I told Mr. Humphreys that I was very glad to meet him and would do my best to help him pass the time pleasantly during his enforced delay. I found he was posted on his own country, Australia. He knew something about its geology and about its politics also. I announced that we would have an evening together with our professors of geology and economics in a day or two, as soon as it could be arranged. In the meantime I asked him whether he liked to dance? He said he did, and my wife, who had met him by this time, invited him to spend that very evening with us—we expected some young people in to dance and thought it might amuse him. He came and was much liked by the young folks. A few evenings later he came to tea with us and spent the evening with the two professors and their wives. Of course they pumped him for first-hand information and obtained it. We spent a delightful and very profitable evening together.
The next morning I proposed to take him over my publishing house. We met there and made the rounds. I showed him some of our books and he appeared to be more than ordinarily interested in them. As he was leaving he informed me that he was starting for the West in the morning after. “I don’t see why,” he said, “I might not sell some of your books myself. I am a scientific bookseller in Melbourne, and I shall take great pleasure in selling as many of your books as I can.”
A Defense of the Wealthy
Contrary to a generally held opinion, there are some wealthy people who may be successfully defended. There are not so many of them, however, that any serious disturbance need be created. There is, perhaps, some danger that these may be overlooked in the universal damnation that is being handed out to the malefactors of great wealth.
The first exception to be noted is that of the inventor. Quite a few of these men have lightened our tasks to a very considerable extent. They have in a few cases amassed a competence by taxing us for their inventions for seventeen years. After that their work is free for all, at least in theory. A great many of these men have had no benefit from their inventions and might well be pensioned from public funds. In not a few cases the profits that should have gone to them have been filched by men who had money to lend. Such cases should be overhauled and the ill-gotten gains of the banker folks restored to their proper owners. It would be well also to give the bankers the spanking they need, thus making one job of the whole business.
When we think that Whitney, who invented the cotton gin; Steinmetz, the electrical wizard; Pupin, who perfected the telephone; Edison, Gray, Acheson, Morse, McCormick and thousands of others, some as well, others less well known belong to this class, we realize how greatly we are indebted to them, and how cheaply we get off by allowing them to profit by their inventions for seventeen short years.
Then there are some school teachers and college professors who might be excepted and a few ministers. Some of these fellows married money, and we will not except these; some of them inherited money, and we will not except these; a few of them stole money, and these must be spanked. After these exceptions have been made there will be a few left and they have lived such a deuce of a life that we will let them go.
There does not seem to be any great harm in the man who saved in order that he might keep out of the almshouse when he grew too old to work. We should not tax these people, either, if they have only moderate means. Our wise legislators, however, do not seem to think so. Many cases of this kind have been heard of during and since the late unpleasantness where the poor souls had a hard time keeping body and spirit together after the tax collector was through with them.