Daily Arizona silver belt., 1910-03-22
THE MOUTH OF THE GIFT HORSE

Suspicion of Mr. Rockefeller's plan of endOw- ing a gigantic perpetual philanthropy IS not in consistent with complete approval of his mo- tives. He may be doing it in the hope of sweet ening his memory in the minds of the people. He may be doing it purely out of public spirit. He may be doing it to establish pernclous precedent But it is just as easy, and much more pleasant, to assume that his motives are good and that needn't prevent anybody from looking his gift horse very carefully III the mouth to see what possibilities it contains. Many are doing that very thing.
 For one thing, it is proposed that the fund shall be perpetual. Only the interest IS to be used and the remainder, an enormous slice of the nations wealth, is to be left intact and un- taxable When hundreds of millions of dollars of wealth are withdrawn from taxation, as is proposed, it is clear that the country isn't get ting this benefaction for nothing.
 The Springfield Republican voices very ably the thought of those who look upon the Rock efeller foundation as menace. It assumes that his motives are good. It avoids altogether con sideration of the tainted source of the money. And in this attitude it is just and wise. It points out that in the Dark Ages men similarly minded gave their wealth to the church. and that in the Middle Ages religious orders came to own half the soil of England and more in other coun- tries. a condition that led to economic and social revolution, often accompanied by confscatlon and violence "And these modern foundations, similar in original motive and spirit, however variant in form, it is no eXaggeration to say, may easily become as obnoxious to posterity as the monastc system of the Middle Ages became to the new civilization whose advent was signal ized by the Reformation and the Renaissance. '
 There are many-who are called dreamers, perhaps-who believe that the time is quickly coming when society, through its governments will do for itself the very things Rockefeller proposes to do with his wealth. What need then of gigantic private charity entailed for all time to do those things? Then society no longer will permit one man to become a billion are, or few to control absolutely the economic life of the nation. What an anachronism, then will be that Rockefeller foundation!
 Says the Republican: 'As mere philan- thropic enterprises, they tend to monopolize charity by centralizing it in corporate, selfper- petuating, bloOdless concerns. The immediate effect of the establishment of these immense agencies of professional giving is to dry up the smaller sources of individual benevoence and transform society into an organization of sup pliants, while general mendicancy at the doors of the great funds is lavishly promoted. Who gives libraries since Mr. Carnegie made his rec ord as the worlds champion library builder! There is also discernible natural tendency of the managers of the private foundations to at tempt the control of the causes and the institu- tions which they aid. It is almost startling to observe the progress made by the Carnegie foundation, which is nothing but private pen sion agency, in dictating educational policy to the colleges and universities of the country. The coercive power lurking in the simple menace of being dropped from the Carnegie list of accept ed institutions is seen to be tremendous in its possibilities. The groveling spectacle of our state universities rushing to share the income of the steel bonds which Mr. Carnegie gracously diverted to the support of superannuated pro fessors emphasizes the moral of the situation. Imagine the proposed Rockefeller foundation, solidIy buttressed by $300,000000, dominating in this style the numerous benefciares of it's benevoence during the next 800 years"
 The Republican makes a good case If the Rockefeller foundation is permitted at all, it must provide for its own extinction within a definite, limited period. Better still, let the foundation be rejected, and let just inherit ance tax law, at Mr. Rockefeler's death, take the greater portion of his fortune for the good of society.