out the country, that no one is considered to be worthy of a position among the rich men of the United States who has not at least one million dollars, and many in New York are reputed to have fortunes varying from twenty to two hundred millions of dollars. The total number of millionaires in New York City, according to the New York Sun list of 1855, was only twenty-eight, while the total number, according to the Tribune list, had, in 1892, reached the enormous aggregate of eleven hundred and three. Now, the Tribune list is further instructive, because it gives the businesses in which the millionaires. of the country have made their fortunes, the aim being to show that the great wealth of the country cannot be traced to the protective tariff. And it may be remarked, incidentally, that the list is conclusive in this respect. What the list does show is the connection of the concentrated wealth of the country with monopoly of some sort or another, or with the gains of land ownership. Of course, these great fortunes have been partially earned, but very largely they have been individually unearned, and due to the receipt of economic surplus. A conservative estimate traces over three-fourths of the great fortunes of the country to a connection of some kind with economic surplus.1

Should the concentrated wealth due to private ownership and management of railways alone be widely diffused, it would produce a marked change in the distribution of wealth in the United States. Of course we cannot undo the past, but we can, in the future, secure management of monopolies favorable to a wide distribution of wealth; and a wise system of regulation and taxation of inheri

1 See "Distribution of Wealth," by John R. Commons, chap. vi.

tances, will, in time, tend to break up the mammoth fortunes of the country.

The socialization of monopoly is also calculated to have a favorable influence upon the distribution of wealth, because undertakings of this kind could well be managed in such a manner as to give a great many people an assured income. A wise civil service system would include all those employed in such undertakings, and would in most cases substitute salaries for wages, giving a regular and steady income. This is of the greatest importance, because what the wage-earner wants is not so much larger annual earnings, but a regular receipt of income in the place of the present uncertainty. The wage-earner frequently receives high wages, and then again receives nothing at all; and it requires more wisdom and strength than most of us have to estimate accurately average earnings under such circumstances, and to save up money in a time of plenty for the time of dearth, which will come, no one can tell when.

Furthermore, the abolition or restriction of unearned income would mean personally earned incomes in a larger number of cases; and this change would be beneficial not only to society as a whole, but to those cut off from the receipt of unearned income, which leads to idleness and extravagance, and thus to demoralization.

The socialization of natural monopolies of the kind. mentioned, would lead to their utilization for general social purposes, and they would be no longer exploited chiefly for dividends. The question would have to be asked, in what manner can they be so operated that they will yield the largest total social utility, and the answer would decide their management. Let us suppose, for example, the conclusion is reached that a greater decen

tralization of the population of cities is desired, in order that poor people finding employment in cities may still have homes of their own. It would be possible under government ownership and management, to introduce what is called the "Zone System;" that is to say, the country round about the cities could be divided into three or four different zones, using for each one a radius of a different length. Within the first zone, one rate of fare would be charged for all places. Within the second, a higher fare would be charged, but it would be the same for all places in this second zone. The same would hold true with the third zone, and for any additional number. If it were thought expedient, the fares could be reduced to cost. Not long ago, the system was introduced in Berlin, although it was not developed so far as might be desirable. It should be remembered, however, that, before it was introduced, workingmen's trains were running, on which the fare was only two-thirds of a cent a mile. The zone system has also been introduced into Hungary, and, it is claimed, with very beneficial results.

The Australian railways, owned and operated by the state, are to some extent managed for general social purposes, and the school children are carried free in some parts of Australia, thus helping to scatter the population of cities over larger areas.

Railways can also be so managed under government ownership that they will increase the facilities and ease of travel, thus making it possible for more people to visit different parts of their own country, and even foreign countries. It is altogether desirable that railways should increase enjoyment, and make it easy for people to see the beauties of nature, and thus to cultivate in them an appreciation of these beauties. Macaulay says,

"Of all inventions, the alphabet and printing-press alone excepted, those inventions which abridge space have done. most for civilization." If this is true, we must favor an administration of railways, telegraphs, etc., which will place them most fully at the service of the public, making social welfare the chief consideration.

Other monopolies, especially municipal monopolies, could, under municipal ownership and operation, be managed with reference to the greatest good of the greatest number. A special consideration could be shown to those who require help. The working-woman who, in cities, trudges to and from her work because she cannot pay a five cent street-car fare, of which two cents represent economic surplus, could frequently ride instead of walk, if the fare were reduced to three cents.

CHAPTER III.

SOCIALIZATION OF MONOPOLY. (Continued.)

NATURAL MONOPOLIES AND PRESENT PROBLEMS.

THE Socialization of natural monopolies is a prerequisite for the solution of the problems of the present time connected with monopoly. So far as the natural monopolies themselves are concerned, it means the abolition of private monopoly. But we have also a class of dependent monopolies artificial monopolies, which become such on account of their connection with natural monopolies. Businesses which are not monopolies of their own nature frequently become such when they are able to attach themselves firmly to natural monopolies. Railway favoritism has helped to build up many monopolies. Coal mining, for example, has attached itself to railways, and in many instances has become a part of the railway business. Oil refineries have received special conces sions from railways, and many manufacturers have been aided by rebates. An illustration of a monopoly secured through the assistance of railways is afforded by the business of transporting passengers and baggage to and from railway stations, and between different railway stations in cities. Companies have been formed for this purpose in all large American cities, and the agents of these companies have the exclusive right of access to passengers on trains and in the railway stations. The result is a monopoly price, and one, in some instances,