Evening star., 1927-08-14

POWERFUL nobility of wealth
~ is rising in America because
"A the wealthy are pyramidlng
Il their money by marrying al
e. most exclusively among them
selves Only rarely does the heir to
wealth today turn to humber economic
strata for a mate. In colonial days
there was much more matrimonial
democracy between the upper and
lower classes. Marriages between the
yeomanry and the gentry were quite
common in those days. But today
such a marriage is now so eXtraor-
binary that it is exploited in big head
lines across three or four columns of
our newspapers.
Albert Edward Wiggam. distin-
guished scientific writer and explorer
of social problems. was explaining to
me how democracy tends to lead into
aristocracy after a country's economic
development has gotten we'll under
way. DR.. Wiggam is the author of
two best scientific sellers which were
veritable Lindbergh flights in the
realms of popular science. judging by
the wide interest they aroused in
scientific subjects--the New Deca-
logue of Science" and the Fruit Of
the Family Tree"
And now he has capped this en-.
vious performance off with a new
book that has again thrown the
thinking public into a furore of
discussion-"TheN Next Age of Man."
In his latest book DIR. Wiggam
shows how the world and civilza-
tion are dependent on the annual pro-
duction of very small number of
geniuses and leaders and how man
must begin to bring science to the
field Of birth, just as he has brought
it to the field of agriculture, and begin
to breed scientifically the best human
crops.
My questions to Dr. Wiggam about
this pyramiding of wealth in America
came fast. Somewhere in the back of
my mind I remembered the dark
charges of radical leaders that America
was already in the grip of a financial
autocracy. Such charges had come
from politicians. and, of course, they
had to be properly discounted. But
here was scientist telling me that
wealth was merging in America from
psychological marriage selection as
well as from economic causes. / fairly
leaped to the most important eoncIu-
sion OF such a statement. If that is
true what will happen to the masses?
W OIt luCy DG oppressed DN InlS con-
solidation of wealth?
DIR. Wiggam's reply was prompt:
Il haven't the slightest fear that
this pyramiding of wealth will mean
oppression of the masses or a decrease
in the economic opportunities of the
common man. When wealth marries
wealth the biologic results will pro.
duce extraordinary financial geniuses.
And l am never afraid of a genius 1t
is about the only thing in the world
that we need not be afraid of. The
. thing constantly dread is the second
class man. When he gets into power
the liberties of men are put into jeop-
ardy. and the wealth, we'll being and
opportunities of the common man al.
ways decline. A strong ruling class of
high ability has always improved the
lot of the common man. The latter
has suffered only when one Of his own
kind has beguiled himself into power
in the name of the 'pe-pul.'"
But. DR.. Wiggam. isn't it notorious
that the sons and daughters of the
rich lead the fastest and most immoral
lives and that wealth enervates abil-
ity?" l inquired.
Defends Wealthy Children.
I'VE hear. of course. about the 'gild-
cd fool" said DR.. Wiggam. And the
reason we hear about him is that he
is so rare. Ruined by too much
money is an immemorial adage. But
there is not the slightest evidence of
crucial nature that money in itself
ever ruined anybody. People can ex-
hibit their ruination more widely If
they have the money to advertise it.
But if money really ruins people or
is in any sense moral danger, I do
not believe we have any reliable
knowledge of it. 1t is because the
phenomenon of a rich fool going to
the dogs attracts SO much attention
because of it's rarity that we get the
idea that money ruins On the whole
the children of rich people are better
morally and better hammered than the
children of the poor chiefly because
they come of better biologic stock. A
person cannot create wealth without
possessing a first-rate intelligence, and
where the rich are marrying the rich
in America economic and business in
telligence as well as wealth Is being
pyramided. Financial geniuses will
never hurt the common man."
How do you account for this phe-
nomenon of the wealthy only marry
ing the wealthy today?" / asked.
'In the first place" said DR.. Wig