Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-11-12
A Rich Mans Euloqy.

To the poor man there is considera-
BILE satisfaction in the certainty that
he will escape the denunciation of the
scribblers for the press, and it is just
as certain that the bohemian class is
piercing thorn in the side of the
modern CRGsUs. The Bohemian, as
a rule, is poor his well earned pit
tance vanishes as the mist before the
sun-and he bears but little love for
those who roll through life in luxury.
But he has one possession that his
rich neighbor has not, and cannot buy
"a pen that readily penetrates the
rich mans epidermis-and he makes
use of this instrument whenever Occa-
sion affords, and with demoniacal sat-
isfaction, laughs as the monied victim
twists and squirms under his cutting
words. VANDERBILT, the MIDAS of
the age, has been a shining mark for
the wit and sarcasm of these reckless
bohemians, and of late they are hand
ling the "King of Railroads. with un-
gloved hands. A Chicago journalist
is the last one to pay his respects to
the old man. He AYERS that WANDER
BILT commenced the foundation of his
wealth by running boats on the Hud-
son in opposition to his mothers line
and that he soon irretrievably ruined
the old lady. Then,in defiance of law
and justice, he robbed the heirs of
FULTON of their rights in steam navi-
CATION. Next he turned his attention
to railroads and by violating the
rights of individuals and corporations
and disregarding the edicts of Courts,
he soon was master of the railway sit
uation. No one could resist him and
noted statesman once publicly
thanked God that the term of life is
limited to a hundred years, as in the
absence of such limitation a man like
VANDERBILT would soon own the
whole world. From 1861 to 1874 VAN
DERBILT'S wealth increased from
S5,000,000 to $4,000, ,000-at this rate
of increase he would soon swallow up
the wealth of the world. But what
avails all this wealth-this capacity
of expansion-when all impecuneous
writer can thus scribble of the m onied
autocrat.
Vanderbilts eulogy can be compressed into
three words, "darned old hog" and the truth
of the eulogy will be endorsed by all his ac-
quaintances. He cares for nothing; he never
has cared for anything but money. He is an
Incarnation of selfishness; he seems to be per-
fectly Indifferent to public odium or private
diSesteem. He is not mOrOSe nor diSagreeable
by constitution, but unrelenting, ovcrbearing,
heartless in the prosecution of his private
schemes and personal ends The more money
he has the more he wants Hardly any mill
lionaire in the whole Republic has so rarely
opened his purse in behalf of patriotism or
philanthropy. once during the civil war he
opened his purse and gave to the United States
a steamer worth SS0O,O00-but his sole motive
was to astonish his countrymen, and TO do
| this he had to part with his money. Once
| Stewart, the merchant prince, forced him to
give $4,000 to sanitary fair, and to this day
| the old rat becomes very profane when Il fair
| is named to him. His second wife is q fair,
young woman, and ii was hoped that she
would induce him to unclose his heart in di-
| verS ways; but actual investigation proves
| that his heart has been so long locked and the
| key lost, that any attempt to open it would
| prove fatal. This information having created
general desire to break into the organ, its
| owner convinced the public that there was
| nothing in it and the attempt was abandoned,
| But the noblest deed of the Commodore's ca
| reer was his munificence to Chicago after the
| great fire. When everybody in New York,
| even the poorest, contributed something to
| the stricken and suffering city, Vanderbilt,
| true to himself, seized his pen and wrote OPP
poste his name an immense 0. "Darned old
hog" is his rightiul eulogy, and such 1t will
| ever be.