Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-12-03

4TON. W.. FIR T. h
Our New York Letters
THE DEATH OF WILLIAM b. AsTog-'rs. FER |
COL CONCERNING SAILORS.
NV York, Nor. 2G, 1875.
To the Editor Of the Free Pres, and Timer
Naked out of the world. naked and poor
as lac came into it, goes this week the
wealthiest man on this continent, Mr.. Vii
liam d. Astor He owned more than $500
houses and bailding lots, many OF the
houses being among the finest in the city.
1t has been rule with the Aston family
from the beginning never to sell any real
estate, bat to buy, which they have done
with rare sagacity and good Judgment ever
since old John Jacob got good start IN
life While William T. may not have had
50 original genins for money-maklng as
his father, he was certainly in all other
respects his superior. lie possessed an ex-
cellent Judgment and great aptitnd; for bus
mess affairs, and managed his vast concerns
with wonderful intelligence and order. lie
was one of the best landlords ia the city,
strict to be sure, and exacting his own. bat
taking excellent care of his tenemenfs, hold
ing them at fair rent, and 80 just and
reas onable that people always liked to get
into his houses; and he took care to make it
for the interest Of good tenants to stay. His
life was quite uneveniL., lie lived much
more simply and unostentatioasly than hun
dreds in this city 10 who are bothered to
make both ends meet, and worked more
hours day than most men who merely get
Il living from hand to mouth. - that IN
life he had no more enjoyment Of his wealth
than we all may have and, perhaps, d. haze
out of our small incomes, and all of his mil
lions could not buy him one hours respite
Of the stroke Of death.
GLOW much did R leave" asked one
friend of another, when rich man OF their
acquaintance died. ''Ile left all he had.
was the wise reply. Fortunate, indeed, and
| blessed are they who leave more than ma-
terial wealth. houses and lands, and silver
and gold; who leave names which pas
along down the ages in the kindly speech of
the lowly and miserable, lifted ur. com
fortel by their thoughtful and tender benc-
factions.
SIS. TER COZ.
1t has been said that the worst use t. put
a man to is to hang him; but that can ro--
sibly be true in this city. Here Is sub
stantial fact; up to the time OF the swift
conviction and sentence of the murderer OF
| Mr. Noe, month ago. crime was on the adj
vance in this city. Since, it has fallen off,
as if that righteous death sentence had pal
sled the hand Of violence.
propose in future letters to give some
| account Of the dangerous classes OF this city.
| their ways OF acting and living, including
some curious facts, the result OF my own OBJ
scryations. 1t seems queer sort of thing
that a man should carry on burglary a
trade during a long life and die at last
peacefully in his bed, and yet scores of ras-
Gals DO it, and many Of them are well known
to the authorities, and are on good enough
| terms with the detectives, and have a sort OF
social status Of their own. in which they
| rank as q sort Of heroes and good fellows.
SAILORS AFLoAT AND ASHORE.
There's sweet little cherub that sits up a'ot
To keep watch FOR the LIE Of poor Jack.
So runs the stout old English sea song Of
Thomas Dib1in, but surely that aliitudinous
watcher is sadly remiss in his duties, for the
records show that l 500 sailors annually lose
their lives by falling from mast- and spars
Of ships at sea Think, We well-honscI
landsmen, OF going aloit in the darkness
of Il Winter storm far ont at sea, up
shrouds and along rigging and Spar slip
perry with ice, when to mss Il grasp OF 4
frozen rope, or false step, i certain
death. Very few persons know much OF
care much about the sailor. His life j. the
lie Of a dog Imagine a sailor Just landed
from a voyage Suppose him to have been
sailor fur twenty-five years. and o. De
forty years old. lie has got his wage. 10
his pocket. he Knows no such word a. home
or family, he has not friend in the world.
lie has only one notion of enjoyment, and
that Is Of the lowest forms Of aninalsm. f!
The land sharks are waiting for him, AMI |
although he has been dey0urei liz them q /
thousand times in all the ports of the world, |
he PUSHES into their jaws again. lie j. led |
Increasingly into one Of tae many vile Gen- /
in Water, Or u similar street, piled with |
poisoned liquor until he is out of his mind /
handed over to a wretched female compn- |
Ion, whose business it Is 20 zee that he doe, |
not leave the premises. nor get sober. Then, |
when his money i all srent-and it takes
only few days to do it-and bill run up /
equal to his advance wages, the proprietor Of |
the devil; hole where he j. wallOW.rs, ships /
him through an agent On any yeSselub0ut
10 sailor vessels aIe always short OF men,
and all sorts of Infamous tricks are put into
use to get them-and jack comes 10 bis
senses some morning 10 ind himself IA the
forecaStle OF an outward bound ship which
Is being t0wed down the hay. lie has no
knowledge OF how he COZ there. He Wa,
dragged on board drunk He was drunk
when he signed his name or made his mark
to the ships Papers drunk when he signed
an order for his landlord To obtain his ad-
vance paw, and Is now slowly and ,tupidly
coming /, Consciousness. The first mate
now enters the toreeastle. lie l. armed
with brass knuekies or a marlin->pike The
second mate is with him also armed. and so Is
the steward and perhaps the captain These
poor, drunken sailors. stupetei and help
less from their long debauch, are driven
aloft with curses and blows. and compelled
to do their duty by main force.
The voyage made, they leave the ship to
go through the same experience again, and
over and over, until swallowed NJ by the
sea This j. no fancy sketch or exceptional
case this is the life the sailor Is u>.l to
indeed, he knows no other, and, apparently,
desires no other. Once in while some
horrible case Of brutality on the part of
sea aptain gets into the courts and the
newspapers, but it is only once in a while.
for no sailor would think Of taking ezcep-
ton to the treatment have described it i
no more than the custom Of the sea.
Let your son seal hogs, deal at faro. or
drive horses On the tow path of the Erie
canal, and inhict on him anything short of
murder To keep him from going to sea.
THANKSGIVING DAY
was quite universally kept, and it. obsery-
ance grows more and more in this city, The
weather was delightful Yours,
AlroN
THE WAR WITH TUREEY-voN EULow At
cnICKERING HALL-THEATElcAL AND CLUE
NOTES.
NEW York, Nov. 29th, lS7j
To the Editor Of tho Free Press and Times:
After the years of unbroken peace which
our beloved country has enjoyed, it is Of
Course 4 painful duty which l am called on
to perform in recording the events OF the
war with Turkey, in which the whole coun-
try has been involved during the past week.
| had felt certain for some time past that
there was trouble brewing between these
two great powers ; and this prophetic bod
ing on my part was greatly strengthened by ,
certain incendiary proclamations (some Of
which your readers may have notced) that 4
we're issuel by the President and the Cover
lors of the different States early in the pres
INT month. A striking circumstance in this