The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1875-12-04
Letter from NesV York.
qHE DEATH OF VICE PRESIDENT wILsoN-oF WIN. D.
AsToR-MooDY AND sANKEY AGAIN-sUs.
PER CoL-CoNCERNING SAILORS.
New YORK, November 10th, 1875.


New YORK, November goth, 1875.
THE DEATH OF VICE PRESIDENT WILSON
The flags all over the city are still flying at
half mast for the death of Vice President Wilson,
an event which causes sincere and universal sor-
row. His simple manliness Of character, his I'M
affected patriotism and unqueslioned honesty
have year by year won for him among all classes
a regard, which death easily exalts into tender
memory. Like the late President Lincoln p
sprung from the very dregs Of the people, and
attained to the second honors of the Republic, as
the other did to the FIRST. The career Of both adj
miraby illustrates the free genius of our iustitu-
tons and the absence of those barriers Of caste
and privileges which block the way in less favor
ed lands.
WIN. B. AsToRs DEATH
Naked out OF the world naked and poor as he
came into it, goes this week the wsalthest man
on this Continent Mr.. VIM. B. Aston, only sur
viving son of John Jacob Astor. He leaves
property mostly real estate, estimated at the low
est to be 500, GOO, 600, and probably these hg-
ures are good deal too small, big as they are.
He was born in this city in 1892 and was there
fore 83 years old. His father died in l848 at the
same ripe age, leaving fortune of over 500, 000,
600, more than half of which fell to William B.
whose portion, increased by legacy from his
uncle Henry, has steadily grown to this enor-
NOUS sum. He owned more than 2, 800 houses
and building lots, many OF the houses Delng
among the finest in the city. 1t has been rule
with the Astor family from the beginning never
to sell any real estate, but to buy, which they
have done with rare sagacty and good Juug-
ment ever since old John Jacob got good start
in life. While William B. may not have had SO
original genius for money making as his father,
L. ;olx oil ofh
He possessed an excellent judgment and great ap-
titude for business affairs and managed his vast
concerns with wonderful intelligence and order.
Strict To- Sc sure and 2 etaea}ing Ms own, cay
ing excellent care of his tenements, holding them
at fair rent, and so just and reasonable that
people always liked to get into his houses and
he took care to make it for the interest OF good
tenants to stay He nearly doubled the old man s
| bequest for founding the Aston library; indeed,
it is said that he inspired the idea of it in his
fathers mind, for it is not generally known that
be was a ripe scholar and found his chief enjoy
| ment in the society of his books. His life was
quite uneventful he lived much more simply and
| unostentaniously than hundreds in this city do
who are bothered to make both ends meet, and
| worked more hours day than most men who
merely get living from hand to mouth, So
| that in life he had no more enjoyment of his
wealth than we all may have and, perhaps, do
have out of our small incomes, and all OF his mil
| lions could not buy him one hours respite of the
stroke of death
"How much did R leaye2" asked one
| friend of another, when rich man of their &C.
quaintance died. "He left all he had was the
wise reply. Fortunate, indeed, and blessed are
they who leave more than material wealth, houses
and lands, and silver and gold who leave names
which pass along down the ages in the kindly
| III L.
forted by their thoughtful and tender benefactions
MOODY AND sANKEY AGAIN.
| Moody and Sankey, those mighty captains oil
| the church militant, have abandoned the siege Of
the fortress of sin over in wicked Brooklyn, and,
removing with all their impedimentd, have sal
them down before the easier walls of the Quaker
city. What effect their holy artillery wrought
in Brooklyn is not easy to discover There wa;
large attendance upon them, many prolessedly
anxious inquirers, and all that, but little is known
| of the number Of conversions, and in SO short q
| time, nothing Of what change has really been
wrought in the lives Of the new professors. 1t i:
said in Brooklyn that their efforts but the be-
ginning of a series Of such, aud that during the
| winter marvellous doings may be looked for III
the churches. Let US hope so, and bid God speed
to all efforts BY whomever made to lead the race
to better living. 1t might be said here that Rev
DR.. Storrs, who has been greatly tempted by Of
fers from rich church in New York, has finally
decided to remain with the Church of the Pill
grims in Brooklyn, whose pulpit he has filled
now for thirty years
sUs. PER COL.
1t has been said that the worst use TO put 6
man to is to hang him but that can't possibly
be true in this city. 1t now and then happen;
that criminal is promptly hunted down, fairly
and promptly tried, and if his ofiense is caE tia
one, promptly sus. per col. And be was never
worth Sc much in his life as in his death, for ht
bangles from his gibbet, terror to his kind, anC
life is safe, for a good while efter. 1t is not &
pleasant thought that a man may meet on thu
streets OF New York in an evenings promenade
would cut his throat for two dollars and half
or some such matter but it is true, nevertheless
and nothing keeps their hands down but thu
shadow OF the gallows tree-a bOnny tree FOL
this locality. Now, here is substantial fact -
up to the time Of the swift conviction and sen
tence of the Murderer of Mr.. Noe, month ago
crime was on the advance 10 this city. Since, il
has fallen off, as if that righteous death sentence
had palsed the hand Of violence.
| PROPOSE in future letters, to give some &C
count of the dangerous classes of this city, their
ways of acting and living, including some curl
Gus facts, the result of my own observations. Il
seems queer sort of thing that man should
carry on burglary as a trade during long life
and die at last peacefully in his bed, and ye
scores of rascals do it, and many of them are
well known to the authorities, and are on good
enough terms with the detectives, and have sor
of social status of their own, in which they rank
as a sort OF heroes and good fellows.
| SAILORS AFLoAT AND ASHORE
''There's sweet little cherub that sits up alof,
| To keep watch for the life of poor Jack"
So runs the stout old English sea song Of
Thomas Dibden, but surely that attitudinous
watcher is sadly remiss of his duties for the rec
ords show that 800 sailors annually lose their
lives by falling from masts and spars Of ships at
sea- Think ys well housed landsmPn, OF going
aloft in the darkness of winter storm far out at
sea, up shrouds, and along rigging aud spsrs
slippery with ice, when TO miss grasp of a
frozen rope, or false step, is certain death. -
Very few persons know much or care much about
the sailor. His life is the life Of a dog no slave
was ever the victim of such wrong as he endures.
| His life lies so apart from that of ordinary hu-
| manity, that the advance Of civilization hardly
includes him he is left in a condition OF barbar-
| Ism. Let me try to convey to your readers some
notieu of the way he is treated in this city, one
Of the great sea-ports OF the world, ii being the
same everywhere. Imagine sailor just landed
from voyage. Suppose him to have been
sailor Tor twenty-five years, and to be forty years
old. He has got his wages in his pocket, be
knows no such word az bone or family he has
not friend in the world the strict discipline
and narrow life on ship, have 80 degraded and
| imbruted him that he has almost lost the gift of
speech, and only retains few terms of the sea
He has only one notion of enjoyment and that is
of the lowest forms of animalism The land
sharks are waitiRg for him, and although he has
been devoured by them thousand times in all
the ports Of the world, he rushes into their Jaws
again. He is led INCREASINGLY into one OF the
many vile dens in Water or similar street piled
with poisoned liquor until he is out of his mind;
handed over to wretched female companion,
whose business it is to that he does not leave
the premises, nor allowed to get sober Then,
when his money is all spent-anG it takes only a
few days to do it--and bill run up equal to his
advance wages, the proprietor Of the devil t hole
where he is wallowing ships him through an
agent on any vessel about to sail-for vessels are
always short OF men, and all sorts of Infamous
tricks are put into use TO get them--and Jack
comes to his senses some morning to find himself