The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-10

PfnEree Again Heard From.
Gov elect Pingree Of Michigan has been
| heard from again. If he failed to get
! himself noticed on an average of once
a month in the newspapers he would be
unhappy. lie first attracted attention out
side of his state by his plan for utilizing
the vacant lots of Detroit, when he was
mayor Of that city, for raising potatoes
for the poor For quite awhile he was
known as Potato Pingree. Then he at
tackled the street railroad companies, his
idea being that a Scent fare was enough
for them.
Now Mr.. Pingree is trying to discover
some means by which fortunes can be
limited. He is satisfied that many of the
woes of this country are directly traceable
to great fortunes. One of the evils of
these immense fortunes, he says, is the
ambition with which it inspires the own
ers of them TO shine in the social world.
Millionaires who have beautiful daugh-
tiers want to buy lords and dukes
and princes for them and they are
willing to pay almost any price to nave
their desire gratified Mr.. Pingree calls
attention to the duke who has become
member of the Vanderbilt family and to
the millions which the duke cost. He also
mentions the prince who lends luster to
the family of c. p. Huntington.
fIuntngtons prince, according to Mr.. Pin
gree, refused to allow the marriage cere-
mony to proceed until Mr.. Huntington set
tied upon him the money which was in
tended as a gift to the bride.
But how is Mr.. Pingree going to put
a limit to the size of the fortune man
may have, and who is to say when
man has all the money he ought to have?
He doesn't answer either of these ques-
lions. He simply makes a complaint of
what he considers a great and growing
evil. and leaves it to his fellow citizens
to find the remedy for the evil.
But if great fortunes were limited to
a certain amount, would the world be any
better off? If the men who have the abil-
ity to accumulate fortunes were to aban-
don active business pursuits when they
have lived their lives only about
half out the opportunity for
others to increase their wealth
or for the poor to earn better
incomes might not be greater than it is
now. ii isn't every man who has the fac
ulty for making money. Those who have
it generally exercise it, and if great for
tunes were limited the well-to-do and the
poor might not have more of this worlds
goods than they have at present. In othel
words, if the money making faculty were
checked the country's growth in wealth
would be less rapid. The millionaires keep
their money employed all the time-at
least, they are supposed to do so. They
are, therefore, helpers of the poor. 1t is
/ better for the poor that they should work
for what they need than to be helped by
charitable persons and institutions. The
bulk of all the great fortunes in this coun-
try are so used as to be beneficial to
those who are poor. 1t is difficult, there
fore, to see what good would result from
the adoption of Mr.. Pingrees idea rela-
tive to limiting the amount of wealth
one may acquire. AS a matter of fact,
there are only a few families that have
succeeded in holding a vast amount of
riches together for more than two gem
erations. Most of the great fortunes have
been accumulated by men of this gener-
alton. Those fortunes will probably be
distributed by the next generation or the
one after the next.