I»»  RURAL  NEW  -  WORKER 
107 
A  S  ocial  Revolution  Now  Going,  On 
ON  page  1472  we  printed  an  editorial  on  prospects 
of  farm  legislation.  In  the  course  of  it  we 
said  : 
These  conservatives  might  as  well  remember  one 
thing.  There  has  been  an  unequal  distribution  of 
wealth  in  this  country.  It  has  made  society  top-heavy. 
It  must  be  distributed  fairly  and  honestly  as  a  matter 
of  plain  justice  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  an  undue 
share,  or  there  will  be  a  revolution  in  this  country. 
By  this  we  meant  a  bloodless  revolution — a  form 
of  social  upheaval  which  would,  through  political 
methods,  attempt  to  adjust  this  wealth  distribution. 
There  is  no  thought  that  anything  like  the  French 
Revolution  will  ever  succeed  in  this  country.  It 
never  could  have  been  developed  in  France  had  there 
been  in  that  country  any  such  system  of  land  owner¬ 
ship  and  freeholds  as  we  have  in  America. 
This  statement  attracted  the  attention  of  a  well- 
known  public  man,  who  represents  large  financial 
interests,  and  he  has 
given  his  views  on  the 
subject.  We  want  to 
give  our  readers  all 
sides  of  these  great 
questions — that  is  the 
only  way  to  present  a 
fair  discussion.  Our 
own  views  are  well 
known,  but  the  follow¬ 
ing  statements  and  con¬ 
versation  will  present  a 
fair  idea  of  the  thought 
in  the  minds  of  many 
wealthy  men.  In  the 
following  dialogue  A 
represents  the  public 
man  already  mentioned, 
and  B  The  R.  N.-Y. : 
A.  I  do  not  wish  to 
dispute  your  main  pro¬ 
posal  that  the  distribu- 
tion  of  accumulated 
wealth  of  this  country 
is  unequal  and  not  so¬ 
cially  justifiable.  I  do 
wish,  however,  to  call 
your  attention  to  the 
serious  blows  which  ac¬ 
cumulated  wealth  has 
received  recently  in  this 
country.  The  prohibition 
amendment  has  de¬ 
stroyed,  without  com¬ 
pensation,  a  business  in¬ 
vestment  of  perhaps 
.$2,000,000,000. 
B.  How  do  you  fig¬ 
ure  that  prohibition  has 
caused  this  immense 
loss? 
A.  I  referred  to  the 
destruction  of  the  capi¬ 
tal  investment  in  distil¬ 
leries,  breweries,  sa¬ 
loons,  etc.,  and  the 
working  plant  connect¬ 
ed  with  the  industry 
generally.  I  fixed  on 
the  figure  of  two  bil¬ 
lions  as  the  result  of 
some  statements  I  have 
read  somewhere,  and  I  do  not  think  that  that  esti¬ 
mate  is  much  out  of  the  way.  I  believe  that  the 
sales  of  liquor  and  beer  amounted  to  something  like 
a  billion  and  a  half  a  year,  although  I  am  hazy  on 
these  figures. 
B.  But  have  there  not  been  compensations  in  in¬ 
dustrial  and  social  life  resulting  from  the  prohib¬ 
itory  law? 
A.  I  think  that  the  prohibition  amendment  is  a 
great  economic  advantage  to  the  country,  that  the 
billion  and  a  half  was  not  only  a  luxury  expenditure, 
but  it  was  a  great  weakener  of  the  working  power  of 
the  country.  Consequently,  the  loss  of  which  I  speak 
is  not  a  loss  to  the  economic  life  of  the  country,  but 
a  destruction  of  a  property  which  had  been  devoted 
to  business  of  a  certain  kind  and  was  owned  by  indi¬ 
viduals  of  wealth.  It  is  a  typical  example  of  the 
redistribution  of  wealth  which  is  going  on.  cited  by 
me  as  such.  I  do  not  think  the  country  could  con¬ 
tinue  to  pay  both  the  rum  bill  and  gasoline  bill 
which  it  is  running.  Of  the  two.  I  think  the  money 
is  better  in  gas  than  in  rum.  The  economic  advan¬ 
tages  of  prohibition  are  undoubted,  i  am  not  so  con¬ 
vinced  of  the  moral  and  social  value  of  the  Eigh¬ 
teenth  Amendment  in  view  of  its  reception  by  the 
people  at  large  and  the  lawlessness  which  seems  to 
exist  everywhere. 
B.  What  other  forms  of  legislation  do  you  regard 
as  “serious  blows”  to  wealth? 
A.  Railroad  legislation  in  the  matter  of  rates  and 
wages  by  the  Federal  Government  has  reduced  the 
earning  power  of  the  railroads  upon  their  total 
capital  investment  to  3 y2  per  cent  per  annum  for 
the  last  two  years,  viz.,  about  two-thirds  the  current 
value  of  money.  Next  to  bonds  of  the  United  States, 
the  railroad  investment  still  represents  the  principal 
investment  for  accumulated  funds  in  this  country. 
The  accumulated  wealth  of  the  country  has  further 
been  redistributed  by  the  operation  of  the  income 
The  Milk  Farmer's  Chief  Assistant.  Fifj.  19 
tax  law  and  surtaxes,  which  take  from  10  to  50  per 
cent  of  the  actual  income  of  the  estate. 
B.  It  is  true  that  there  is  an  insistent  demand  for 
lower  rates  of  transportation,  which,  of  course,  will 
mean  reduced  income  by  the  railroads.  But  now, 
what  about  tax-exempt  securities? 
A.  If  accumulated  wealth  goes  to  tax-exempt 
securities  it  receives  an  income  of  4  per  cent,  against 
an  income  of  5  per  cent  for  taxable  bonds  of  a  good 
character.  This  means  a  loss  of  income  of  20  per 
cent  to  accumulated  wealth.  A  further  step  in  the 
redistribution  of  accumulated  wealth  of  the  country 
is  through  the  inheritance  tax  legislation,  which, 
with  State  inheritance  taxes,  takes  from  20  to  30 
per  cent  of  the  actual  property  of  the  decedent  in 
case  the  fortune  is  large.  Moreover,  the  operation 
of  the  income  tax  is  such  as  to  prevent  further  ac¬ 
cumulations  of  large  fortunes  except  under  very 
extraordinary  circumstances,  for  the  reason  that  the 
government  takes  such  a  large  proportion  of  any 
income  in  excess  of  $100,000  that  only  the  excep¬ 
tionally  fortunate  players  can  win  at  a  game  that  is 
loaded  with  so  heavy  an  adverse  percentage. 
B.  Granting  all  this  to  be  true,  is  the  tendency  which 
it  indicates  wise  or  just  to  the  people  as  a  whole? 
A.  I  do  not  wish  to  argue  with  you  the  wisdom 
or  unwisdom  of  these  matters.  I  merely  wish  to 
call  your  attention  to  them  in  connection  with  your 
statement  that  a  revolution  is  due  in  this  country. 
It  seems  to  me  that  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  a  rev¬ 
olution  is  in  very  plain  course  under  our  eyes  in  this 
matter. 
B.  We  are  fully  aware  of  it,  though  its  true  sig¬ 
nificance  is  not  clearly  understood.  The  last  election 
in  New  York  State  was  really  a  form  of  revolution. 
There  are  in  New  York  Oity  at  least  half  a  million 
voters,  men  and  women,  who  do  not  vote  with  true 
reason.  They  became  convinced  that  Miller  repre¬ 
sented  the  moneyed  interests  in  their  stand  against 
this  revolution  of 
heavier  taxation.  They 
likewise  believed  that 
Smith  represented  the 
other  side;  that  is.  the 
more  socialistic  idea  of 
compelling  wealth  to  pay 
more  and  more  of  its 
income  in  taxes.  Neither 
view  was  exactly  cor¬ 
rect,  but  this  great  mass 
of  voters,  most  of  them 
without  much  property, 
and  contributing  little 
if  any  in  the  way  of  di¬ 
rect  taxation,  decided 
that  in  New  York  State 
the  Democratic  party 
was  the  more  socialistic 
of  the  two.  Thus  it 
was,  in  a  way,  a  social 
revolution. 
A.  I  agree  with  you 
completely  in  that.  It 
illustrates  my  point  that 
a  gi'eat  revolution  is  go¬ 
ing  on  now.  I  realize 
the  deep  popular  discon¬ 
tent  in  the  country,  and 
the  dangers  which  may 
follow  when  masses  of 
uninformed  voters  act 
on  impulse  or  prejudice 
and  without  reason. 
That  is  all  the  more 
reason  why  farmers, 
who  represent  the  most 
solid  and  substantial 
element  in  the  country, 
should  know  what  is  go¬ 
ing  on.  The  point  I 
wished  to  make  was 
that  the  public  at  large 
does  not  realize  the  truth 
that  laws  already  made 
have  curbed  the  power 
of  capital  and  now  com¬ 
pel  it  to  pay  a  great 
share  of  public  ex¬ 
penses.  There  is  an  ac¬ 
tual  redistribution  of 
wealth  now  going  on  in 
vast  that  its  operations 
are  not  perceived  by  the  general  run  of  people. 
Lightning  and  A  Rodded  Barn 
I  have  a  new  barn  nearly  completed,  96x35x22  ft., 
covered  with  spruce  siding,  painted,  slate  roof  with 
16-ounce  copper  sheet  ridge.  How  much  protection  are 
copper  lightning  rods,  and  how  should  they  be  put  up? 
Slates  are  easily  broken  in  working  on  roof  installing 
Could  a  point  be  put  on  each  end  of  barn 
siding,  extending  4  ft.  above  ridge,  then  run  down 
around  cornice  and  eaves,  and  well  grounded,  or  a  high 
pole  rod  close  to  barn?  Or  could  the  rod  be  soldered 
to  the  copper  ridge  and  grounded,  if  rods  are  of  value? 
Mohawk,  N.  Y.  c.  P  „ 
INGE  the  days  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  his 
kite  string,  bottle  and  key,  there  has  been  end¬ 
less  discussion  concerning  the  merits  of  lightning 
rods.  That  there  is  need  of  some  protection  of  coun¬ 
try  property  against  damage  from  lightning  is  evi¬ 
denced  by  a  report  recently  noted  in  which  it  was 
stated  that  there  were  from  500  to  800  deaths  yearly^ 
Photo  by  H.  Armstrong  Itoberts 
this  country  on  a  scale  so 
