The Mena star., 1899-08-17
CONTAMINATION oF WEALTH.


 the attention of the public quite often during the last twenty years to tho dangers threatening our social and political fabric from the vast concentration of wealth in the hands of individuals and cor porations, but these warnings have generally been laughed down as calamity wailings. The Kansas City Star, undoubtedly the most independent and inhu- ential paper in the great west, in a recent issue has an editorial up on this subject from which we quote as follows and ask care ful reading:
 A weii-lknown life insurance com pany recently advertised extensively the fact that it had attained the re- markable record of 1,O0J millions of in- surance, and that in obtaining this enormous business 1t has accumulated aggregate assets of 270 million dollars. All this has been accomplished in forty years; indeed, more than half it's euor- nous assets have been accumulated in ten years. Tn 1890 the company had l07 millions in total assets It has added l6s millions since that date.
 Another illustration of tremendous coneent tration of wealth is to be found in the record of the New York trust companies Their aggregate resources now are 722 million dollars, having grown from 4s3 million dollars eighteen months ago, and they were only 300 million dollars January i; 1899. Still another interesting comparison may be made of the biggest national banks of the country. The American Banker prints. every time statement of nat ioLal banks is called for, list of all those having over million in deposits. On June 90 of this year there were l2l of such banks. compared with only ninete-one a year ago, the twenty five banks winch head these lists had over 1 900 millions of deposits June 3", 1899, comnared with 732 millions on July l4, 1898. grain of 96s millions, or 35 per ceut.in single year. Part of this enormous gain is to be accounted for by the absorption of smaller banks by the larger ones, but most of it is due to the natural drift of business to the larger institutions.
 t,.~n z, II ,,..,, ,.s,,,, 4 accumulations of wealth is the power 1t shows of eminently capable individuals to draw business to themselves It must be understood, of course, that these l, GOO millions of deposits in twenty five banks, these 729 millions of assets in the possession of the trust companies of New York, and the 270 millions that are controlled by single insurance company, belong to tens of thousands of individuals who have in- trusted it to these various organiza. tons for safety and profit Neverthe- less, it places tremendous power in the hands of few individuals and in- vests them with an enormous respon- slbility. That these biggest financial institutions are growing much more rapidly than the wealth of the country IS increasing is evident on the face of tue record, and the question may well Ls asked, what limit is there to this enormous growth? An insurance com pany that has piled up assets of e7o millions. starting with nothing, in forty years. may easily have ,o0o mil lions Tn another forty years if the business necessary for that immense sum is obtainable Its field is the whole world It has had strenuous competition all through it's career and two other companies have almost equaled It's achievement.
 In the case of the banks and trust companies the same questions may be asked Where is the limit of their possible growth? Thoughtful people | cannot but feel that this vast coneen teaton of wealth in the control of | comparatively few persons is likely to reach point where it will be fraught | with great danger to the coun try. if. ! indeed. it has not already reached i that point
 Very truly is it stated that these big financial institutions ''are growing much more rapidly than tho wealth of the country Is in- ereasing," and well may the ques. ton Dc asked. where is the limit