The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-05

practice. He is not a man of phrases
He is a man of deeds. He is reputed to
be rich man. 1t Is true that he has
the control of millions. But 1 seldom
knew rich man who had less ready
cash. If any one were to give Mr..
Rhodes s., 900, 900 today he would not have
penny Of 1t tomorrow. AS soon as he
gets money he spends it or invests it in
the service Of the imp Ial idea. The So
c1alfst, no doubt, Woul- demur as to the
wisdom of Mr. Rhodes secretion of the
object on which the money should be
spent. But that is detail. The essential
unity OF idea on the part of Mr.. Rhodes
and the socialist is that both absolutely
agree that the money should not be spent
upon self, and should be employed solely
for the benefit of the community on It's
Imperial side. The socialist naturally con-
fines his attention to the social side. But
both are alike in believing that it is in
the service Of the community and not In
the building up Of great fortunes for
family that wealth should be employed
There is another millionaire in South
Africa, whose name begins with the same
initial letter, who has built up a much
greater fortune, who, so far as is known
to his contemporaries, has never been
even momentarily betrayed into a fit of
public-spirited generosity. His one aim
in life Is said to be to leave R1 0O0, 900 to
ocrat or a Radical in the whole pack ever
breathes word of reproach against this
supreme type of the selfish individualist
millionaire. All their excavations are
hurled against the one socialist million
aire of our time. 1t is ignorance proba-
bly,, sheer ignorance, with strong touch
Of personal prejudice on the part of a few
leaders.
Mr.. Rhodes does not pose as a socialist.
thn 9TH doN
that his Ideas were essentially socialistic
He was denouncing a rich friend of his
who, much to Mr.. Rhodes disgust, had
only left half of his fortune to public
purposes, dividing the remaining 80 per
cent of his millions among his children
mo man should ever leave money to his
Children said Mr.. Rhodes. Its a curse
to them What we should do for our
children, If we would do them the best
service we can, Is to give them the best
training we can procure for them and
then turn them loose in the world with
out sixpence to fend for themselves.
What happens when you leave children
1ortunesF They have no longer any spur
to effort. They spend their money on
wine, women and gambling, and bring
disgrace upon the name which they bear.
No; give your boys the best education
you can, and then let them make their
own way. AS for any money you may
have 1t should all go to the public serv-
1ce-to the state in some form or another
They tell me-" he added, laughing, that
that is state socialism. 1 cannot help
that. These are my ideas, and they are
right"
If ever the present tendency of the
financial world toward trusts, amalga-
nations and consolidation is to be
brought into harmony with the socialistic
aspirations of the masses, Mr.. Rhodes
stands out as the statesman to whose
hands such reconciliation could best be
intrusted He alone among the million
aire class has not only accepted, but has
acted up to the themes Of the socialists,