The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-17

n - AN->I<6i1 hoS oSSh
MI quoted a thousand times as
= l. saying THE man that dies
rich, dies disgraced." yet so far as I
have been able to discover he never
made such statement. On page 10
OF The Gospel Of Wealth" one reads:
Men may die without mourning
the pity of their fellows, still
sharers in great business enter
prises from which, their capital
cannot be, and has not been, with
drawn, and which is left chiefly at
death for public uses. Yet the day
is not far distant when the man who
dies leaving behind him millions of
available wealth which was free for
him to administer during life will
pass away 'unwept. unhonored and
unsung,' no matter to what uses he
leaves the dross he cannot take
with him. OF such as these the
verdict will then be: The man
who dies thus rich dies disgraced.'"
There is a world Of difference be-
tween the apothegm as 1t is usually
attributed to Mr.. Carnegie and as he
actually phrased it In his essay.
In the briefer form. without the
qualifying thus" 1t Is, of course, far
more striking and memorable. But in
this form 1t lacks the vital merit of
being either true or correctly quoted.
Without going into the question OF
what remained in Mr.. Carnegie's pos
session at the time of his death of
the many millions that were his when
he began to dispose of his fortune for
the general good. the statement as he
Is universally credited with having
made 1t could be turned not only
against himself but against Others
like minded with himself whom he
could have had no thought of dis
paraging.
To clear the matter up I wrote &c
Mr.. Carnegie shortly after his eigh-
tieth birthday (November rs, 1915
and asked him whether in fact he
had ever uttered this dictum in thu
bald, unqualified form in which 1t wa;
always quoted. His secretary, Mr.
Poynton, wrote promptly In reply that
by the advice of his doctors. Mr.. Car
hegie was refraining for the time be-
ing from all correspondence to thu
manifest advantage of his health. 81
can say for Mr.. Carnegie, however.
he added, that his words qualifying
the paragraph in Tire Gospel o.
Wealth were. The man who dies thu:
rich, dies dsgraced,' not The man WIFI
dies rich, dies disgraced.' There is, a
you aptly remark, world OF differ
ERGO between these two phrases"
Help for "The Critic"
Not long after the appearance Of thu
FIRST number OF that journal Of en-
tghtenment. the Critic (owned ant
edited by my sister, the late Jeannett'
/. Glider, and myself. It's treasur!
became an aching Woodland tn,
barren summer months lay just ahead
At this juncture my partner happene'
10 hear that a man OF great and newl!
acquired wealth was living at tn
Windsor Hotel. Naming the proprieto
OF this Ill fated hosiery, which err
long furnished the fuel for one o
New York's many spectacular fires
che quoted his statement that III
guest was richer than the Wander
bits" Outside of the steel industr'
the name OF Andrew Carnegie was Il
1881 virtually unknown. myself ha
never CHANGED to hear II. so In m
ignorance / scoffed. But one did no
need to be richer than the Vanderbilt
20 meet the immediate needs OF GU
modest enterprise; SO my sister "pu
her hat on" cher favorite phrase wheI
prompt and vigorous action was de
manded) aud made a Decline for tn
Windsor.
She found the steel king easily &C
cessible and not only open to convic
ton but actually sympathetic. "Ho'
much do you need?" he asked. 9
think $500 would keep the paper eoin
till business picks up In the fall" wa