The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-03-15
DAYS SOCIAL PROBLEMS
LECTURE IN UNIVERSITY COURSE BY
PROF. IRA w. HOWERTH.
His Subject, wealth and Want"
Handled in an Interesting
Manner-The Points Made.

subject was Wealth and Want
He said: I'm his book on the wonderful
century Alfred Russell Wallace declares
that one of the most prominent features OF
the last century was the enormous and con-
tinually increasing growth OF wealth WIN
out corresponding increase in the genera
wel-being OF the people; and that there Is
ample evidence TO show that the NUMBER
of the very poor increased during the eel :
fury both absolutely and relatively. rms
is the view expressed also by henry GeOise
and many other writers.
'AlI such statements embody two propo-
sitiOns: first. that our wealth-produclng
power has been enormously increased, ana
second, that wealth is inequitably and I'M
Justly distributed The first of these prop
ositions will not be denied. Our increase IN
wealth per decade since 1880 has been the
following numbers, representing blillons OF
dollars: Seven. sixteen. tWenty-slX, fOrty-
three sixty-five. ninety. Our productive
capacity has enlarged through improved
organization and the introduction OF ma
chinery Machine power has multiplied the
productiveness OF our industries sometimes
a hundred fold IL has been estimated that
one man working with the best machinery
can produce cotton goods sufficient TO sup
ply go people, wooden goods for 51o, boots
and shoes for 1000. Two men working Tor
a year in a wheat-growing district VIII pro-
duce, ready for consumption, loo barrels Oh
flour barrels included; and this quantity
will produce bread for LOCO persons for
year. a good illustration or what may De
accomplished with machinery Is the out
that city alone 16O0O,O0O barrels of flour are
manufactured in one year-that Is, car
load 10000 pounds) every ten minutes night
and day. As TO what mlgat De 49, Accom- =
pished in the way Of producing food' IL
production were not accompanied Dy SO
much waste, recently Illustrated py
Ex-Governor Shaw, of Iowa. de declared
that if all the arabic land OF Iowa were
nut In crops. and that portion not needed
TO support the teams necessary Tor It's cul-
tivatiOn placed on the market, the people
of the United States could not consume H.
even If they were restricted TO cereal
diet. ..>
LAS to the second proposition-namely,
that poverty has both absolutely and rela-
lively increased-there is much dispute
Many writer's on social questions deny
that the rich are growing richer and the
poor poorer, and this denial is expressed
by President Roosevelt in his recent mes
sage, in which he says, 1t is not true that
as the rich grow richer the poor have
grown poorer On. the contrary, never be-
fore has the average man, the wage work
or. the farmer the small trader been so
well off in this country as at the present
time .
Granting that this is true, however, it
does not eliminate the problem of wealth
and want. 1t may still be claimed that
the increase in wealth due to improved
organization ana machinery Is 0Ol SQulld-
bly, shared; that the condition of the work
ing class has not improved as rapidly as
its contribution to Increased producuon
would warrant The results of industrial
progress are harvested chiefly by those
who control machinery
"As an illustration Of the tendency to-
wards wealth concentration mention is
often made of the rapidly increasing num-
Der of millionaires in the country. The
number to-day is variously estimated. In
1892 an investigation conducted by the
New York Tribune showed that there were
4047 of whom LOB lived in New York.
Eleven hundred and twenty-five made
their fortunes chiefly In protected indus
tries 2.727 in industries not in the least
protected. AS TO the actual distribution OF
present wealth some conception may be
formed from the figures presented by those
who have given careful attention TO the
matter Mr.. Sherman, some ten years
ago, stated in the Forum that IA per cent.
of our population owned 20 per cent. of the
wealth. 80 per cent of the population
owned II per cent. of the wealth, and So 4
per cent. of the population owned only Is
per cent. of the wealth Mr.. G.. X. Holmes.
expert on wealth statistics for the tenth
census, found that three one-hundredthS
of 1 per cent. of the people owned 20 per
cent. of the wealth, S.97 per cent. of the
people owned 81 per cent of the wealth,
and 81 per cent. of the people owned 20 per
cent. of the wealth. Finally, Dr. l.. Spahr.
i'm his book on 1.-The Present Distribution
of Wealth of the United States" 1885,,
reached the conclusion that seven-eighths
one-eighth of the national wealth, while
l per cent. of the families holds more than
the remaining 80 per cent. DR.. Spahr says,
also. of England, that less than ] per cent.
wealth. OF the same country Professor
Marshall says that one-thirty-eighth of
upwards, while thirty thirty-eighths have
an income not exceeding Go Without
Vouching for the correctness of these fig
ures, they may serve to show the reality
nf no Of aa1f Ifcfrf Irfff ion,
which problem society has to meet.
SOLUTION OF PROBLEM.
"As to the solution of the problem of
wealth and want. there are those who con-
tend that by natural laws of rent, interest
and wages wealth tends TO flow to the vari-
Gus members of society in exact proportion
to their various contributions to productive
enterprise. Such persons, however assume
a freedom of competition which does not
exist There can be no question. that to-
day exploitation of the weak by the strong
plays a large part in distribution. Recog-
nzing this fact. there is another class of
persons who maintain that. instead of leav-
ing the distribution of wealth to a so-caIled
natural process, society should take the
matter into it's own hands and endeaVOr 10
apply the principle of justice.
Some of the methods which have been
proposed are that wealth should be distrib-
uleQ equally, tndt every one should receive
the full product of his labor that
each should receive in proportion to
the effort he puts forth in pro-
ducing and that every one should
be given a share of the product Ac-
cording to his needs. The difficulty in the
way of applying any of these rules is OBJ
vious. Ideally. the maxim. From each ac-
cording to his powers; TO each according to
his needs, is wise one. 1t is the principle
suggested by the organic conception of in
dustry, and it is the only principle which
proposes the elimination of waste in wealth
distribution. There is at present however
no possibility of the rigid application of
such principle. Indeed. must admit
with John Stuart Mil, Professor Cairnes
and other economists that in the present
state OF society there is no possibility of
distributve justice.
This is not TO say however. that stems
may not be taken toward a more equitable
distribution of wealth. Mr. Carnegie
Gospel of Wealth is to be commended. He
has declared that il is a sin and a disgrace
10 die rich Others have said that rich
people must learn that wealth has IFS
duties well az its rights. and give of
their superabundance graciOusly wisely
and ungrudgingy. This. however. is no
solution of the question Society is vitallv
interested not merely in the distribution OF
wealth after IL is accumulated. but also i'm
preventing the inequitable flow of wealth
into the hands OF individuals The crime
OF wrongly acquiring property can only be
partially expiated by rightly administer
ing it,
HIGH INHERITANCE TAX.
1T has also been suggested as a stem in
the right direction that we levy a bfeb In