The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1906-10-11
RELATIVE WEALTH.

callFa man wealthy? For many CEN
turtles the name of Cresus has been
handed down as the model rich man Of
all time. but we suspect that his real
wealth would look small compared
with some Of our modern money kings
In this day and country q man must
possess many millions Of dollars to en-
title him to the name of a wealthy citi-
zen.
Thus in late article about Senator
German. Of Maryland, it Is remarked
that he had been called wealthy" but
the account explains that he left only
"A modest fortune" and it is explained
that the total valuation OF his prop
erty of all kinds foots up not quite one
million dollars. There are people who
would consider themselves fairly well
on and safely out Of poverty's reach If
they had nearly a million dollars, but
they are old-fashioned in their notions
Goldsmith, in The Deserted Village
tells of a worthy man who was pass
ing rich with forty pounds a year." but
such man in our day would be look
ed on as an object of profound commits
Grafton. Even the man with one hum
dred thousand dollors is looked on by
the multi millionaire as one to be pit :
led, and If he has only one-half or one
fourth that amount he is headed
straight for the poornouse, as they
slightly less than a million. seems to
be an unpleasant surprise to those who
had been accustomed to look on him as
a man of wealth.
After ALL wealth is largely a rela-
tive term. varying with circumstances.
man who starts out in the world,
thinks IL he can accumulate a million
dollars. he will be rich and contented,
hut when he reaches that stage of the
game and sees others far ahead of him
in wealth. he begins to feel insignia
cant and sets to work to increase his
pile to equal that of others. Instead
of being satisfied in the possession of
a competence. he strives harder than
ever to get more and finally reaches
the point where he wants to make
money merely for the pleasure of see
ing his pile grow. 1t would be fool
ish to argue that man worth many
millions can get any real enjoyment
out of the use of it. One can use only
so much money for his own rational
needs, or those of his family. and ii his
income Is ten. twenty or fifty times as
much as he needs. he can get no en-
joyment out OF it except the mere sat
isfaction of seeing it grow. But 1t
Is useless to philosophize or moralize
on the subject. We set out to show
that a man worth not quite million
is not looked on as wealthy in this day
and couptry.
AS directly bearing on this subject.
we find in The New York Commercial
of Saturday last. severe commentary
on Roosevelt's frequent references to
Swollen fortunes" The Commercial
declares that the President finds it inn
possible ITO wholly tear himself loose
from that socialistic conception of his
to which he first gave utterance three
years ago at Minneapolis" The Com
Inercial severely comments on some ex-
pressions used by Roosevelt at Harris
burg, in which he expressed advance!
soclalistic ideas about the evils Of
large fortunes and the right and duty
OF the government to regulate them.
Then 1t adds:
And it is pertinent to ask President
Roosevelt, too. Just what a swollen
fortune" is Where exactly does a for
tune cease to be of normal proper
tons and take on imitation? Is it at
the 100000 or the $1o,0OO,ooo point? ?
II Black has scraped together $1,000
900 and Brown $1,0O0,001, must Brown
surrender control of his money to the
United States government and Black *
go on enjoying the free use of his?
These are pertinent queries which
Roosev cit, If he were so disposed. could
readily answer, at least to his own sat
t.faction, whatever others might think
of his replies. And it brings us back
to the question: What is wealth?