Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1906-02-19

The following editorial recently APP
peared in the Nebraska Independent,
published at Lincoln
The February Cosmopolitan contains
a symposium OF answers by distinguished
men to several questions regarding great
wealth. The most remarkable answer is
by Oliver Wendell Holmes, OF the United
States supreme court. The reply is not
remarkable because OF its wisdom, but
because it shows to what lengths one of
our supreme judges would 60 in uphold
ing the claims OF privilege.
The first question asked by Frederick
Upham Adams, who prepared this SYM
postum, was "The wealth Of our
American capitalists is now conserva.
lively estimated at from 100000 900 to
00,000,000. Can man render to his
country or to mankind service which
will entitle him to SO great a reward?"
The, ,brIefest answer to this question was
by President Charles w. Elliot, OF Har-
ward Univerty, who said mo, but he
can render services for which money can
not pay" As if echoing this reply, and
then explaining it, Jack London, the
author and socialist, says: "No, the
sum of remuneration to all our patriots
and statesmen from the beginning of our
history is not so large" .#,
The second question was: ''Does the
possession of billion dollars in the hands
of an individual constitute menace TO
the republic?" Then followed questions
as to bequeathing great fortunes, as to
the income and the inheritance tax and
as to mudicipal and state ownership.
With (hancelor f. Benjamin An.
drews, OF the Nebraska University, who
is among those replying to the questions,
Justice Holmes believes that it is i'm
material who holds the title to wealth.
His point of view is expressed in these
words:
81 conceive that economically it does
not matter whether YOU call Rockefeller
or the United States owner of all the
wheat in the United States, if that wheat
is annually consumed by the body of the
people; except that Rockefeller, under
the illusion Of self-seeking or in the con-
scious pursuit of power, will be likely to
bring to bear more poignant scrutiny
OF the future in order to get greater re.
turn for the next year. If, then, as
believe. the ability Of the ablest men
N tn
getting the largest markets and the
largest returns, such ability is directed
to the economically desirable end"
The Independent believes that it does
matter greatly who holds the title to
the wealth of a country. 1t is conceiva-
BILE that one man might hold title to all
the wealth OF a country. Would such IL
concentration of wealth lie no menace to
the liberty and happiness of S0,O00,O00
in this country? Justice Holmes seems
to think that the only question involved
is whether the people would get enough
to eat. In the last days of the Roman
republic the mass OF the people obtained
enough for their subsistence. Even in
Russia most OF the people eat every day.
In Russia power is concentrated into the
hands Of a few. Outside this few the
people are in ignorance; they are un-
clean, unhealthy, unhappy, enslaved.
That is the result Of concentrated power,
and concentrated wealth is concentrated
power.
Let Rockefeller acquire all the wealth
OF the United States and the people OF
the United States would be in a greater
misery and slavery than are the people
in Russia, Progress would come to a
standstill. Only those would succeed
who paid tribute to Rockefeller and
gained his favor. Individual incentive
being gone, art, science, education and
industry would decline, or would thrive
only in proportion to the interest taken
in them by one man and then under the