Arizona republican., 1899-11-02

as now. simply conditions of wealth.
factors helpful TO the creation of
wealth. but existing independently of
human effort and not items of wealth
itself.
The case of what Henry George calls
the unearned increment of land, where
mere place has become valuable
through the growth of a city, so that
TO purchase land, one must cover it.
say, with SO notes, is a trife more
complex. In London land has often
been sold fer over s2f0 foot. and SOD
is By no means = remarkable price
Select spots of London land are even
said TO be worth as much as it would
cost to pave them with English SOW
ereigns laid upon edge Nor let us
think that this enOrmity of land value
is an affair of the old world alone. The
Dutch bought of the Indians all Man
haitian island for S24. On some fronts
in the city now occupying that island
s24 would today not bring you single
foot When. after the civil war. Biz
mingham. Ala. was laid out by a land
company a certain clergyman was
urged 20 take $1,000 worth of shares at
i lawyer bought them n few days later,
having TO pay S1.1O0. For one year at
least since then the dividend on those
shares has reached S24. Coo
The utility in these cases is certainly
created by human act. Men came:
the localities grew: business conferred
at this or that special point, and there
fore land waxed dear. But it will pc
IL,
though it does in a way from human
deed, is not the product of conscious
human effort. as such, like houses, food
and clothing. Strictly. it is non-arti-
fetal after all. since, in bringing il 70
be, men were instruments. not agents.
1 therefore class all that value of land
which arises from its location in refer
ence to the dwellings and activities of
men no less than if it were fertility.
richness in ores or any other purely
natural attribute OF wealth. something
not wealth which helps wealth to arise
and exist.
The notion of wealth is by this time
clear. Wealth is whatever originates
in purposed human exertion and at the
same time ministers to human wants
considered as experiences of mems or
anu Ire bul lOT GER
tain purposes we need a deeper analy
sis than this. There is wealth and
wealth: there is wealth which answers
mems real and permanent needs and
advances them in the dignity of ra
tional beings and there is wealth that
dehumanizes and degrades. Obscene
literature. if it can be sod for money,
possesses trade value and so has to he
f.fa a tn
above definition, but it is not wealth
in the same sense as bread, clothing
and houses are. These and such things
relieve mems fundamental and legiti-
mate necessities. whereas wealth like
vile books and pictures not only does
not do this. but, on the contrary, exerts
a baneful influence, not only on indi
viduals, but also upon society. Any
people would be better off without
them. Every reader can easily add 10
the list of the things which might thus
be classed as fake wealth. in con-
trast with wealth most properly so
called They are only too numerous in
every community. In other words,
there are items in which any consid-
cradle body of men would be actually
richer if they We're technically poorer.
A caution, however: Many things
might by some be classed as fake !
wealth" which are not so. You might !
at first place all ornaments and lux
uries here, but in so doing you would |
certainly err. There may be orna-
ments and luXuries the use of which !
lowers life. but not all have that effect, !
The appreciation of beauty is a noble /
part of ones nature; to crafty it i'll |
due measure is proper and right. ele- |
waiting and enriching life more than al |
most anything else could do. Also /
many articles or services stigmatizad |
as luXuries are perfectly legitimate. |
since they refresh the weary. change !
the atmosphere. keep toll from becom- |
ing drudgery and in many ways pro- |
tract mems power for useful activity. |
We can, perhaps, suppose that a lux
ury has none of these effects. but still |
and enriches life. and that |
without adding at all to your power. /
The existence of luxury of which just |
this could be said may be doubted, for |
most of that better experience in |
creases energy as well: but should |
there be such it would be wealth. ac-
tual and genuine wealth. not fake
wealth.
nR. DOOLEY ON