Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-04-18
THATTAINTEDMONEY
swollen FORTUNES and GIFTS
TO EDUCATION.
TWO WAYS to Obtain q Fortune.
Normal Fortunes, and Swollen For
tunes. Object of Gift, Not Me thOd
OF Securing Fortune the True Test
to be Considered.

Anent the Carnegie library proposition
awaiting action by the authorities Of Alb
erdeen. the following from 'The Public"
OF Chicago, will be interesting The
Public will not be accused of any pluto.
cratic leaning, as it is one OF the most.
radical papers published in the country,
aside from the socialistic press:
mo reasonable discussion of swollen
fortunes is possible without first con.
slderng what fortune is and how it is
to be got. All will doubtless agree that
a fortune consists in the possession of
power to satisfy ones wants abundantly.
but what does this imply? TO satisfy
our wants abundantly, each OF us must
be abundantly served by others. Every
mans house, his raiment, his luxuries,
all that he consumes or uses, must be
provided almost wholly by other persons
than himself. A fortune implies, then,
the possession by its owner Of power to
command abundantly the services Of
other persons.
"Now. a fortune is to be got either by
making it, or getting it without making
it. For, while it is true that no one can
make fortune unaided by others, men
can make fortunes in cooperation with
others; although each must be served
by others, each may correspondingly
serve the others. No man can person.
ally build his own house, but in effect he
can build it by exchanging for the ser
vice OF the builders the beuefit OF his own
service as teacher, lawyer, a mer-
chant, a banker, food producer, or 9TH
er social servitor. This specialization or
division OF labor increases every ones
serving power miraculously. If we get
fortune by such exchanges, we make
the fortune. But if we get it by the
power of some privilege or advantage.
then we get it without making it. In
the one case, what we get is the equiva-
lent of what we give; in the other, we
give no equivalent for what we get.
es"Therein lies the difference between
normal fortunes and swollen fortunes.
The size Of the fortune is immaterial
the question turns on its character. A
man who makes the fortune he gets-his
fortune is normal no matter how big it
is. man who gets his fortune without
making this fortune is swollen no mat
ter how small it is. This test holds as a
proportion as we'll as absolutely. To the
extent that man exchanges his own
service for the service OF others, his for
tune is normal; to the extent that he
commands the service OF others by mere
power, his fortune is swollen. And the
service he may originally have exchang-
ed for mere power counts for nothing.
The power remains mere power, conse.
Quently the service OF others which it
continuously commands is in the last
analysis unrequited. Nor does the law.
fulness OF the power affect the question.
Fortunes dependent upon law.made
privileges are economically the same as
fortunes dependent upon successful high.
waymanship. Both kinds are swollen
fortunes because both command service
without a return OF service.
''But it does not follow that the ques.
tion of swollen or normal fortunes is a
factor in the problem of gifts to educa-
ton. Would we refuse highwayman's
gift to education if the only distinguish
able title to the property were his? Sure.
ly not. Then why refuse gifts from an
owner of any other kind of swollen for.
tune who holds the only distinguishable
title? The character of the fortune is
not the true test in such cases. The !
true test is the Interior object and effect !
OF. the gift. Is it to promote legitimate
fortunes? Ii a highwayman gives to an
educational institution, what is to be the |
future attitude OF that institution toward
highwaymanship? II an owner of legal |
privileges gives, what is to be its attitude
toward legal privilege? These are the
determining questions. They may be
condensed into one: Is the gift free do
nation, or is it bribe? If it is free !
donation, the mere fact that it comes
from swollen fortune makes no differ :
ence. If it is bribe, it is to be alb
horred whether it comes from a normal !
fortune or swollen fortune"
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