The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-04-10
WHAT CAN A MAN
HONESTLY EARN?
Only That Much C an
he Rightfully Collect
From Society
BRYAN PLACES
FIGURES HIGH
An Address at University Of Vir-
glnia Commoner Denounces
Criminal Corporations, Their
Subsidized Newspapers and
Their Lawyers Speaker
Before Y. M. c. A.
Especial to The Times-Dlspatch.1


Charlottesville. Va. April 9.-The
feature Of the thirty second State
Convention Of the Virginia Young
MeL's Christian Associa lions was the
ADDRESS In Cabcll Hall, at the Univer-
sity OF Virginia. by William j. Bryan,
on The Price of Soul"
Mr. Bryan arrived from washington
at 1915 o'clock this morning, and he
came the guest or President Alderman.
who introduced him TO the audience Of
men which filled the hall from bit 10
gallery.
Or. Alderman said that for the pas,
nitccn years the country had been
passing through the clearcst moral
erisls IN all its history. and that dur
Ing that crisis no man has persisted in
y more consistent moral course ,hun
William Jennings Bryan.
In his address. which consumed
nearly two hours MIR. Bryan covered
great many moral issues involved in
american life. especially in political
ana business cndeaVors.
Emphasis on ..Nightfully,
How much money, he inquired can
q man r!ghtfully collect In society7
and suggested that probably a visit
10 the pcnitcntiary would throw light
and emphasis upon the word right
FULLY HIS own answer 10 the question
was that man should not collect
more than he honestly earned. Beyond
mat ne Is stealing How much money
can he honestly earn? Not more than
his service Is worth 10 society. he
held that man can inherit money
without Offense when the money was
honestly earned by him who trans-
mittcd 1t. Every riEht-mfndcd man
expects to pay back to society what he
has received from IT. and this includes
what he inhcrits. The stamp Of dis
grace must be placed upon the idicr
who uses what he docs not earn as
stern1y as upon the man who steals.
How much can q man honestly earn
IN an average lifetime. supposIng his
working years 10 be little more than
'hirty-three years? Is 100000 TOO
much? Air. Bryan thought not be-
II cause i would require only little
more than $4,000 q year OF income 10
make this total in a little more than
thirty-three years. He even believed
that q million dollars IN thirty three
years was possible. az only little
more than $4,000 was necessary in
year. He surprised his audience more
and more By gradually raising the
amount that man might honestly
earn until 1t amounted TO as much as
S500o00.o00 in lifetime. lie said that
man had the right 10 collect as much
as his services were worth TO society.
Those OF Thomas Jefferson were so
large that If he had collected this
great sum he would not have been
ovcrpaid and the same, he said, was
true of Abraham Lincoln. He had thus
hccn nonpartisan, since he had named
Democrat and e Republican, but he
did not feel called upon 10 look for
Republican to match every Democrat
lie could name. Neither Jefferson nor
Lincoln had desired to collect any
thing like what they had earned
Men OF this type are so busy earn
Ing from society that they have no
time to collect what is due them,
while those Of the opposite character
are SO busy collecting that they have
no time to earn what they collect.
The Important Question.
What would Jefferson and Lincoln
have done with $500, 900, 900? The cues
ton is interesting but the more i'm
portant one is, what would this vast
sum have done with Jefferson or Lin
coin? A man may earn more than it
would be we'll for him or society to
collect. Every noble soul deserves TO
earn more than ne claims
Mr.. Bryan said that a man should
not desire to collect more from society
than he can use wor,hily, and he can
use wisely not SO much as he desires.
but only what he needs and his neccs-
sary needs are confined to food, cloth
ing and shelter. Some men spend long
years amassing wealth. and a few
years before they die in distributing
what they cannot use. What the world
needs is men who give their lives TO
the solving Of present-day problems
rather than to the accumulation of
great wealth and the making of prob
lens for the future.
Mr.. Bryan discussed the profession
1,1, ~,
lawyers to life, finding them divided
into two great classcs-those who sell
their souls in their practice. and those
who refuse TO do SO. He quoted Roosc-
welt saying that there was scarcely
a predatory conspiracy against the
country that did not have Harvard
brains behind IT, Those men, he said
who provided tho way of escape from
the responsibility and consequences Of
their conspiracies were no better than
the men who held the horses in a
dark place for thieves to get away
In the discussion OF criminal cor
porations Mr. Bryan referred Wig
orously to the newspapers owned by
them and RIM in their interest. He
said it Is not now possible to learn
who owns he stock of some of these
journals He advocates Il national law
to make These assassins who own
papers come out of the dark and stand
before the public gaze" The criminals
who have been growing rich by SELL
Ing poisoned food, especially those who
were Coming the blood of little ones"
We're vigorously denounced.
Mr.. Bryan said that he was amazed
that the public conscience OF the coun-
try had not before now forced FUN
reformation along the lines that he
had discussed. Tho achievements of
the last fifteen years are encouraging.