income, indicating possibly a slight movement toward concentration.

In England, a comparison of the estates admitted to probate in 1838 and 1891, by a method of interpretation similar to the one used in the foregoing paragraph, shows a marked concentration. Calculating from the figures quoted by Dr. Spahr, we find that in 1838 the richest 4 per cent of the estates amounted to 56.6 per cent of the total wealth, while in 1891 the richest 4 per cent of the estates amounted to 68.3 per cent of the total wealth. In this country there are practically no statistics in this connection.

Let us now turn to the indirect method. Just as a surveyor checks with his common sense the results of his measurement of a field, so we must ask whether the results of the direct method are reasonable or absurd. Some writers, in order to show a diffusion of wealth, point to a general increase in wages and to the fact that the poor now consume many things that the rich could not have afforded a number of years ago. What they really do succeed in proving is that the lower classes have not been wholly excluded from the benefits of the general increase in wealth; but no matter how firmly that point is established, it still remains an open question whether the concentration is greater or less.

Another method of checking the results of the direct method is to appeal to common observation. What do persons coming from different sections

of the country or those who have travelled widely report as to what they have actually observed? Those coming from the smaller towns and from the country seem to be impressed with the existence of a general well-being.1 Comfortable homes seem to be the rule, and the excessively rich the exception. But those who live in the large cities are struck with the wide gulf between the rich and the poor. Many are in abject misery, and some are spending for trifles what would be a fortune to others. Obviously, such general considerations cannot lead to very definite conclusions, but it does not seem to the author that, on the whole, they contradict the impression which one gets from the statistics by the direct method. It doubtless is true that all classes have shared in the increased wealth production, and yet it is true that a considerable degree of concentration exists in the United States at the present time. A rather small part of the population receives a rather large part of the nation's income. Of course, we do not want an equal distribution. It is desirable to give men a special reward for special effort, and that means inequality of income. The captains of industry must be paid for their industrial leadership, but it is not improbable that society is now paying them a price somewhat higher than necessary.

1 This is particularly the case in the middle West.

LITERATURE

Much as this subject has been talked about, very little of value has been written upon it. The best works for use in connection with this chapter, are the following:

GIFFEN, SIR ROBERT, The Progress of the Working Classes in the Last Half-century with Note on American Wages. New York, 1888. A well-known and popular presentation by one of the leading statisticians of our time. It is held by many, that a more critical examination of statistics gives a less roseate view of the progress of the working classes.

SPAHR, CHARLES B., The Present Distribution of Wealth in the United States. New York, 1896. This work gives references to other books dealing with the same subject. The work contains some mistakes, and the subject is inadequately developed, and statistically is only brought down to 1896. It needs a careful revision and enlargement, but even in its present form it has much valuable information for the student. LEROY-BEAULIEU, PAUL, Essai sur la répartition des richesses et sur la tendance à une moindre inégalité des conditions. 4th ed. Paris, 1896. Takes an extremely optimistic view of the forces at work in distribution, maintaining that inequality in economic conditions is diminishing. MAYO-SMITH, RICHMOND M., Statistics and Economics. New York, 1899. Bk. III, Distribution. This is a careful and critical statistical examination of the distribution of wealth. Professor Mayo-Smith criticises the results reached by Dr. Spahr, and the two books should be read together.

PARETO, VILFREDO, Cours d' Economie Politique. Lausanne and Paris, 1897. Vol. II, Bk. III, Ch. I. Treats the subject of distribution mathematically.

CHAPTER VII

THE INHERITANCE OF PROPERTY

THE chief modern industrial problem is often stated to be the distribution of property. What is wanted is widely diffused property, and it is desired to bring about this wide diffusion without injustice, and without injury to the springs of economic activity.

Many proposals are brought forward which aim to produce a more general prosperity. Two of the best known are the single tax and socialism. These, however, apart from all other considerations, encounter the strongest obstacles to their introduction because they are so adverse to powerful private interests. Wise social reform will always seek for the line of least resistance. It is granted that the end proposed by socialism and the single tax is desirable in so far as it contemplates a wide distribution of wealth,1 but before committing ourselves to any extreme doctrines it is well to ask, What can be done without radical change?-in other words, what can we accomplish in order to ameliorate the condition of the masses without departure

1 This does not mean an indorsement of the particular sort of distribution advocated either by socialism or the single tax.

from the fundamental principles of the existing social order? When we reflect upon it, we find that there are many things, and that these are quite sufficient to occupy the thoughts and energies of well-wishers of their kind for a long time to

come.

What can be done by a regulation of inheritance to change the distribution of property, and consequently of the opportunities and income which property affords? Once in a generation nearly all property changes owners, and that makes possible the greatest changes within half a century. There is a perpetual flow of property from the dead to the living, and it is not difficult by means of law to exercise a decided influence over this current. When we attempt to bring about reform and improvement by a wise regulation of inheritance, we have a solid basis of experience to help us.

The regulation of inheritance is a much larger question than the mere taxation of inheritance. It implies, first of all, the formulation of rules to determine the passage of property from the dead to the living. It must be decided, on the one hand, who are heirs and how the property is to be divided among them, where there is no will or testament; and then, on the other, the law must determine what kind of limitations are to be placed upon the right to dispose of property by will and testament. Provisions of this kind have in themselves a remarkable influence upon the distribution of wealth. A law providing that property must be distributed