The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-12-19
Bill ZIP

~ 1890
Compound interest Should be Used for
Instead of against the Peope.
The Journals policy Of tins acquisi
ton Of railroads, selegyaDhs and other
public u'iI,.i=s by she community is
! approved IA theory by many who do
nog see hoy il can De carried into prac
tice. they ar8 appalled, 5y such stag
gering fees rs that the capitalization
Of American railroads is over eleven
thousand million Of d0ll9rs-ten times
the EXTRA bouded debt OF the United
States. they do not see how the coun.
try could venture 90 assume such a
crushing load Of obligations.
I wish to peoposs a plan by which
the desired end can be attained with
out any assumption Of obligations
whatever, without risk and without
confscation. By way Of Introduction
let me call attention to a wonderful!
force whose possibilities OF financial
achieveu eats are absolutely unlimited
the power OF compound interest. We
are all familiar with that m2gic4!
penny ot tbs arithmetics which, d.
posted at cJn3oound interest at the De
| ginning OF tee Christian era would
amount in ouF tim9 to the value OF
millions Of globes OF Did gold, each
the sizs OF the earth It is a fact we'll
known, though not often appreciated
in It's full sign3d;3ncs, thai il any man
could live for four hundred years and
should systeme,ioally inves6 his accu
mutations at inter est, he would own
the world at the end of that time. Mr.
q. G. Wells has made this prir c:ple
the central idea of his new serial
when the Sleeper Wakes"
No man eau look forward to that
Rothschilds, when a family pursues
such q policy for several generations
we see the power OF compound interest
at work on a p%ortentious scale. No
private fortune has been accumu
lated in this way for much over a
hundred years, but the wealth o.
the Rothschilds, the Astors and
other families with a defni7e policy
of accretion, is now just reaching
the stage.at which the force Of COM
pound interest becomes really for
chile
II the r Ickefeller fortune should
continue to increase at it's present rate
for a huadred years TO come, it would
amount at the end of that time to m ore
than the whole existing wealth OF the
UniTed SCa'es.
The masses Of the people caunot hope
TO c2mpese individually With the hold
ers of th6se immense fortunes. Almcst
heir entire incomas are eaten 10 by
necessary living expenses Tney can
not maze suh sient savings TO give
compound interest its start. Where
they can lay pennies by pennies, the
rich can invest thousands. It Ia mathe
m~Rtically certain that il no hing is
done to check or divert the present
tendencies, all the wealth OF the ma
Tion, with insignif ;ent exceptions, will
be owned a hundred years hence By a
few families.
1T the masses have n agency
which, il they choose to use it, will be
found powerful enough to overcome all
the advantages nov possessed by tn
few. That agency is the government.
Thus far its mighty forc9 has been EN-
ploYed to make the rich richer and the
poor poorer, but the people can control
it whenever they care 10 take the
trouble
The government is immortal and ir-
resistible. 1t possesses the taxing
power an ia itself not snbi 3cE to taxa
ton. Taese advantages, lntelIigenriy
aVailed OF are ample to accomplish apy
degree of concentration OF wealth in
public ha0ds that people may Think
desirable.
Hitherto il has been the uuiverf al
policy to keep governments il cai,s
The interest &C counts Az, aimoss AL
ways on the wroo-- side OF the ledger
hence taey -ssrdly aver have a chance
20 acc~~1ulate anything except by the
~ead weight Of taxation, or by NOR.
gaging their future They have delib
erately gone out OF their way, espe
cially in this country, to keep them.
selves poor. They live from hand to
mouth, and when an emergency, SUCH
as q war, has to be met, their only re
course is to borrow money to meet it
and pay interest on the amount for a
generation thereafter.
The simple plan by which the PEG
pie may come into their Hn is this:
Let the ant systematically col