The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-09-11

almost from the earliest childhood.
1t has left him with nothing to hope
for, with nothing definite to seek, or
strive for. -
Think of that
Look about this tccming earth, its
barely scratched surface covered with
creatures cropping blindly, not for hap
piness, but for barely cndurablc con
ditions of life; consider the opportu-
mites Of usefulness and fame that are
crying for unsciisil men of wealth 10
come and seize them, and then picture
the mental state OF man whc says
that an Inheritance Of $50, 900 900 has
left him with nothing to hope for
with nothing definite to seek or strive
for
Why. if Mr.. Vanderbilt did nothing
more than to abolish the horrors of
the New York Central tunnel he could
feel that his life had been well spent.
If he devoted himself and his money
to that one object he could accom-
plish it within year. and then he
would have the glory Of having saved
scores Of lives and promoted the hap
piness Of scores or thousands of peo-
people. Bismarck was proudcr of
medal he got for saving one life than
Of any other distinction Of his superb
career.
Inherited wealth, Mr.. Vanderbilt
thi KS, is handicap to happiness
because "it is certain death to
ambition, as cocaine is to morality"
If a man makes money, no matter
how much, he finds certain happi
ness in its possession, for in the de-
sire to increase his business he has
constant use for it, but the man who
inherits it has none Of this.
The. first satisfaction and the great
est the building Of the foundation of
fortune, is denied him. Hc must
labor, if he does labor, simply to
add to what may be an ovcrsufficien-
cy.
I try to get all the fun I can out
of life, and / am quite pleased if
other folks get something out of it
also.
Poor Vanderbilt.
Weighted down with an inherited
fifty million dollars, he can see moth
ing beyond it. A fortune is az end in
itself. If you lack it you may find
pleasure in getting it; but if you have
it there is nothing more to be done.
You cant even eat it.
Was there over q more touching
self revelation? Mr.. Vanderbilt has
50,O0O, 900, which is something, and
he has life, which is infinitely more,
and all he can think of doing with the
combination is to "try to get all the
fun I can"
The trouble is not with the inheri-
ted fortune, but with the size of the
man that owns it. There have been
men who have found inherited wealth
certain ambition,
Wealth is simply power. 1t is an
order on mankind for certain amount
of services. It's owner may dress 9TH
er people up as vegetables, or order
men to wear liveries and salaam at his
approach, or he may set masols at
work building model tenements, or di-
rect explorers to discover the North
Pole, or inventors to perfect flying
machine, or legislators to pass laws in
his interest.
All things, good and bad, are under
his command, to the extent of his for
tune. The genii of the sky and OF the
pit await his orders
Power of that kind is not different
from power of any other kind. Alex
ander the Great inherited power, but
it did not deaden his ambition. On
the contrary, he saw in his Inheritance
the opportunity to mount higher than
he could have done if he had hao to
spend half his life gaining the start he
was born with. And so the man who
was born to the throne of Macedon
died lord of the world.
Marcus Aurelius was born to power
and wealth His ambition was not
killed. 1t rose to more imperial
heights, and he who inherited the Ro-
man purple strove to Give with the
gods.'
Lorenzo de Medici inherited cnor-
nous wealth. but he did not sit down
in weary apathy and content himself
with getting what fun he could out
of life. He cultivated art and letters
and created in Florence shrines Of
beauty to which men have made rev.
o.a-a e..