xt7wwp9t2q46_106 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61.dao.xml American Liberty League 37 linear feet archival material English University of Kentucky This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed.  Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically.  Physical rights are retained by the owning repository.  Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws.  For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. Jouett Shouse Collection (American Liberty League Pamphlets), No. 109 "Entrenched Greed" Speech of Dr. George Barton Cutten, President of Colgate University before the New York Chapter, American Institute of Banking, February 8, 1936 text No. 109 "Entrenched Greed" Speech of Dr. George Barton Cutten, President of Colgate University before the New York Chapter, American Institute of Banking, February 8, 1936 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_109/Am_Lib_Leag_109_001/Am_Lib_Leag_109_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_106 xt7wwp9t2q46 AN INVITATION TO JOIN THE   —i—————-—t--——.
AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE   * * I
We extend to every American citizen who believes in E ' A   0 l
the fundamental principles which gave birth to the  
Constitution of the United States an invitation to be-    
come a member of the American Liberty League.  
You may indicate your acceptance of this invitation   ¤ A
by filling in the necessary information as to your name   n
and address on the enrollment blank below and mailing  
it to American Liberty League, National Press Building,   A A
Washington, D. C. `   * * * ”
There are no fees or dues. If you are willing and able   ` ·
to give monetary help for the League’s support your E
contribution will be appreciated, as our activities are E
supported entirely by the voluntary gifts of our  
members. —   Speech of
  DR. GEORGE BARTON CUI IEN I
ENROLLMENT BLANK 5
Q President of Colgate University and Mem-
Datc I Q ber of the National Advisory Council
Q . of the American Liberty League
I favor the principles and purposes of the American E before the
Liberty League and request that I he enrolled as a E
I 3 New York Chapter, American
regu ar b A 5 Institute of Bank'
_ *contributing mcm E"   A _ mg
_ if E February 8, 1936
Signature  __m.. · g  
{ Name (Mr. Mrs. Miss) E A ' .
A A   c A I {Ric °
gg       44*
·; Street ; ` " T A
==— E   =   ···
§   geo g
2 ———-————————-————— ; ry Let
¤.• Town ;
l County State g   I
*As a contributing member I desire to give $ _____ A   AMERIC LIBERTY LEAGUE
· Q National Headquarters
to help support the activities of the League: Cash here- Q NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
with lnstallments as follows: ________ E 1 I WASHINGTON, D·C·
    * *
  : t
  Document No. l09 l
(109) t  

 Entrcnchcd Greed s a mortgage on its satellite. Where is the Croesus ,
fortune now`? Who can tell?
y ~ OUR MEMORY does not have to be very tena-
C THQSE   occupy high ofhccs in thc land, j cious to lead us to know what effect depressions
and especially is this true of elective offices, ` h8Ve 11P011 f01’t1111eS· Now taxes are helping de-
should be listened to with careful consideration i P1‘eSS1011S· · Changes of values make rich men
and respect by those who are citizens of the 1 Pooi`· MY gi’ai1df81he1', 8 hhlff old sea Captain,
` grcut republic; Up to thc Prcccut thuc, this ~ saved his money and invested it in wooden
does not prevent us from scrutinizing any ut- shiPs· As 8 S1=11I01‘, he knew how safe such in-
tered statements questioningly, and, I may say. 1 Vestments were- He heVei` made a V0Yage Whe11
even critically. With this in mind I should like he did not make 111011eY for his owners. He
to bring to your attention two quotations from iiveti to see Wooden ships 8 d1`11g 011 the market
the address which the President of the United o anti his modest fortune e11111‘eiY gone. You have
s States made to Congress on the occasion of the ‘ seen the same Piooess of destruction going 011 C I
meetingiof that body on January third of this within the last fewyears in connection with
Yoon e interurban railroads and trolley lines; at one
The first quotation Consistsi of two WOrds.— · time a profitable investment, now the unused
nacntrcnchcd grCcd"._.uScd in rcfcroucc to cor. rails are rusting in the streets. I do not know
tain of our citizenry. Whom hc mount by that the economists have formulated a law con-
I this was quite apparent. He left no ground for eeihihg this. but We all k110W that fortunes tend
ambiguity. Ho meanpt such mcu uc you uI·c.. to flatten out. If all else fails, the second or
or Such mcu uc you hope to hc_ What he Said third generations effectively distribute it, and
` about you was far from flattering. He left the s sh-ittsieeves again aPPoai` iii the f8111iiY· The
impression upon all who heard or read his ad- taet that We have ho law vf P1‘i1?¤0ge111t111‘e 111
dress that you are dangerous men, and the more · ‘ this e01111t1‘Y and that a fortune goes net te the
y I successful you are in your Professional and busi, oldest   is   arnong 3].]. the children
ness life the more dangerous you will become. tends to tiiitiiie Whatever PoWoi' mo1ieY has 31111
It is a Irlattgr Of great regret on the part Of to equalize  b€I'I€f1tS. HOW few I`OI`tuI1€S IIRVC I
those who possess wealth that it is not en- _ iasteii a eehttii`Yi   I
trenched more securely. Concentration of As the iastihg o[tiaiitY of i`01`t1111eS has been
wealth is a temporary affair and less potent than t gt`eatiY exaggerated. so aiso has the political
. many suppose. Wealth tends to dissipate itself   Power of moneY theeh eXa§gei`atod· It h8S S0111e
y by its Own Weight It has a Way of disappcur,   y effect, but it has always been local and limited. t
V ing. If it lasted and increased as the mathema- I The instinot ot night with its aeoomliahyihg
ticians would have us believe is possible, it ‘ emotion of tear oah sWaY oiootiohs 111 this OT
would crush us. For example, the mathema- anY other eotmti`Y so mueh more oitootiVeiY
_ tician will tell you that one dollar invested at *1 than money that the tWo are 1101 to be 00111-
. s the beginning of the Christian era would in-, 3 Patett The iast two eieetiohs in this country
crease at compound interest to some staggering Q were so dominated hY aight that moheYfWo1ii€i
t Sum” fel- beyond my comp1·chcuSiou_hut it have been without influence had it been used: I
ngogr does! If Crgggust pocccccjous had any it was the merest bagatelle. In 1928 we fled
lasting power, and jutcrcst had to be paid ou ` from Smith, in 1932 from Hoover——we cared not
them, he would long ago have exhausted all iwhete We Went- The attempt to ti`Y to Pi`oVo
wealth, have owned the wholc worh] and had that monied interests took us into the world
. ~ . ” * 2 t 1 3 .

 war has so far appeared a boomerang to the wells and the thousa11ds of different industries
investigators. Documentary evidence proved which furnish opportunities for labor and for
the desire on the part of the capitalist to con- the new foundationfor the creation of more
form to the wishes of the government. Patriot- wealth for the world. We are told that govern-
ism is not a prerogative of the poor, and love ment could do this as well, but so far that is to
of country is not a stranger to the rich. be proved. Experiments up to the present date
have not been encouraging. Wealth is not
ON THE OTHER hand, no country in the hiS_ created by destroying property, and so far goy-
tory of the world has ever benefitted more than crnmiims have been far m?1`C _Su°°'?SSfu1 m ~
America from the concentration of capital. Ex- Spending money than m makmg lt'
_ amples surround us. See the benefits which
have come from the Rockefeller fortune: col- ONE ADVANTAGE of the concentration of
leges endowed, hospitals built, medical research wealth in private hands is that individuals are
encouraged, fatal diseases banished. Millions y always willing to take a risk for the benefit of
of people not only in this country but all over ; progress—too willing some times. In the days
the world who have never heard the name of of canals in this state, whether they were owned
' Rockefeller have been benefitted and made and operated by the government or by private
whole. I never saw Mr. Carnegie but I am a persons, the capital for railroads must have
beneficiary of his business ability. Aged col- g come from individuals, for no government
s lege professors, widows and orphans have been would have dared to have invested in an enter-
made glad, libraries. have been builded, inter- prise like railroads which would have destroyed
national relations have become more friendly the work and income of so many citizens. While
{ because this man lived and gathered wealth. the government has given some encouragement
Not only colored men of the south but indi- through mail subsidies, it has been private capi-
rectly the white men as well have benefitted be- tal which has developed the steamboat, the
cause Mr. Rosenwald chose to gather money in railroad engine, the motor truck, and the air-
order to distribute it. My classmate Edward plane. What is true in transportation is equally
S. Harkness has lavished money upon Harvard {true in the other branches of industry.
and Yale as well as upon many other institu- But we may go a step further: objection is
. tions and objects, so that men of the future may made 11073 only to concentration of capita] in
have advantages which no government could or individual hands, but to the concentration of
would bestow; So one might continue——if these thi? Wiialilll of lnany individuals in trusts or cor-
_ are the greedy they have a magnificent way of P0raii011S. Some objectors have not thought
r expressing their greed. T their way through. We are living in the days
No monied men have ever destroyed a coun- f of large enterprises, and large enterprises re-
try or a civilization by their wealth, but, on the . quire gI'€¤iT RHIOUMS of capital. When telephone
o contrary, have contributed to both. Millions of lines operated in one town or county, when a
people think that wealthy men kggp their railroad ran from Schenectady to Utica, when
money in ten dollar bills deposited in a bank, . ’ a large factory employed twenty men, net much
y When they talk about distribution of wealth capital was required for such a business, New
the matter becomes very simple. All that is a telephone company operates from New York
necessary is for those men to withdraw their to California, railroads are transcontinenta],
money and pass it around. They little know single factories employtens of thousands. Think
y that this is the money which provides steel of trying to telepho11e to San Francisco if sixty
mills and railroads and cotton factories and oil telephone companies operated the wires, think
4 5.

 of geing ever a sueeessien nf railroads eightv The tsstimshy of history is unanimous concern-
rnues 1eng· Yeu saY rr is nnPess1bte""vve ean' ing its malignant results. It affects the most
net dn its and Yeu ara rtghtt but with that wealthy and the poorest in the land and lays its
inevitably comes a concentration of capital to clutching hand upon grcat and Small, thc nrincc
unanee the grant eenrbrnatrens of tedaY· n and the pauper, and that is the greed for con-
Fortunately, too, these large combinations do ccntmtcd Political ncwcn
not increase costs but lower them,,notwithstand- Sch I ccnlc to the Scccnd quotation {rcm thc
ins the elanns of the trust busters· Did tha President°s speech to which I wish to call your
n braakins np dfrha Standard eil in rarinna darn- sttshtish. ath thirty-four months ws have built
Panres reduee Prrees? ,Has tha eetnbrnatten of up new instruments of political power,” and he
anrnmnbda anrnpanraa rnaraaaad prrnaa? Prob- r ihtimstss that there srs msts to toms. This
ablv there has never been an tndustrtat trtumph greed we have a right to fear because its effects
equal rn drasanrnmnbila industrv in this annnrry are so widespread and so vital. Never before
which has successively year after year since the have thcy been Sc dangerous. Formerly thc},
dave af tha gas buggvv given us a better aute‘ ‘ were local and constricted, now because of the
rnebue ter less rneneY· n   means of communication they are far more [
v   effective and widespread. Formerly they meant
1 WHILE IT SEEMS that the capacity for greed Q ’ glide  a lclfinomlcally fo; gfglcigmcnts
was, by the President, attributed to persons like mtg mr u Y was Concern? wi 6 lice-
= . . ulation of conduct, the administration of jus-
. yourselves, greed is a state of mind not to be n t_ br d f d br 1 d N
measured by success or attainment. I fear a 1?C’ Pu lc B cnc€’ an _Pu lcd an a' OW
. s - . with governments even trying to peek 1nto our
college president may be as greedy for money t t HH d _th 11 th f th
a as a millionaire, and a pauper may be as greedy _ ESUZ; ilstdanés   lgrs, tg tgcsigxiicsbgliong
as a college president. The holdwhich the so- Y J gg _   ’
. . passed to one man for dispersion on the eve of
called Townsend Plan and s1m1lar share-the- _ _ _
n 1 . an election, concentrated political power touches
wea th schemes have gained among the people th _ tt b _ f h h bl _ _ d
n who have been financially unsuccessful shows   8 Helios d time 0 Ht C html ficst ctugcm 2; s
quite conclusively that the capacity for greed cspccla Y OCS It a Bet lm mmma y' C
. . have really combined 1n modern days both po-
, for money is not confined to any one class, or 1f 1_t_ al d _ 1 A d h t Y
  ’ t t th f 1 1 · . 1nlC an economic power. n w a power.
‘ c SO no . O 6 Success u C ass as . The wildest dream of the nineteenth century
Nor 1S greed confined to any one object. The _ _ .
n . . . ‘ could not have conceived of 1t. h
n original object of greed was food——and some
· v still show greed in this form. I would not be  
greedy forsnyour money but I’m surel would be · FOR TWO THOUSAND Years and rnere we
` for your old American silver, especially your have been trvtng rn reaeh a Pesttren Where the
gpggng, Others would bg g1·cgdy_fOI· Stamps O1- n danger of political greed would be eliminated.
_ for good clothes or for public acclaim. These Q It nas been a leng roads it has been a reugh f
forms of greed can _ only be harmful to the rand, and the Wav has been sbrinkted with the I
greedy, and others might not know or care con- ` bleed of rareeeing Inen· It base hnwarars been
cerning our greed. ~ a road which was leading toward the light of a
e better day. Feudalism curbed the absolute at
_ T A e monarch, and both had to be destroyed to bring s
  Isa heweverv anether terrn nf greed about the time when every man’s home was a
s vvhteh ts eharged with danger te. both the lndir y castle and when every voter was a king. Magna _
vtdual Shewmg It and tha eennnunrtv at large- Charta had to be signed amid the threatenings
h 6 T 7 T

 of the people, and kings’ heads rolled from the law makers to make a football out of the Con-
block. It was a stern business but a necessary stitution, and you cannot blame them for refus-
one. P ing to listen to your avowals of tender solicitude .
We thought we had made concentration of now.
it power in an individual or a group impossible
and We have delle ll lu lwe Ways' In the larsl IT IS NOT necessary for us to lookinto remote
place, we have diSt1‘1b11t6