Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-26


But, however our flnanciers may set
tic this question to their own satisfac-
tiou. So far as the public is concerned
the payment Of dividends upon those
stocks differs only In name from the
payment Of interest upon the bonds:
and the public It Is that pays both i'm
| terest and dividends. even as it has al
ready paid for the properties them
enormous fortunes of the fnanclers
In control.
What. indeed Ia the preponderating
part OF the "valuable property" Of
which these stocks are 20 certificate Of
title to- but the power given these
corporations to tax the public upon all
It's products. supplies and public SER
vices? This 1t is that has already COM
PEELED the public not only to pay for
the properties. but also to build up the
enormous fortunes Of the exploiters OF
these corporations; and that now en-
ables these nnanciers to recapitalize
the properties at three or even five
times their real worth. The some s40,-
| 10000 900 of these Securities" thus
constitute, in fact first lien or "hlan-
ket" mortgage upon all the property
of the nation; and not until this in
| cumbrance is lifted" can the farmer
or other citizen be said. in any true
sense, to own his farm or home nor,
until then, can any enumeration OF
farms or homes as being "popularly
owned" be considered at all conclusive
upon this subject or as substantially
affecting my estimate of wealth con-
centration.
Nor yet can the people be said, to an
appreciable extent, to be the proprie
tors of these corporations. If the wage
Garner has invested his hard earned
and scantily spared savings In a share
of corporation stock it is because he
has been lured, as In the case of the
United States Steel corporation, into
the belief that his investment would be
safe as we'll as available in case of
need. And with this we'll remembered
exception and perhaps two or three
other operations of like character the
owners of these corporation stocks
will as a rule be found very safely in
cluded within the 500 900 names consti-
tuting the 1 per cent of our population
designated as the so-caled wealthy
class" embraced in my estimate.
Nor yet can the items of savings
ho, ,,ly IL
extant be said to argue the possession
of wealth in the body of the people
The few dollars deposited in the saw
ings bank usually constitutes the sole
dependence of the toller and his family
against sickness, the loss of employ
ment or any of the thousand and one
vicisstudes of life that beset the
"hand-to-mouth" existence of the
great body of our population: and it
therefore remains and is increased as
precious possession, even though the
debts of the depositor may exceed
many times the small pittance deposit
ed. So also insurance Is again almost
the sole dependence of the toiler's
family in case of his death, and is,
therefore, taken out and the premium
paid, so long as the holder can beg or
borrow dollar and regardless of every
other obligation. The liabilities of the
depositor or insured must needs be
placed against such asset before we
can decide as to his solvency, much
less as to his wealth.
These estimates. as also the conclu-
sions drawn from them, are revolu-
tionary of accepted notions, and 1 ex-
pect them to be bitterly assailed. AS
here given, however, they are, at least,
what 1 intended to say and am pre-
pared to substantiate. Unfortunately,
owing to a miscarriage in the mails,
| 1 did not receive the program of the