The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-02
POLITICAL.

heavy boots 81 9t per air O 81 aai per pair.
while there was u shc'n'. bu, very slight, adj
vance in the cost of Pork and of potatoes;
that every dollar "a. -he wage earners pay
! would. in 1902. bug lar more beef and -four
and coffee and SUE ~ and molasses and but
ter and cheese ar d milk and eggs and cloth
| ing than II would thirty years before
THE PLAi,i PEOPLE ARE RICHER
The result OF. this process il a diffusion
of wealth amor q our people. the contempla-
tions of which make the comparatively few
large fortunes seem of trifling importance
In the year 1i here were e,3js ,723 separate
savings bar * accounts in the United States
with depo sits amounting to g. ,5o7 90, $50.
These We " not the accounts OF millionaires,
but Of the people whom. according to our
American Standards, we call poor These
six mllAon and odd depositors were Of course
chiefly IN the towns, where 81 wing. banks
wer'. accessible. Go out into the country,
AMI you find that in 1901 there were 8, 7ss, 1857
- Earate farms. with an average of 1860
ffres 70 the farm little more than one
farm 10 every nine persons of III. rural popu-
.ation Of the United States. The great ma
| jority of these farms were worked hy their
! owners, only 1871 per cent, being operated
by cash tenants and only per cent by man
| ayers or overseers. The value of the farm
| property was over 320,OOO.UJ,0O0.
Taking together the savings bank accounts
| In tho towns nd ba far In lao ,l,,,,r,.
there are owned by the plain working people
almost an average of farm or bank ac-
count for every family in the United States
There were in 1901 lt.395 ,4i3 life Insurance
policies outstanding in the country in the
regular insurance COMPANIES The total
| insurance under them amounted 10 =, j82
| I39, $40. Every one Of these policies repre-
scented money laid up by people who were not
rich, for provision against old age or for the
| wife and child The assets of these in-ur-
| ance companies amounted TO sl742.4l4.i73
| All OF this was owned by these fourteen mil
lion policyholders. In addition TO this there
were 2 ,725 22i persons who held policic. in as-
sessment companies and fraternal suciet les.
and $50 500 who held interests in loan and
building companies with 1856 .3s7 $3.50 Of assets
! This steady increase in the earnings Of labor
as compared with the earnings of capital
| this wonderful diffusion Of wealth among
| the men who work with their hands has been
accomplished in spite OF he fact that we have
been continually adding TO our population
| by the immigration Of the poor of OF her coun-
! tries without means and with the lowest
| earning capacity, to the extent Of l7.2i9.s77
since the year 1850, and these continual adj
| ditions at the bottom Of the scale of pros
| perity and earning power have continually
| kept down the average Of earnings and Of
| popular wealth.
More significant than all else is the fact
that we have commenced this new century
4 with over seven' cen million children in school
in the United States and over fifteen million
Of these in the public schools children Of
| the plain people, Of free, law abiding. self
1 respecting people, looking up to no superiors
| and masters of their own lives; children
| well fed, well housed, we'll nourishcd, look
ing forward with clear, bright eyes through
the open gateways of boundess oppor-
tunity in this free Republic, where the high
est rewards'are to be won bv individual
| enterprise and where not wealth nor birth
nor social position, but the personal quail
ties of the man himself. whether he I've rich
| or poor, are the sole title To the highest dis
tinction and the greatest power
NOT AUTOMOBILES. But FARM WAGONS.
Let III not in fixing our gaze upon small
| evils, forget the greater good The auto
mobiles are Of little account Who owns
the farm wagons? is the important question.
Let us keep our faith in American ins,itu.
tions and deal with the evils that are before
us now and are TO come hereafter. along the
lines OF the same benefcent system which
has dealt successfully with every plas.
Of the great struggle for the distribution
of wealth in our past The capacifv of a
people for seli-government is shown bv
its ability to reject violent and destructive
remedies and TO proceed patiently with
| practical common sense, separating the
good from the bad, and checking and SUD-
pressing what is bad while holding on to
what is good,
| FEDERAL REGULATION OF TRUSTS
| The Republican part" proposes To fol-
| low this course; to regulate and curb and
suppress the bad trusts rather than DESTROY
| the good and the bad together and with them
the prosperity which brings such beneiicent
results To all our country. The only Fed
eral law To accomplish this res,,-tLe
Sherman act-was passed by a Republican
Congress against Democratic opposition.
| If you will read the speech made this month
! by Attorney General Knox at Putsburr.
you will see how actively and with whit
| successful results he is engaged in the en-
forcemcnt Of that law. The President has
suggested an extension of the law The
| Attorney General. after careful study. has
given his opinion that it can be extended
and made more far-reaching and effective.
DEMOCRATS IN OPPOSITION.
So far az il is possible to ascertain the
attitude of the Democratic part v, that party