The American Empire Part 12

The system of English landlordism (which showed itself at its worst in the absentee landlordism of Ireland) differed from Feudalism in this essential respect,--Feudalism was based upon the idea of the divine right of kings. English landlordism was based on the idea of divine right of property. English landlordism is the immediate ancestor of the property concept that is universally accepted in the business world of to-day.

The evils of Feudalism and of landlordism were well known to the American colonists who were under the impression that they arose not from the fact of ownership, but from the concentration of ownership. The resources of the new world seemed limitless, and the possibility that landlordism might show its ugly head on this side of the Atlantic was too remote for serious consideration.

With the independence of the United States a.s.sured after the War of 1812; with the growth of industry, and the coming of tens of thousands of new settlers, the future of democracy seemed bright. Daniel Webster characterized the outlook in 1821 by saying, "A country of such vast extent, with such varieties of soil and climate, with so much public spirit and private enterprise, with a population increasing so much beyond former examples, ... so free in its inst.i.tutions, so mild in its laws, so secure in the t.i.tle it confers on every man to his own acquisitions,--needs nothing but time and peace to carry it forward to almost any point of advancement."[43]

"So free in its inst.i.tutions, so mild in its laws, so secure in the t.i.tle it confers on every man to his own acquisitions,"--the words were prophetic. At the moment when they were uttered the forces were busy that were destined to realize Webster's dream, on an imperial scale, at the expense of the freedom which he prized. Men were free to get what they could, and once having secured it, they were safeguarded in its possession. Property ownership was a virtue universally commended.

Const.i.tutions were drawn and laws were framed to guarantee to property owners the rights to their property, even in cases where this property consisted of the bodies of their fellow men.

The movement toward the protection of property rights has been progressive. Webster as a representative of the dominant interests of the country a hundred years ago rejoiced that every man had a secure t.i.tle to "his own acquisitions," at a time when the property of the country was generally owned by those who had expended some personal effort in acquiring it. It was a long step from these personal acquisitions to the tens of billions of wealth in the hands of twentieth century American corporations. Daniel Webster helped to bridge the gap. He was responsible, at least in part, for the Dartmouth College Decision (1816) in which the Supreme Court ruled that a charter, granted by a state, is a contract that cannot be modified at will by the state.

This decision made the corporation, once created and chartered, a free agent. Then came the Fourteenth Amendment with its provision that "no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law." The amendment was intended to benefit negroes. It has been used to place property ownership first among the American beat.i.tudes.

Corporations are "persons" in the eyes of the law. When the state of California tried to tax the property of the Southern Pacific Railroad at a rate different from that which it imposed on persons, the Supreme Court declared the law unconst.i.tutional. This decision, coupled with that in the Dartmouth College Case secured for a corporation "the same immunities as any other person; and since the charter creating a corporation is a contract, whose obligation cannot be impaired by the one-sided act of a legislature, its const.i.tutional position, as property holder, is much stronger than anywhere in Europe." These decisions "have had the effect of placing the modern industrial corporation in an almost impregnable const.i.tutional position."[44]

Surrounded by const.i.tutional guarantees, armed with legal privileges and prerogatives and employing the language of liberty, the private property interests in the United States have gone forward from victory to victory, extending their power as they increased and concentrated their possessions.

3. _Safeguarding Property Rights_

The efforts of Daniel Webster and his contemporaries to protect "acquisitions" have been seconded, with extraordinary ability, by business organizers, accountants, lawyers and bankers, who have broadened the field of their endeavors until it includes not merely "acquisitions," but all "property rights." Daniel Webster lived before the era of corporations. He thought of "acquisitions" as property secured through the personal efforts of the human being who possessed it. To-day more than half of the total property and probably more than three-quarters of productive wealth is owned by corporations. It required ability and foresight to extend the right of "acquisitions" to the rights of corporate stocks and bonds. The leaders among the property owners possessed the necessary qualifications. They did their work masterfully, and to-day corporate property rights are more securely protected than were the rights of acquisitions a hundred years ago.

The safeguards that have been thrown about property are simple and effective. They arose quite naturally out of the rapidly developing structure of industrialism.

_First_--There was an immense increase in the amount of property and of surplus in the hands of the wealth-owning cla.s.s. After the new industry was brought into being with the Industrial Revolution, economic life no longer depended so exclusively upon agricultural land. Coal, iron, copper, cement, and many other resources could now be utilized, making possible a wider field for property rights. Again, the amount of surplus that could be produced by one worker, with the a.s.sistance of a machine, was much greater than under the agricultural system.

_Second_--The new method of conducting economic affairs gave the property owners greater security of possession. Property holders always have been fearful that some fate might overtake their property, forcing them into the ranks of the non-possessors. When property was in the form of bullion or jewels, the danger of loss was comparatively great. The Feudal aristocracy, with its land-holdings, was more secure.

Land-holdings were also more satisfactory. Jewels and plate do not pay any rent, but tenants do. Thus the owner of land had security plus a regular income.

The corporation facilitated possession by providing a means (stocks and bonds) whereby the property owner was under no obligation other than that of clipping coupons or cashing interest checks upon "securities"

that are matters of public record; issued by corporations that make detailed financial reports, and that are subject to vigorous public inspection and, in the cases of banks and other financial organizations, to the most stringent regulation.

_Third_--Greater permanence has been secured for property advantages.

Corporations have perpetual, uninterrupted life. The deaths of persons do not affect them. The corporation also overcame the danger of the dissipation of property in the process of "three generations from shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves." The worthless son of the thrifty parent may still be able to squander his inheritance, but that simply means a transfer of the t.i.tle to his stocks and bonds. The property itself remains intact.

_Fourth_--Property has secured a claim on income that is, in the last a.n.a.lysis, prior to the claim of the worker.

When a man ran his own business, investing his capital, putting back part of his earnings, and taking from the business only what he needed for his personal expenses, "profits" were a matter of good fortune.

There were "good years" and "bad years," when profits were high or low.

Many years closed with no profit at all. The average farmer still handles his business in that way.

The incorporation of business, and the issuing of bonds and stocks has revolutionized this situation. It is no longer possible to "wait till things pick up." If the business has issued a million in bonds, at five per cent, there is an interest charge of $50,000 that must be met each year. There may be no money to lay out for repairs and needed improvements, but if the business is to remain solvent, it must pay the interest on its bonds.

Businesses that are issuing securities to the public face the same situation with regard to their stocks. Wise directors see to it that a regular rate, rather than a high rate of dividends, is paid. Regularity means greater certainty and stability, hence better consideration from the investing public.

_Fifth_--The practices of the modern economic world have gone far to increase the security of property rights.

Business men have worked ardently to "stabilize" business. They have insisted upon the importance of "business sanity;" of conservatism in finance; of the returns due a man who risks his wealth in a business venture; and of the fundamental necessity of maintaining business on a sound basis. After centuries of experiment they have evolved what they regard as a safe and sane method of financial business procedure. Every successful business man tried to live up to the following well-established formula.

First, he pays out of his total returns, or gross receipts, the ordinary costs of doing business--materials, labor, repairs and the like. These payments are known as running expenses or up-keep.

Second, after up-keep charges are paid he takes the remainder, called gross income, and pays out of it the fixed charges--taxes, insurance, interest and depreciation.

Third, the business man, having paid all of the necessary expenses of doing business (the running expenses and the fixed charges), has left a fund (net income) which, roughly speaking, is the profits of the business. Out of this net income, dividends are paid, improvements and extensions of the plant are provided for.

Fourth, the careful business man increases the stability of his business by adding something to his surplus or undivided profits.

The operating statistics of the United Steel Corporation for 1918 ill.u.s.trate the principle:

1. Gross Receipts $1,744,312,163 Manufacturing and Operating expenses including ordinary repairs 1,178,032,665 --------------- 2. Gross Earnings $ 566,279,498 Other income 40,474,823 --------------- $ 606,754,321

General Expense, (including commission and selling expense, taxes, etc.) 337,077,986 Interest, depreciation, sinking fund, etc. 144,358,958 -------------- 3. Net Income $ 125,317,377 Dividends 96,382,027 -------------- 4. Surplus for the year $ 28,935,350 Total surplus 460,596,154

Like every carefully handled business, the Steel Corporation,--

1. Paid its running expenses, 2. Paid its fixed obligations, 3. Divided up its profits, 4. And kept a nest egg.

The effectiveness of such means of stabilizing property income is ill.u.s.trated by a compilation (published in the _Wall Street Journal_ for August 7th, 1919) of the business of 104 American corporations between December 31, 1914, and December 31, 1918. The inventories--value of property owned--had increased from 1,192 millions to 2,624 millions of dollars; the gain in surplus, during the four years, was 1,941 millions; the increase in "working capital" was 1,876 millions. These corporations, representing only a small fraction of the total business of the country, had added billions to their property values during the four years.

These various items,--up-keep; depreciation; insurance; taxes; interest; dividends and surplus,--are recognized universally by legislatures and courts as "legitimate" outlays. They, therefore, are elements that are always present in the computation of a "fair" price. The cost to the consumer of coffee, shoes, meat, blankets, coal and transportation are all figured on such a basis. Hence, it will be seen that each time the consumer buys a pair of shoes or a pound of meat, he is paying, with part of his money, for the stabilizing of property.

Fifth. Property t.i.tles under this system are rendered immortal. A thousand dollars, invested in 1880 in 5 per cent. 40 year bonds, will pay to the owner $2,000 in interest by 1920, at which time the owner gets his original thousand back again to be re-invested so long as he and his descendants care to do so. The dollar, invested in the business of the steel corporation, by the technical processes of bookkeeping, is constantly renewed. Not only does it pay a return to the owner, but literally, it never dies.

The community is built upon labor. Its processes are continued and its wealth is re-created by labor. The men who work on the railroad keep the road operating; those who own the railroad owe to it no personal fealty, and perform upon it no personal service. If the worker dies, the train must stop until he is replaced; if the owner dies, the clerk records a change of name in the registry books.

The well-ordered society will encourage work. It will aim to develop enthusiasm, to stimulate activity. Nevertheless, in "practical America"

a scheme of economic organization is being perfected under which the cream of life goes to the owners. They have the amplest opportunities.

They enjoy the first fruits.

4. _Property Rights and Civilization_

Under these circ.u.mstances, it is easy to see how "the rights of property" soon comes to mean the same thing as "civilization," and how "the preservation of law and order" is always interpreted as the protection of property. With a community organized on a basis which renders property rights supreme in all essential particulars, it is but natural that the perpetuation of these rights should be regarded as the perpetuation of civilization itself.

The present organization of economic life in the United States permits the wealth owners through their ownership to live without doing any work upon the work done by their fellows. As recipients of property income (rent, interest and dividends) they have a return for which they need perform no service,--a return that allows them to "live on their income."

The man who fails to a.s.sist in productive activity gives nothing of himself in return for the food, clothing and shelter which he enjoys,--that is, he lives on the labor of others. Where some have sowed and reaped, hammered and drilled, he has regaled himself on the fruits of their toil, while never toiling himself.

The matter appears most clearly in the case of an heir to an estate. The father dies, leaving his son the t.i.tle deeds to a piece of city land. If he has no confidence in his son's business ability or if his son is a minor, he may leave the land in trust, and have it administered in his son's interest by some well organized trust company. The father did not make the land, though he did buy it. The son neither made nor bought the land, it merely came to him; and yet each year he receives a rent-payment upon which he is able to live comfortably without doing any work. It must at once be apparent that this son of his father, economically speaking, performs no function in the community, but merely takes from the community an annual toll or rental based on his ownership of a part of the land upon, which his fellowmen depend for a living. Of what will this toll consist? Of bread, shoes, motor-cars, cigars, books and pictures,--the products of the labor of other men.

This son of his father is living on his income,--supported by the labor of other people. He performs no labor himself, and yet he is able to exist comfortably in a world where all of the things which are consumed are the direct or indirect product of the labor of some human being.

Living on one's income is not a new social experience, but it is relatively new in the United States. The practice found a reasonably effective expression in the feudalism of medieval Europe. It has been brought to extraordinary perfection under the industrialism of Twentieth Century America.

Imagine the feelings of the early inhabitants of the American colonies toward those few gentlemen who set themselves up as economically superior beings, and who insisted upon living without any labor, upon the labor performed by their fellows. It was against the suggestion of such a practice that Captain John Smith vociferated his famous "He that will not work, neither shall he eat." The suggestion that some should share in the proceeds of community life without partic.i.p.ating in the hardships that were involved in making a living seemed preposterous in those early days.