The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-11-24
WHO OWNS THIS COUNTRY?


out to catch votes of the common peepul
in late years has been that old story of
how five per cent. of the people of the
United States own Is to 80 per cent. of
the country's wealth The politicians who
tell this story always do so with tears OF
compassion for the said common peepul'
and wind up in lather by declaring their
undying opposition to system which per-
mits such small percentage of the popu-
lation to gather In the larger part of the
nations wealth.
Of course the politicians who pull this
stunt are out to catch the votes of the
MASSES and probably a majority of them
have little sympathy with the views of the
class which started this story on its torttI-
Gus way In fact, it is doubtful if most OF
the politicians know that this alleged ar
gument had its origin in the ranks of the
eountry's radicals. 1t is one Of the stock
accusations against the American social
and economic order made by the Socialists
and Communists However, it is doubtful
if that fact would make much difference
to the professional politicians If they were
informed If the tale serves its purpose as
vote getter the politicians would use 81
anyway.
The truth is that this statement is some
of the rottenest balderdash that was ever
cooked up to serve the purposes of the
radicals and no good American citizen
who knows the facts will be guilty of cir
culating 1t. Time and again leading citi-
zens and newspapers of the country have
dissected this faisehood, but the radicals
and the politicians persist in Keeping 1t iE
circulation
In the first place, no individual or or
ganization in the country has absolutely
accurate and complete facts as to the owii-
ership of the country's wealth. Informal
tion gathered by the federal government,
certain fact finding organizations and or.
ganizations of business, comes the nearest
to being all that is known on this subject |;
and the radicals and the politicians have
never examined this, or if they have, have
found it convenient to forget it. Yet, we
frequently hear the assertion made that
five per cent. Of the people own 1870 IS
or some other exact proportion of the couli-
try's wealth. 49,
A little thought on the subject by any
intelligent citizen win convince of the alb.
surdity of this statement. II IS we'll
known and thoroughly established fact
that there is in this country the most wide.
spread distribution of wealth existing TO-
day in any nation The American standard
of living for the masses Is above that OF
any other country; and the highest wages
paid laborfin any nation are paid in the
United States. This is n condition that has
existed throughout the greater part Of che
history Of this country and this alone would
have made 1t absolutely impossible for al
insignificant fraction of the population tt
hog the country's wealth. i.I =
More than third of the country's popu
lation lives on and eultivstes the land; ant
in spite of the alleged collapse of agri
culture, probably three-fourths of tn
countrS's farmers own and cultivate thei
own soil and more than half of the farm
in the United States are free from mort
cages. The farmers are several times fl
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