New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-12-26

The Aston Family,
yesterday | passed OF tbe street tail
Gentleman. something over SIX feet, and
broad in proportion He attracted nv al
tention first by his height. then by his nose
His companion mad a scared look which |
could not understand until recognized the
Eontlemans nose-l say recognized, because
mat nose Is one OF tie landmarks of New
FORK city, and dates back TO the last cen
tGry, and even 10 the century before that
don't wonder that his companion looked
scared, for the tread beside MIN was tie
tread OF nearly S51U9U,0O0. The nose was
che Aston nose. and tne owner wac John
Jacob of that name grandson OF The john
Jacob who, in a long lifetime OF great labor
systematic ayarice and unremitting mean
ness, laid the foundation OF the great Astor
state. The Ast0r nose comes a great deal
nearer to the horizontal line :han poor
peoplo can afford 10 come. Place this self
asserting organ in the middle OF stolid
face, fringed by whiskers something more
than yellow and something less than red, set
The head on grea. stout body, clothe the
man plainly and well. and you have John
Jacob Aston. the richest man IN this coun-
try. 1t is not Engenerous 20 say that no one
xno has seen him will venture to deny that
his grandfather was butcher The Astors
only get into the newspapers when one OF
them dies. II is family principle to shun
all such notorlety; and the head OF the house
ents 80 well TO this habit that even his men
Of business refused, tile day OF death, 10
GlVe3 the slightest Information Tegardir 2
MIN They would not even say where he
was born, or indulge II the slightest renlin-
lscence of his early business career. What
is thought of the Astors by the newspapers
here and what IS thought of them by the
people are two very different things. In the
newspapers they are iauded as good and
caretul citizens WHO refuse to sanction any
doubtful speculation or TO give to unle-
serving objects. but who 90 give quietly and
with discrimination, and who manage their
vast property with 4 view TO the public
good. Many evtn 90 beyond this and
laud them as beletactors 10 whom the
city is greatly in debt. The public fail 10
discover many signs OF this c,andestine be.
uevolonee They hear of an occasional gift
Ut gold candiestiCks 20 Trinity Church or of
a few thousand 20 Some charity; but for
giving on a scale a. all n proportion to
their income they look, and look in vain.
The Astors make very safe members of a
community, out their line might last as long
SO the Pharaohs Of Egyps and the world
would be none the better for their having
been in it. The total gifts toward the Aston
Library, 2Jout which we hear SO much, in
Guiding land. buildings and books, were not
more than $1Uyc 0y--considerably less than
MIR. AstOr's income for year at a low esti-
mate. The library is said By those who are
qualified to speak TO be very incomplete in
many departments. l. is an actual fact
that during the wa2 the periodicals were
cut oil on account OF the expense, and have
never been renewed. The clerks are paid
mean salaries, and it was with great dill.
Guilty they secured ar increase during the
war. The library is open only from ten to
four o'clock. and is utterly useless to that
portion OF tie community which earns its
living by labor between those hours. OF
= = -
of old John Jacob Aston, and the re-
mainder came from his son. 1t is only ius-
tlce to the Astors 10 say that they have kept
their charitable gifts to secret that no one
had any definite idea as to their amount.
Some notion OF what they might give NAV
De inferred from the estimate of Mr.. Astor's
property, which comes to me from one of
his relatives. He said, what do not think
Is generally known, that William B. Astor,
at the time he inherited his fathers estate,
was already worth SIS, 100000. Part OF this
was the money which his uncle, Henry
Aston left him; part of it was the value Of
the Aston House, which his father gave him,
and the rest was made in business with his
own and his fathers capital. This gentle.
man estimated the fortune left by William
b. Astor at about SCI. 600, making al !
lowances, OF course, for the depreciation in |
real estate and in stocks and bonds of all |
kinds. This is, OF course, rather low esti- |
the truth than the wild guesses which some |
OF the newspapers have been making. Peter |
Cooper set the country editors all crazy /
with the idea that the Aston estate amounted |
to 5000, 100000. From the reckless way in
which they have siung these figures have
been led to infer that the country editor ia not
accustomed to seeing more than $40, coo
or SIS 600, GOO taken in over his counter in
single day. Everybody remembers Par
tons story about the way john Jacob Aston
lost 100000, because he was too mean to
buy $500 chrOnometer; and how he kept
sea captain and his crew at work for two
days to get out cask of wine for him from
the hold of his vessel, and then carefully
omitted to send him some of the wine,
which was the poor recompense he had |
promised him. Some things l am told lead
me TO believe that the Aston family has not
changed in that respect. Until last year
the family occupied a large, double. plain
brick house, next door to the Aston Library.
Then they forsook it for house on Fifth
avenue next door to John Jacob, the eldest
son. The we'll known restaurant keeper
bought the house, and found, to his amaze
ment, that he would be obliged to spend
several thousand dollars to make it at all
habitable. 1t had no gas above the parlor
floor and no water above the basement, and
no modern conveniences, it is said, any
where. AL the water that was used the
servants carried M bv bend, Meanwhile
ihs guests Of tho family diued OH solid gold |
plates and LGncied themselves in palace |
u is rp5 often shat J descend to Jeakinisrn, ,
III these facts saem - throw oonsid-
cradle alho Oh the ancient Astcr con.
troversy. Any pangs of conscience might
have suffered on discovering that dozen |
millions had been left by Mr.. Astors will
for charitable objects are spared me by the
disclosure of the items of the will. Two
hundred thousand to the Aston Library,
100000 to perhaps half dozen societies,
300 a year to the widow of Benjamin
Astor, and $4,000 to four faithful clerks,
e25O0 each, and all the rest, after giving
handsome portions to the daughters, is
equally divided between the two sons, John
Jacob and William. In the face of these
igures the statement that the pall-bearers
we're to get million apiece looks like
lie. may add that the popular
opinion of the Astors is such, the news
papers of the country to the contrary not
that if anybody or anything
outside of the family had got anything
worth mentioning, there would have been 6
NO or three hundred thousand strokes of :
paralysis in this immediate neighborhood. {
Z il little curious that William B. Astor &
~ left half a. much to outside objects q | g
III father, and was three or four times Is | 4
i0h. And John ,JaOOb AatOr vas thOuOhf z