The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-12-18
BY CHARLOTTE NJ. CoxGER


To read the life of Henry George is 10
be convinced that the votes OF the Thir-
teenth New York district did well in
/ sending his son TO represent them in
/ Congress. The son of such a father
could never go far wrong; the son OF
such a father could never be anything
else than a good democrat. not meaning
| by that term essentially a member of the
party of that name but one who believes
IN political and social equality. an op-
poser of arist0cracy. What put iron
into Henry Georges soul against indus
trial slavery was the contrast of poverty
with wealth that he witnessed in the
greatest city in the world when on a
visit to New York in the winter of
1s6S-69" says hia son in "The Life of
Henry George"
If the contrast between poverty and
wealth in New York IN the late SOS put
iron into the soul of Henry George, how
would the greater contrast that marks
our times affect his soul? In the COS
there were no colossal fortunes such as
exist to-day. At that period a million OF
Nowadays to be worth a million is to be
merely comfortable. in New York at
least, and great fortunes are counted by
the tens of millions. Nor in the SOS had
we become such sybarites as we are now.
There were luxurious restaurants, Of
course; expensive theaters and other
places of amusement, and women spent
then. as now, money on dress and jew
els, but there was no Metropolitan Opera
House. no such gilded eating houses as
at present abound. and our women in
those days spent hundreds where they
now spend thousands Yet even then the
iron" entered into the soul of Henry
George because Of the contrast between
poverty and wealth.
VIII He Follow His Father.
viii Henry George carry on his faith
er's work? VIII he stand in Congress for
al that the author of Progress and Pow
erty'' stood for? are questions those who
knew Henry George, the father, and do
not know Henry George, the son. are
asking, No man ever came into a richer
inheritance than the new member from
the Thirteenth New York district. No
multi-millionaire in the world can be-
queath a nobler fortune than Henry
George left 10 his children-sterling an
cestry, the discipline of self-denial love
of their fellow-men, and the noblest
ideals which the spirit of man can con-
ceive.
In one of his speeches delivered in Eng
land, George told an amusing story of
how the strict men of the church TO
which his parents belonged made terms
with the devil, Il was educated in a
very strict faith" he said. MY people
and the people whom l knew In my child
hood. the people who went TO our church
and other churches of the same kind,
had notion that the theater was very
bad place and they would not go to one
on any account. There was a celebrated
fellow-citizen of mine by the name of
Barnum Barnum went to Philadelphia,
and he recognized that prejudice, and
saw that, although there were a number
Of theaters running for the ungodly, a
theater he could get the godly to 20 to
would pay extremely well. But he did
not start a theater. Oh, no. He started
a lecture-room. and we had in that lee
ture-room theatrical representations. and
it was crowded every night in the week
and there were two matipees."
VOraciOus Reader and Dreamer.
Henry George. the father. was a vora-
cious reader and, like all such. a dream
er. At sixteen India and Australia were
the lands Of his dreams. and thither he
sailed as an ordinary seaman at IS a