Individually the members of the wealth-controlling class have learned that "in union there is strength"; collectively they are gripped by the "cohesion of wealth"--the class conscious instinct of an associated group of human beings who have much to gain and everything to lose. FOOTNOTES: [37] The 169 largest railroads in the United States have issued 84,418,796 shares of stock. ("American Labor Year Book," 1917-18, p. 169.) Theoretically, therefore, there might be eighty-four millions of owners of the American railroads. [38] Summary of the Report of the Federal Trade Commission on the Meat Packing Industry, July 3, 1918, Wash., Govt. Print., 1918. VIII. THEIR UNITED STATES 1. _Translating Wealth into Power_ The first object of the economic struggle is wealth. The second is power. At the end of their era of competition, the leaders of American business found themselves masters of such vast stores of wealth that they were released from the paralyzing fear of starvation, and were guaranteed the comforts and luxuries of life. Had these men sought wealth as a means of satisfying their physical needs their object would have been attained. The gratification of personal wants is only a minor element in the lives of the rich. After they have secured the things desired, they strive for the power that will give them control over their fellows. The possession of things, is, in itself, a narrow field. The control over productive machinery gives him who exercises it the power to enjoy those things which the workers with machinery produce. The control over public affairs and over the forces that shape public opinion give him who exercises it the power to direct the thoughts and lives of the people. It is for these reasons that the keen, self-assertive, ambitious men who have come to the top in the rough and tumble of the business struggle have steadily extended their ownership and their control. 2. _The Wealth of the United States_ The bulk of American wealth, which consists for the most part of land and buildings, is concentrated in the centers of commerce and industry--in the regions of supreme business power. The last detailed estimate of the wealth of the United States was made by the Census Bureau for the year 1912. At that time, the total wealth of the country was placed at $187,739,000,000. (The estimate for 1920 is $500,000,000,000.) Roughly speaking, this represented an estimate of exchangeable values. The figures, at best, are rough approximations. Their importance lies, not in their accuracy, but in the picture which they give of relationships. The Total Wealth of the United States, Classified by Groups, with the Percentage of the Total Wealth in Each Group[39] _Total Estimated Wealth_