RANK HAS NO PLACE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 319, 9 January 1909, Page 4

RANK HAS NO PLACE

A MILLIOXAIUE AXD 111S SILEXT jeAUTXEKS. .Mr Andrew Carnegie's book, 'Tioblcm of To-day" Ims a very arresting oauptcr on "Variety v. Uniformity. It is lather in praise of tiie glories of indi'vidualism but it is of tiie greatest interest, as -Mr Carnegie pays high tnoute to those wiio give tlieir service to the race, i I . IiAXI) WORKERS. ••Seldom," be says, ".if ever, to the 'palace or stately home of wealth conies the messenger of the gods to call men to such honor as follows supreme service to the race. Rank has :io place. Wealth robs life of the heroic element, the sublime consecration, the self-sacri-lice of ease, needed for the steady development of our powers and the performance of the highest service. Let workmen note how iimny of the exceptional*, who have carried the race forward, were workers with their hands: Shakespeare, Morten, Jcnner,Xeilscon, Lincoln, Burns Symington, Guttenhiitg, Edison, Sic i mens, Bessemer, Mushct, Columbus Watt, Hell, Arkwright, Franklin, Kay Murdoch, Margraves, Stephenson.

BKAIX AXD MUSCLE NEEDED. "All these began as manual workers. 'There is not one rich or titled leader r,i the whole list. All were compelled to work. i '•Honorable and necessary as manual labour is, let us gladly greet productive labour of the mind as of a higher order, as the spirit is above the llesli, although it must never be forgotten that i:i the skilled labour of our day a union of both brain, and muscle is imperatively needed. The trained first-class mechanic now works as much with his brain as with his hands, and, if in charge of machinery, much more.

'•The dingy room, the close laboratory the crowded' workshop, and the home of honest poverty contain the cxc'epiionals, capable of carrying forward the mission of the race upon earth, which is in each succeeding generation to make this life a little higher and better." TO THE TIMID. Mr Carnegie is no Socialist. He makes the charge that •■Socialists neglect the immediate' duty of their (lay and generation, and vainly attempt to provide for a distant and unknown future of the 'But he goes on to warn ''the. timid and conservative not to fail to remember that grave and unjust inequallities prevail in connection with the land: non-taxation of sight valu'es, plural voting, and unequal electoral districts in Britain ; also in taxation not according to ability to pay, and unequal distribution of wealth, common to all countries, the surest, and, indeed, the only way of ensuring a contented people is promptly to recognise and redress these and oilier evils."

REFORM SLOW-IDEAS QCICK. Mr Carnegie makes a hopeMl prophecy for the future, lie admits that " tire peace of reform for some years has been lnue'li too slow aa compared with in all the nation of our race, those which prove advantageous in one being promptly adopted l>,v all the others. Thus shall he laid the foundations of a lasting and benoficient imperialism of race, whose influence in the councils of (he world always pleading for peaceful arbitration of disputes, will lead to a reign of peace and the brotherhood of man." THE SILENT PARTNERS.

One phrase Mr Carnegie uses is very striking. This wealthy millionaire speaks of the '■silent partners" of the man of wealth—those silent ones who help to make his wealth. •■ Enormous fortunes,'' he says, " are dependent upon the community ; without great anil increasing population, (here could be no great wealth. Where wealth accrues honorably, the people are always silent partners. •■ It U not denied that the great administrator, whether as railroad builder steamship-owner, manufacturer, merchant, or.hanker, is an exceptional man, or that lirillions honestly made in any useful occupation give evidence of ability, foresight, and assiduity above the common, and prove the man who lias made lliem a very valuable member of society. In no wise, therefore, should such * men be unduly hampered or restricted as long as they are spared. " After all, they can observe comparatively little ; anil, generally speaking, the money-making man, in contrast to his heirs, who generally become members of the smart or fast set/is abstemious, retiring, and little of a spendthrift. The millionaire himself is probably the least 'expensive bee in the industrial hive, taking into account the aniount of money he gathers, and what he consumes. ''The writer has no desire to minimise

this sad contrast, nor to say one. word in its defence. It is one of the saddest unci most indefensible of all contrasts presented in life ; but when we proceed to trace the work of wealth as a whole, it is soon found that even these extravagances absorb hut a small fraction of it. The millionaire's funds are all at work ; only a small sum lies at the bank subject to cheque." MILLIONAIRE'S DON'T LAUCU Air Carnegie declares that "millionaires do not In ugh." "The most miserable of men, as old age approaches, are those who have made money-making their god; like (lesh (bound to the wheel, these unfortunates fondly believed they were really driving it ; only to find when lirocl and craving rest that it is impossible for them to get off, and they are lost—plenty to retire upon, but 'nothing to retire to, and so they cud as they began, striving to add to their useless hoards, passing into nothingness, leaving their money behind for heirs to quarrel over, only because they cannot take it with them—a melancholy end, 'much less enviable than that of their poorer fellows."