The Washington times., 1923-07-03
NATHAN STRAUS,
. IS TRYING TO ].
DIE POOR
PhiIanthropist Believes in Max
ing Large requests While
He Is Living.
BY VIOLA BROTHERS SHORE,
Cosmopolitan News Service.

by VlUAAA btUTHENS 0f1UNE1
Cosmopolitan News Service.
NEW YORK. July S.-Nathan
Straus. one of Americas greatest
merchants and philanthropists, at
the age Of seventy.five is doing the
best he can to give his fortune
away.
For this man who interested him
self in charity when still quite
young and before he had made his
great wealth has d code which does
death to charitable institutions.
why wait that long?s the mer-
chant prince asked. Giving is one
of the joys of life which never pals
and never lessons but grows by
feeding on what it does.
eft is only q matter Of time be-
fore 1t will be considered a disgrace
for man to die very wealthy. In
stead of an honor roll for those
who have helped their fellow men,
II advocate dishonor roll for those
who have failed in their duty.
"If the rich people Of the world
mean those who have more than
they can use-did their duty, half
the misery of the whole world would
be relieved.
There is. Hebrew proverb which
says, What you give in health is
gold; what you give In sickness Is
silver: what you give after death
! is lead
'People have to be educated to
do good They~-find they enjoy It..
and gradually IL becomes a habit.
The farther they travel along the
path of good deeds, the more they
enjoy the travelling. j
'Admires RockefeIIers.
Men like the Rockefellers. father
and son, are the most inspiring ex-
amples of the good use to which
great wealth may be put. They
are among the greatest men on
earth admire them particularly
because they are doing their kood
work during their lifetime. Getting
the ablest psychologists and scien-
lists in the world to combat dis
ease I consider even more impor-
tant than establishing hospitals to
cure it." f
In a long career devoted to Civ.
ing and TO arousing in others a
sense of their obligations, Mr..
4
ties for arriving at conclusions in
regard to givers. He said:
People of the middle classes are
the easiest to approach on matters
of charity or public welfare. Poor
people haven't the means. And
rich people have an elaborate sys-
tenn of defense.
Most rich people have their ex-
cuses alphabetically card indexed
so as to be readily available in case
of an emergency attack. You sell
dom catch them so completely off
their guard that they haven't at
least one tried and trusty excuse
where II IS most accessible
"All people who don't like to give
use the same conversational tactics
eAfter the first three minutes 1 can
only gauge my chances of interest
ing them but can even guess how
they will evaoe them, down to
the very words they will use.
Women Best Givers.
Women are easier to interest
than men. If the matter has any
thing to do with children. the re-
Spouse among women is about 100
per cent.
! Anything pertaining to the pub.
: lie health secures the immediate
cooperation OF women. l was able
to accomplish the most wherever
had women working with me.
And when they undertake a thing.
they stick to it."
Mr.. Straus began to interest him
self in charity when he was young
and still poor. At that time he
said. II can wait to make more
money. l cannot wait to give. The
opportunity to make money will al
ways be here. This particular op-
portunity to do good will be gone
forever If I let it pass"
There would be very little chart
table work In the world If people
were afraid to leave their money
after death. for fear that their
motives might be misunderstood.
Most of the hospitals in the
country were endowed by rich men
and women who left the money in
their wills
If you cannot bear to part with
your money during your lifetime,
that seems better way to dispose
or 1t, than leaving it for LAWYERS
to fatten on through litigation.
why should there be people, in
this civilized age, suffering for lack
OF food, while a trustee receives
100000 to administer a will?
There is no excuse for hunger
or priVation in America. The coun-
try never was so prosperous. Half
the gold in the world is over here.
One case Of starvation or illness
unattended Is a blot on our national
honor.
The only way to wipe out these
blots is through education and ex-
ample. Education Of the richi Ex-
ample Of the rich