New-York tribune., 1906-12-28
JOHN DIS BIG FORTUNE.
SCIENTIST CALCULATES.
Says 1t Equals One-fortieth of the
National Capital.


fore the social and economic science section OF the
American Association for the Advancement OF
Science which met at Columbia University in its
hfty-seventh meeting. Mr.. Call speaking on
The Concentration OF Wealth in America. He
said that, basing estimate on his present in
come. John d. Rockefeer's fortune probably ag-
gregated one-fortieth of The national capital and
thnt to-day per cent OF the population owned
about 20 cent of the entire wealth of the nation
About seven hundred scientists, representing
every part Of the country. present the first
meeting Of the association. The association is
divided into the sections Of mathematics and as
tfonomy physics. chemistry, mechanical science
and engineering. geology and geography, zoology,
botany, anthropology. social and economic sciencs
ana physiology and experimental medicine. Be-
sides this there were nineteen affiliated societies
represented. making altogether representatives OF
every known branch Of science
In his paper on THE Concentration Of Wealth.
MT Call continued, as follows:
AS a result Of this wealth concentration ,ndus
u lSi society is practically divided into two classes
ttsSGVceO wage earners receive an average Of onIv
toriousIy nilIe-tentns or our business men no.
annual salary Of about $500. The average foi the
our 100000 farmers onethrd I'd pre t; wne OF
homes Of one-third of t6e IG tenants nan snd the
m2ortgaged. and debt burden is almost universal
and private mortgage bond and genera our ipdPba PSoc
M % SS alone reaching probable total OF 900
to thirteen and one-haif times our per spa s9Ga
g bank deposits But the stocks of og our Ddns saS
ex,oti cIdI ~ ana PUBIC service corporations
] an ]a1spteaneSs upon the part OF the public to the
Seves @ UI WeaItn as do mortgages and bonds them
an IIese' under their present enormous over
capitduzauon; would swell our indebtedness To q
tmated the total aggregate wealth OF the nst,e5
me e1e whole being first lien upon the toll and prop,
corporations to levy what tax they please there
Those conditions are not normal nor the result NJ
,, Ia Jaw or causation but are instead the re-
Of money, of transportation and otber p,,bIS @
ues. as also Of industry. This monopoly has more
ration. Industrial. financial and pubic servce It
~ s Ici Ie ~ork ot human law alone, the product
But the conditions outlined are the result alone
must we look for their correction The CORPORATION
SnoaIa YET be made cooperative; social instead Of
nrst place the ownership OF public utilities such
IN the pubc, as also the control and distributor
81 eboLI4 Th9T ne corporation principle and function
land In cities and elsewhere required for ionf use
strctton upon non-occIpant onArsin az re-
And finally the trust, like public utilities, should
a private. possession "'I
In replying to Mr. Call Logan G. Mcpherson
Said that despite the immense wealth Of Mr. Rookie
feler the family was very economical why he
SAID. Mrs. Rockefeller once told a friend Of mine
that the family was fond of oysters but was too
poor TO eat them" He explained this fact as due
10 the lack Of ready cash. as ell Mr. Rockefeer's
money was invested where. according to Mr. Nc
Fnerson' it was doing good service to mankind.
Inc general meeting in the morning was called
to order by DR.. c. NJ. Woodward Of St Louis the
retiring president of the association. In his ad
dress OF welcome, President Butler Of Columbia
spoke Of the place that scientific studies now occu
pied In colleges, and said. in part:
I am one of those who have for the last thirty,
years observed first the slow and then ne
TSI1a I a9Vsncenlent OF science in schools and col
opportunity have my vote in favor of prog one
thirty Years and OT feel @ '2 and eqd bseth 9f this p Pfr9q Of
EEL including scientists In America. France and
education. o'ie"ts oh
In his reply President weIch pointed ont tbo4 !
although she had made great strides IN sc,er+Je,
work IN the last few years New York was stiu
far behind many smaller cities He called alton
ton TO the necessity for scientific as we'll as for
general training. He emphasized what DR. But |
Ter had said the necessity that science sborId
play large part in the scheme of general educa
ton
Charles F. Mabery, retiring vice-presdent Of
the division Of chemistry. condemned severely the
present methods of teaching chemistry IN nrenars
tory schools in an address The Education OF |
the Professional Chemist" After pointing out that |
recent unparalleled Industrial expansion had /
caused students TO turn to a scientific rather than
a classical education as a means of obtaining i'm
mediate advancement, he went on to ask Uhv !
chemistry should not be taught in the first year !
Of high school.
'IoIessor r J.. Wells read a paper before the |
psychological section of the American Association
ia which he tried to prove that the literary quality
OF the work of distinguished authors could be de- |
termined by absolutely scientific methods Twenty
members Of the English graduate club at Columbia
TOOK ten American authors and graded them ac-
cordlng 10 charm. clearness euphony, finish force
Imagination. originality, proportion, sympathy and
VIII h0lesomeness. on the basis of the res,,lts ar !
men were marked on percentage system The |
authors submitted 10 the test were Bryant Emer-
son, Hawthorne Holmes, Longfellow Lowell Poe
Thoreau. Irving and Cooper. Professor Wells said
that to reveal the results of the test would inter
fere with future experiments.
Dr. ". s. Etcheberger, OF the United States |
Coast and Geodetic Survey. read paper before the
department Of physics Clocks Ancient and
NodeTp' In which he traced the growth from the
ancient water clocks Of the Chinese and East In
dians TO the modern apparatus OF tho present day.
Before the section on zoology some OF the sub
Jects under discussion created moro or less amuse-
ment G. A Drew. of the University OF Maine |
tod OF the effects 10 be obtained by tickling the
foot OF a clam. Other subjects were The Micro
scopio Structure OF the stigmal Plates Of Tick
Genus Dermacentor' and Further Notes on the
Behavior OF TubicoloUs Annelidz"
Betore the division of social science Logan @.
Aief'helson. formerly assistant to the late Prssi-
cent Spencer Of the Southern Railway spoke on
me Evolution Of Property" lie held that cor
were a direct outcome of our industrial
ssieh Irac ing their development from the earliest
oIsaPi1ation lie said that If corporations
tleu 10 issue explicit statements or their
IeV Jssr 'tete @ would be 30 longer the cry that
a. ~. Palsh' Of Washington. read a paper on The
A'S5t!3qIlghS or lntr0 ana Inter state Rates"
, ttteS teS a. tonant opened the session by deClar-
. .s ,iaI unless currency legislation provided.
siit,,re would prove entirely inadequate to
Tor Iorh T.; ne said was not measure aid the banks.
po5orDn,ent n IhS borrower. lie said that If the
aomic intercs Woud he i2voIyed 5i n Tepvng 10
q UR