The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-05-04

toner before paying it out. Now
granting that this teller could count
thousand dollars a minute lightning
counting, Harry and that he counted
without ceasing every second of the
day, every day in the year, Sundays
not excepted, it would take this poor
teller nineteen hundred and two years,
two hundred and fourteen days to
count the money, or ever since the
shepherds on the Judean hills more
than nineteen hundred years ago sang:
Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good will toward men, for
is born unto us this day IN the city OF
David a Savior, which is Christ the
Lord.
Remember now, Harry, that the
foregoing calculations are based upon
the magazine EDITORS definition of
billion. We VIII now briefly discuss
what you and 1 denominate a billion.
Although our billion looks like thirty
cents compared to the magazine edi-
tors billion, it is sum not to be,
sneezed at for if the steel syndicate
had it's billion coined into silver dol
lars and should tel you, Harry, that
all of it should be yours upon condi-
ton that you toted every dollar away
1
your house half a mile away, and sup
posing you accepted the offer. and
granting that You tote away fifty
pounds of silver at trip, making fifty
trips in twenty-four hours, it would
take you more than fifty-foIr years,
without stopping one minutes, to take
all the money away Granting that
you were twelve years old when you
undertook the job, you would be sixty
six wears old when you finished-so cd
and worn out with ceaseless work that
you would not care about the money.
All that you would want, Harry, would
be permission to lie down in some
quiet place and sleep f1fty-t two weeks
without waking.
A billion silver dollars piled one
upon another would reach in height
more than nineteen hundred and sew
enty-two miles If laid side by side,
they would extend in continuous line
more than fifteen thousand seven hun
bred and eighty-two miles. If the
money was all in bank and the teller
should set out to count it in banking
hours from nine to two, and should
count at the rate of five hundred dol
lars a minute, every day in the year,
| it would take him nineteen years Cess
a few days) to count it-just billion
dollars!
A billion silver dollars loaded in cars
| each holding sixty thousand pounds
would take eight hundred and thirty
| three cars extending in a solid line
| nearly five miles.
If Vim. Rockefeller, who is credited
| with possessing half a. billion dollars,
should say to you: Harry, the Pujo
committee by it's investigating meth
| DDS has made me SO sick of my coios-
sal wad of dough that 1 want it spent.
Now wade in, my boy, and show your
| Uncle Rocky what kind of a high roller
you are" If you should take up Uncle
Rocky's challenge, and proceed to
show him some high rolling. by spend
ing ten thousand dollars every day, it
would take you one hundred and thir-
| ty-Seven years to leave your Uncle
Rocky without a dollar!
| Harry, the interest on a. billion dol
lars at five per cent for only one day
| is thirteen thousand seven hundred
| dollars! With this last instance we
| leave the calculations with you; yet
| there is a far more important lesson to
| be learned from this discussion than a
mere knowledge of what figures con-
| stitute a billion, if only the grown
ups will assist YOU But they will
| not do it, Harry; they are afraid to
contemplate the full. significance of It
all So L shall merely hint at it
| If it requires one hundred and thir-
| ty-seven years to spend half a billion
| dollars by spending ten Thousand dol
| lars a day. what error in government
management permits the accunauia ton
of such an enormous sum by an indi-
vfdual in thirty three years? Is It any
wonder there are labor strikes daily
throughout the land? In September.
1900, John D. Rockefeller made six
| million dollars in six hours by manipu-
lation of Standard Oil stock Is it any
| wonder that cries for relief from exist
ing conditions are heard from the lakes
to the gulf. and that tramps invest the
| republic from ocean to ocean? In 1906
the late Mr.. Morgan, through stock
exchange watering, called $50 millions
| of stocks and bonds 1,500 millions and
exchan ged the newly inflated paper for
seventy millions of the peoples de-
posted savings. Is it any wonder.
| Harry, that now the people of all par
ties and every creed by the greatest
/ majority ever given to any candi tie,
have asked President Wilson to give
them relief. A prayer goes up from
every honest heart that he VIII be able
to do it. If, however, with all his
| honesty of purpose, enormous aggrega-
tons Of wealth combined against him
shall cause his failure, the future is
terrible to contemplate. Apostle Brsnn
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