obated in
Massachusetts and Wisconsin, it appears that 2 per cent. of the
population owned almost 60 per cent. of the wealth while the poorest 65
per cent. of the population died in possession of only about 5 per
cent. of the wealth. See King (W. I.), "The Wealth and Income of the
People of the United States," New York, 1915; also cited sources.

[2] Twenty per cent. of the population receive 47.2 per cent. of
national income and the remaining eighty per cent. of the population
52.8 per cent. of the national income.--King, _op. cit._, p. 235.

[3] From 1880 to 1910 the total wages (and salaries) paid in the United
States increased from 3.8 to 14.3 thousands of millions of dollars; the
average wage increased from $323 to $507; the increase in the annual
wages, taking into account differences in the cost of living, was 64
per cent. For basis of these calculations see King.

[4] William James. The Moral Equivalent of War. In "Memories and
Studies." New York. Longmans, Green & Co. 1912.

[5] Sumner (William Graham). "War and Other Essays," New Haven (Yale
University Press), 1913, p. 29.

[6] "In 1800 Captain Bainbridge, arriving at Algiers with the usual
tribute, was ordered to carry dispatches to Constantinople. 'You pay
me tribute,' explained the Dey, 'by which you become my slaves, and
therefore I have a right to order you as I think proper.'"--Fish.
(Carl Russell.) "American Diplomacy," New York (1915), p. 141.

{201}

CHAPTER XV

AMERICAN INTERESTS ABROAD

No nation in its foreign policy is completely disinterested, in the
sense that it willingly abandons or sacrifices its larger interests.
What generosity it displays is usually in smaller matters, like a rich
man's gift to a beggar. England may sacrifice interests in Jamaica to
uphold the principle of human freedom, while at the same time fighting
China to force the admission of opium. Similarly the United States may
generously return money to Japan (as in the Shimonoseki case) or to
China, or relieve the sufferers of Messina or of Belgium. In really
vital matters, however, nations are not self-sacrificing, but
tenaciously pursue their own interests.

There are two senses, however, in which a nation may be disinterested
in its foreign policy. Either it may possess no interest or its
separate interest may be so small in relation to its larger interests
elsewhere that it is willing to make a sacrifice. If, for example, the
present war e