Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1906 — Marshall Field Gave Little To The Public Good. [ARTICLE]

Marshall Field Gave Little To The Public Good.

McCutcheon had a big cartoon in the Tribune, a day or two ago, which was meant to glorify Marshall Field for his gift, or rather bequest to ihe Field Museum. A fine building was shown, labeled “Field Museum”—and- showing people trooping into it in a long procession. Under the picture it read “Chicago’s Share.” The picture was no doubt sincerely intended to d 6 honor to Field’s, ,/uemory, and to express the idea that Chicago ought to feel wonderfully grateful for the comparatively miserable little dole given to public purposes by Field’s will. Out of a fortune of from 125 to 150 millions, all made in Chicago, he has given a little over eight millions for benevolent purposes; and practically all of that is evidently largely given to honor and perpetuate his_~owjL name. Along the same line as this cartoon, is the editorial policy of the Chicago papers, which are try ing to put the best estimate possible on this execrably selfish and nar-row-minded will. But all great papers now days are ran purely as money making propositions, and their editorial policy is shaped from the counting-room, and the Marshall Field stores pay out hundreds of thousands every year for advertising, hence the lack of criticism of the disposition Field made of his over-grown estate. In this day of wide-spread and enlightened benevolence by men of great wealth and of the spread of wiser views regarding the necessity of curbing the growth of these enormous private fortunes, it is an ineffable disgrace that a man should own such an enormous fortune as ffceld did, and to do so little with it for the good of his fellow-men.