If this work should come to be regarded as a general diagnosis of the diseased situation, we may rest assured that there are many thousands of people who will count it their sacred duty to find the proper remedy for curing the disease of the national organism. For it will be seen that the situation is rapidly growing worse every year with the increase of population, and there must be an end to the disease. Surely, if the increase of the national wealth is becoming less than the continual net incomes of the private monopolies, trusts and combinations, it is not difficult to recognize that the situation is already very bad. It is therefore desirable that every one should carefully learn the situation. THE AUTHOR. Chicago, April 1, 1900. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES. Page. Preliminary: opinions and views 1 Conclusions of Mr. G. K. Holmes, U. S. Census Expert, 5 illustrated by diagrams and Table I Conclusions of Mr. Thos. G. Shearman 11 Diagrams, Table II, and explanation 12 Conclusions of Dr. C. B. Spahr 18 Diagrams, Table III, and explanation 20 CHAPTER II. STATISTICS OF WEALTH OWNERS. Statistics of aggregate wealth 27 Economic classes of families analysed 28 Holders of wealth, tenants and mortgagors 32 Reciprocal comparison of contradictory classes 39 Comparison of the poor and the rich families 42 Right table resulting from comparisons 45 Comparison of families in tables of different authorities: 47 averages of family wealth Illustrative chart showing worth of individuals 50 CHAPTER III. THE PROPERTIED AND PROPERTYLESS PEOPLE. Fundamental difference in number of resources of the propertied 53 and propertyless Sources of multiple incomes of the wealth owners 54 (Extent of mechanical forces applied to labor in favor of the 57 wealthy) A propertyless man himself is a source of multiple expenses in 61 favor of the propertied Primogeniture replaced by dividogenesure, the principle of 70 dividogenesure defined and explained CHAPTER IV. ABNORMITY OF THE SOCIAL SITUATION. Numbers of the people subject to dividogenesure 78