The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1901-05-02
Paper Read Before the ChautauQatd Circle.

n ISHOP Godfrey Goodman, in a
X sermon entitled "The Fall of
l. Man," preached during the
reign of James I, laments the
difficulty of knowing what wealth is
in view of the changes that have taken
place in the realm-and sighs for the
good old times when, eff mans stock
of few beasts were his own, and he
lived out of debt and paid his rent duly
and quarterly, he was considered
very rich and sufficient man."
"But it would seem," continues the
bishop, "that since the dissolution OF
the abbeys all wealth is flown to the
towns. The husbandman sits at rack
rent; he fights with distracted forces
and knows not how to raise the price
of the market; only the tradesman has
his corporation; he can join his wits
and his labors together, and protesting
the one, he thrives by the other: and
therefor they are not unftly called
handicrafts. Now in the next market
town, there are great, rich men indeed;
for I hear it reported, but dare not
speak of it for the truth, that there are
certain tanners, chambers and other
tradesmen, some worth fifty pounds,
some sixty pounds and some one hun
dred pounds each. This is wonderful,
for we cannot possibly conceive how
men, by honest and direct means,
should attain such sums. Indeed poor
people say one got his wealth by the
black art; another found a pot of
money in the garden which did some
% time belong to the priory; and third
grew rich by burying many wives, for
here are all the possible means we can
imagine for enriching ourselves"
Someway that all sounds familiar.
Inject few adjectives, such as damn
able" and say something about the
''base-born tyrants with their heels
upon the neck of the people and their
gluttonous bellies resplendant with
diamonds and covered with the dollar
sign," and we have very good modern
campaign document. In view of recent
events, it is interesting to read this
extract, as it shows that questions
arising from the accumulation of
wealth are not as new as many suppose.
The financial world had hardly caught
its breath after the announcement of
the consolidation of some of the largest
railway lines in the United States,
when there appeared in the New York
journals of Sunday, March 3, three
column advertisement in black-faced
type addressed to the stockholders of
the Federal Steel Co., the American
Steel and Wire Co., the National Tube
Co., the American Sheet Steel Co., the
American Tin Plate Co., and the
American Steel Hoop Co. The adver-
tisement announced the union of the
foregoing concerns, and also announced
to the world the consolidation of the
largest amount of capital ever known,
or perhaps ever dreamed of, for this
organization and those associated with
it represent over S3OOO,OOO,OOO. Think
of it! No we cannot think of it with
any degree of intelligence, nor does it
seem possible that Mr.. Morgan himself
can fully realize the immense power of
that amount of money.
But that is neither here nor there.
The question is: What will they do
with this power, now that they have it i?
What will be their policy? Will they
be willing to give the public a part of
the saving afforded by the consolidation
of interests, or will they, to use slang
phrase, want the whole cheese? We
can but wait and see. One thing, how
ever, is certain: If they choose the
latter course, just as soon as they begin