The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-02-17
NO RICH PRESIDENTS
Unfounded Contrasts Between Lin
coins Time and ours


1t is a great pity to have the Lin
coin anniversary misused by inbound
ed contrasts between his time and
ours, charges of the political decad-
ence of the people and absurd exag-
gerations of the present influence OF
wealth. The statement that eve
would in all likelihood regard it as
a reflection on our nation to select
for our president man as poor as
Lincoln was" is wholly without ex-
cuse. Lawyers fees were smaller
then than now, but so were most
other forms of compensation. Mr.
Lincoln was a successful lawyer. en-
gagged in some large cases, and he
was no pauper even if it may have
been convenient for him to borr ow
some ready money at the time Of his
Inauguration.
Mr.. Taft was born to a competence
but not a great fortune. His wife
is understood to have had some for
tune, but he practiced his profess ion
until he went on the bench, since
which time he has generally been in
receipt Of an official salary. Mr..
Roosevelt is nearly If not quite the
only president who never earned his
own living. He was born to some
thing better than a competence. ;lnd
he has never practiced profess ion
or carried on business. He has W rit.
ten a good deal, and probably mnde
some money by his books He has
also held office, but on moderate sal
aries until elected governor of New
York. Mr.. Mckinley had very little
except his congressional salary until
elected president Mr.. Harrison was
long at the head or the Indiana bar,
but when he died his estate was little
more than 100000, and probably a
good deal of this was acquired after
he retired from the presidency, when
some valuable cases came to him, as
they are apt to come to lawyer who
has been conspicuous in public life.
For example II is said that Gov.
Black of New York has made a
million dollars out of his profession
since he retired from office.
Mr. Cleveland Was lawyer In
moderate practice, and needed the
salary which was paid to him for sew
eral years as trustee of the Equi.
table company. His wife had a mod
crate fortune but he did not marry
until after his Inauguration. Mr..
Hayes inherited q large fortune, but
not until after he became president.
Gen. Grant didn't have a cent except
his salary and his presents.
Unquestionably the possession of
great fortune would be regarded to.
day as disQualifying man for the
presidential nomination, though he
might be nominated for vice presi.
dent with the expectation. cynicaly
expressed by Senator ingalls,, that he
would pay a large part of the cam
paign expenses.
Nor is 1t true that Mr. Lincoln
was elected by the people in any
sense different from that In which
president will be elected by the peo-
pie this year IL is grotesquely UNI
true that then the people governed
themselves; now we are largely rul-
cd, often dictated to-" except in so
far as present day issues fail to In
terest the people enough to arouse
them to action. The republic has not
changed; the people are not the vic
tins Of an oligarchy or plutocracy or
anything except their own indiifer-
ence. When the issues were slavery
and the integrity of the nation people
felt intensely and acted energetically.
The tarlf and conservation and cor
porations do not move the people as
the issues of so or go years ago did,
and they are too apt to leave matters
to the professional politicians. But
there we're plenty OF those i'm Lin.
coins time and some of them we're
no better than those that we have 10
deal wlth.-Philadelphia Record.