The Central Nevadan. [volume] (Battle Mountain, Nev.) 1885-1907, 1901-06-20
:, the popula, imagination the very

I'm the popula, imagination the very
fich man occupies a peculiar position.
tyeFycne would like to be very rich,
hof the possession of a million, or, not
10 be TOO primitives let US say W mil
Hons; represents independence, free.
DOM from toll, q life of ease, If not
pleasure, opportunities for making
ones self felt, or for benefiting ones
fellows, or carrying out long-cherished
schemes Of some sort. Yet the very peo-
pie who long for wealth picture those
who possess it in a very different light
In proportion to their distance from
the world of the very rich is their ig-
noran1e of it; and much as the man in
moderate circumstances may long for
wealth he never fails to misrepresent
TO himself the result of possessing it,
'vhile among the poor the very rich
n is gradually coming TO be looked
3on as a sort of public enemy who
ecomes richer and richer, while the
est of the world grows poorer and
poorer. Explain to them as much as
gou will that this is not a fact; that
the very rich are so few in number that
their wealth divided among their fell
lows would make no one appreciably
richer, or that all great fortunes are
very soon broken up, or that the poor
are improving their condition quite as
steadily and surely as the rich, what
you say makes no impression. To be
rich is every mans dream. To be poor
fs to suffer that others may wax fat and
kick.
The very rich man of real life is, for a
Variety of reasons, difficult to describe,
10 that the picture will seem fair. His
popularity is that he has so few typical
p~eeuliarities. He is neither necessarily
lavish; mol loud, nor noisy, nor fond of
self-assertion. Though he may, of
course, be one, OF all, of these, he is
just as apt to be a rather quiet man,
whom you would pass in a crowd with
out thinking twice about him. mex
perienced persons, sometimes, hearing
that bne of the very rich is near them,
try to pick him 6nt-almost always un-
successfully, because they inevitably
think he must be a noticeable person.
Their mistake ONE from their not
knowing that the effect of wealth, after
the first froth is off, is often to sober
and chasten. Even noisy, boastful
braggarts, suddenly overtaken with
wealth, sometimes become noted for
their quiet, retiring manners. Amulti-
millionaire may spend a whole evening
without letting the cat out CT the bag.
On the other hand, he may male the
room echo with his boasts; but IN this
case it almost always turns out that he
is something else besides q very rich
mana philanthropist, or a corrup-
ZIONIST, OF a journalist, perhaps. Our
remarks are intended to be confined
TO those who are merely very rich.
Their aim seems to be as often as not
TO render themselves in dress and man
ners and speech indistinguishable.
The law is not made any easier for
them on account of their wealth. The
taxes fall upon them with equal weight
30 far as houses and lands are con-
cerned, and thotgh they may be 'let
of" q little as to their stocks and bonds
this Is not owing to the law, but
through the cleverness of some attor-
hey whom they must quietly retain and
pay for the work. The law is always
on the alert. The w%ealthiest may any
day be confronted by a decision of the
court of last resort that the right to
q glass Of sherry and bitters at his
club has been taken from him; if he
keeps any considerable amount of val
tables on his premises, he must have
private detectives to guard them; If lie
gives a ball, be is loudly criticised for
his extravaganza, and his wife is carl
catured; if he does not subscribe lib
orally TO public objects, he is held up to
public reprobation as a miser; if he is
SO unlucky as not to get into a club
tie fact is advertised as if he had been
defeated In an election to congress,
and any objections to his life and CON
vefsatioa, or to his personal appearance
Which may have affected the result, are
baw,ed out under the head of "club
news"
The result of the dangers which
threaten, and the jealousy and sus-
picion which surround him, is that in
the end he is very far from daring to be
tie arrogant, pu%rse-proud creature he
is tainted by popular imagination. So
far from being naughty, he has seldom
even the high spirits and power of en-
joyEent that ought to go VITA weE..A.
The very rich American, in short. is
apt 10 be embarrassed. His tastes are
still more or less those of a primitive,
seni-rural community, founded upon
equality, managed under democratic
forms, in which rank and title and
silhouette do not exist, yet this social
Organization, which was in it's full
flower a generation ago, is submerged
by a new civilization, of which he is the
head, which is not arranged for him or
prepared to receive him, and of which
he is at once the boast and the butt.
He is the victim of a social order which
he represents but does not understand.
He knows that he is one of the great
of the earth, but does not know how to
manage it all. It has to be managed
fof him by private secretaries, and