Hutchinson gazette., 1900-06-28
AN UEDEEIADLE FACT.
The Mns. of gho'" VINO Do tlie work of
thu World Are Permanently Poor
ANA Dependsnl,

Hnd DependsnL
"rhere Is nothing 10 fear" says the
compNcent Robert Collyer, from the
multimillonuire" The reason for
Mr., Colycr's confidence IL his nssump-
tion that "few fortunes survive three
generations" This assumption Is q
pleasant tradition, formerly phrnsed
ns "three generations from shirt
sleeves to shirt slcevcs;" but II has
long rlncc ceased 10 express n fact,
Since John Jacob Astor showed Amer
leans how 10 establish fortunes they
have become Us stable In America as
in England, But even if'the tradition
were rs true to-day az IL was In the
cNrlier periods Of the settlement of
this new country, what satisfaction
could u thoughtful man draw from II?
The social evil is not great fortunes,
II Is grent poverty among those who
earn 80 much wealth that they do not
get. To them II can make no differ
ence whether fortunes are stable or
not. The great, ohtrusiye, undenlnble
and inWrllble fact is that no mntter
who muy he rich nor how long his for
tune may remain intnct, the mass Of
those who do the work of the world
and without whose worl, there would
he fortunes for nobody, are pGrmn-
nently poor and dependent, TO bor-
row u suggestive illustration from the
gambling table, what matters II to the
many who ncye, win II the few who
do soon lose their winnings again?
So conservative Il man az Walter S,
Logan, prominent at the New Yorl,
city bar and hut recently president Of
the New York State Bnr association,
IL preaching u gospel Of wealth llml-
tntion, lie would start with maxi.
mum Of Sl0,OOO,00O and hold the pos.
sessions Of individuals down 10 that
amount by means Of graduated In
come taxes and restrictions upon In.
hcritanccs. The large public revenues
resulting he would eNpcnd in the nc.
QUESTION by the state Of those fran.
chisrs which, ns he describes them,
"hayc done so much 10 enrich lis clti.
2cns Nt It's expense He suggests,
for example, that New York state
might buy and operate the New York
Central railroad while New York city
might establish public Ice plants and
furnish Ice to the people nt nominal
prices.
II is encouraging 10 find man Of
Mr., l0gan's professional, business
and social environment exhibiting
contempt for wealth accumulation
and accumulators, But IL Is not so
encouraging 10 find him so, indiircr'
ent TO the elementary principles Of
wealth distribution, II Mr. Logan
were cross-eNnmined upon reasons
for proposing the conhscntion Of for.
tunes in excess Of Sl0OO000O, he
would probably Justify himself NOR
ally by insisting that no one can earn
80 much Any other moral iustiilca'
tion would be impossible. For If any
man should earn more than Sl0,00O,'
GOO the state would have no more
moral right TO condscute the excess
than the whole. Earnings either Ure
sacred 10 the last penny. or they are
not sncred NJ all, The instant, there
fore, that you empower the state tc
conRscute any excess of private earn
ings, chat very instant you Justify the
state in making total contiscution
Yet Mr., Logan is right in suppos'
ing that no man earns Sl0,0O0,0O0
lie would be right If he put II at ST.
O0O000 For il would take Il fve-dol
lar-0-dNy man some $50 years, without
allowing him anything for expenses
TO earn and save S1,OOO,000; and II Is
beyond the range of probability that
any man, however gigantic his pro-
ductive power, can productivity earn
and fairly save In lifetime ns much
ns n fvc-dollur-n-dny man could earn
in $50 years. But we are confronted
with the fact that there arc million
aires. II must he. then, that they
get enormously more than they earn
How do they get IL? If they do not
earn Il, but.nre honest they must get
II by means, ol, legal privileges Of some
kind, The Obvious method, then, for
limlting'unonrned fortunes,s TO abol
ish legal privileges. II is the nnturu
and just way, too, II that We're done
fortunes would be limited as nature
limits them.-by the earnings of then
owners, The Public.