Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-05-29

poor poorer There never was n
time 10 concluded. when the cont
mon man or woman was SO well off as
| III America today Truer words were
never spoken Shallow pcssimsts for
get that the press of the day keeps
Il dozen or SO milli0naires conspicu-
uusly-anI often orensirely--in the
public eye. willie the myriads of work
crs who are building up moderate for
tunes in quiet and contertment mover
| get into type The poor are really
getting rich every dny-thanks to Il
free country and bcnefccnt laws, and
i'll spite of the cartoonist."
| Much Of the resentment and preiu.
dice held against wealth In the ab-
stract is uujustiliable. but when DIR.
Savage and the New York Commercial
lay it down rs Il general principle that
human nature is the controlling iniu-
cncc in mundane affairs they must
pursue the analysis to its logical con
clusioa. AMI. since scllishncss is The
cornerstone OF human nature. they
should refrain from CrtiCisirS the ton
denotes of The man on the outside.
seeking To- advance his fortunes, I'M
less they arc willing To apply the same
logic to the man on the inside. who
already has more than his pro rata
share of the good things Of the world.
While it may he true that there
never was n time when the common
man or woman WAS So we'll of as I'm
America today" the fact remains taht
men who arc as worthy OF credcncc as
Ir. Savage and who have devoted their
lives to exhaustive study of the sub
icc;, inform us that 100000 school
children 20 to their studies hungry
every morning. The rapid accumula.
ton of great fortunes may not be re.
sponsiblc for that condition, hut it is a
sclf-cvi,lent proposition that where one
man piles up his millions IT must be
at the expense of some one, and since:
The dog cat dog principle seldom is
applied in the operations of practical
promoters. the people who pay the
freight" arc naturally the great masses
who feel the Influence of every slight
raise in prices.
There Should bc no condemnation of
man who has piled up his millions
through his own genius. or through
the valor or the thrift OF somebody
else" Ycu hear no one ccndcmuillg
Thomas A. Edison. Even the Astors.
wllusc fortune came moro through the
natural increase in real estate value
tlian through the exercise of any quail
lies of tue heart or mind. arc condemn.
r'l only for the asininc performances of
those members of the fn,hily who ape
royalty and think that inherited wealth
can buy anything short of a triumphant
entry into heaven. We cannot recall
single instance in whiGh fortune
honestly accumulated. has been the
source Of condemnation Tor the man
who honestly administered it.
We think that if Dr. Savage and The
New York Commercial really wish to
IL cato the reason for the socialistic
tendencies of tho day and the trend
toward communism they will find it
IN the fact that most of the great TOR.
tunes made in recent years have been
secured through the exploitation of
Special privileges How long wuul,l
he trusts. which now fattcn through
oppression of the people. last if the
laws Of TIC land were enforced in spir-
it and III letter? How many could pay
dividends upon watcrcd stock ic CON
spiracies were prosecuted and they
were forced to pay to the people 4
proper rental for the privileges which
they constantly exploit? How arc
those privileges gained? Is there Yir.
tue. or ralor. or thrift. or industry con
nected with any of those things? With
The United States Senate admittedly,
controlled by The representatives of
railway corporations, with State leois.
latnre controlled by interests which de.
sire TO prey upon the public, and with
numbcrlcss city councils made up If
| the tools of mcn seeking special IA
vors. it is not surprising that the PEG.
pic should look asliancc at men who
yesterday were working at modest sal.
aries WHO today blossom forth as cap
taiEs Of industry. kings of finance and
owners of the lawmaking power in
which they specially are interested. II
IS useless and silly waste of effort
o ny tc convince intelligent men that
the nctamnrphcsis may lie accomplish.
ed in ways that will bear the Golden