73 2 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



object generally in the mind of a rich man, aside from the care of his 

 family, is the welfare of the property bequeathed. In this respect the 

 will of the late Mr. Yanderbilt was conspicuous. The measures taken 

 to secure the united management of the great fortune left by him may 

 be highly commended simply as a piece of public policy. It is not too 

 much to say that, if, in consequence of a contrary policy, the New 

 York Central or Yanderbilt system of roads had gone to pieces, the 

 whole northern part of the United States would have suffered substan- 

 tial injury. 



A sentiment regarding the disposition of property at death, noticed 

 by J. S. Mill as existing in America, still retains its hold ; we mean 

 the sentiment favoring the settlement of great sums on charities, 

 churches, and especially on educational institutions. A California 

 millionaire has recently set aside an immense fortune, said to amount 

 to $20,000,000, for a university in that State. From an economic 

 point of view there is absolutely no defense of such an action. It 

 simply means the perpetual expenditure the economic waste of the 

 whole annual yield of the property donated. Of course, the defense 

 can be made that as property is for life, and not life for property, we 

 should not regard wealth spent on things so necessary as education as 

 misapplied. And if it be taken for granted that future ages will not 

 know enough, or will not have the means to pay for the education 

 needful for them, this is a good defense. But if, as we must here 

 maintain, it be thought that the wants of a time are best met by the 

 spontaneous agency of the time as we see in the superiority of our 

 popularly-sustained churches over state-supported establishments 

 then, from a social as well as from an economic standpoint, we must 

 decide against the advisability of such great gifts. The possibility 

 that our mania for education may lead to as much loss and inconven- 

 ience as the former mania which resulted in state religious establish- 

 ments seems to be forgotten. Leaving all this aside, however, it 

 should still be borne in mind that such a withdrawal of capital as that 

 instanced is a distinct injury to trade and to the working classes ; and 

 further that any perpetuity is almost certain to become unresponsive 

 to the needs of a new age, and is likely to become as useless as are, 

 according to Professor Huxley, the great endowments which main- 

 tain fellowships at the English universities. Wherever the line be- 

 tween benevolent and reproductive expenditure should be drawn, it 

 seems highly probable that the public sentiment in favor of public 

 legacies is unduly strong, at least among those whose views find their 

 way into print ; and that the private sentiment which we see in daily 

 operation is really much more beneficial to the country. 



If the views taken in this article have any basis in truth, the opin- 

 ions commonly held are to a large extent wrong in nearly every way 

 connected with the present subject. Public opinion is, indeed, a vague 

 and indefinite quantity. But we may fairly say that it opposes the 



