be found at tn
bar and in Wall street in the great me
tropOlis, was so thoroughly trained II
the principles his father has enunela
ted here that he turned aside from tn
plittering allurements Ofan eyanescen
glory and put his hands rasolutely t
the plough of mercantile life, and fror
this plough he has never looked back
Long after the firm had passed the COZ
ner long after the old and outlawe
debts were paid dollar for dollar; lon
after the mystic million line was draw