The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-11-27
The Death of William B. Astor.

lions from JOHN JACOB ASToR, and that ne
m,naged with such sagacity and care that 1t
was multiplied until It exceeded one han-
dred millions in amount.
The character given by all to Mr.. AsroK IS
excellent. all concur in declaring ms pr!'
yate virtues unspotted. He was noted Tor
his love Of literature ard his own extensive
information; also for his libera!ily ana ior
his kind disposition. This is great praise
bestowed upon the very rich, because wealth
tends 70 circumscriDc charity and freeze the
heart to tie appeals to humanity. wealth IS
acquired by economy; and the spirit OF par.
simoAy grows with the practice of close
economy, ard that spirit is made all the more
rigid by those constant supplieations which
come from all sorts Of men 10 all sorts Of
conditions-from the sapguine people, who
dream that appeals to the rich may procure
the capital u set them up in business on
shares with the noble benefactor, and thus
remunera,e him we'll for his generosity and
make the beneficiary of generosity rich, to
the poor that are striving, and the wan crea.
lures that sit in the garnet by the dying en-
beers wearing away life with the eternal
g stitch, "stitch."
Mr.. Aston received a great number of let
ters which ne could not even read. Both he
and Mr.. PEABODY were forced TO burn them
By the bushel. It is perfectly natural that
the milliouaires so troubled with appeals
should become hardened to piteouS stories
and ardent appeals-not only callous TO them,
but very distrustfuI Of the preludes to beg.
ging applications. The truth is, that classifi'
cation which divides the world into the
HAvE.soMETn1SGs and the HArENoTHlNGs Is
not very wide Of the mark, nor is the idea
that the HAvg.NoTEINGs are ever seeking 10
get some of that something which the have
SOMETHING'S have. The continuous strategies
of those who seek to transfer the deposits
from full pockets to empty ones tend to Whet
the vigilance of the rich and put locks upon
their property. To speak Of rich man as
one not churl, not miser, is TO say that he
has not fallen. into the state Of mind which Is
very naturally produced by the possession OF
Helltb and the perpetual vigilance that is
needed to take care Of it. The passage oil
HOLY Writ abiding to the difficulty in the
way of the rich mans happy resurrection
never would have been uttered by Him VINO
uttered il, and who spake as never man spake,
had it not been for the tendency OF riches
TO harden the heart and to close the doors
thereof to the appeals Of charity. 1t IS,
therefore, great eulogy of the richest man on
this continent to say that he was charitable,
and often princely, in his mun6cence.
II is said of Mr.. AsToR that he had all OF
bis fathers ssgacity, and was his superior In
mental force and personal worth. Most
literally educated in Germany, under COLI
yctiop that he would not excel in the walks
OF science or literature he entered his faith
er's business at an early age, and soon proved
bis fine talent for administration. His father
had acquired his fortune chiefly in the fur
and tea trade. IRv1NG's Astoria has rendered
enduring the history of his vast establish.
ment on the Pacific shed and his admirable
system for controlling the American trade in
furs. WILLIAM B. Aston multiplied the for-
in the most rapidly.growing and wealthy
city in the Union. He planted money,
to use AhEs's idea, in the places where
it did "the most good" and he caused
streams of wealth from all quarters to pour
into his Golfers.
In considering the immense fortune accu-
mulated by AsToR it is a'nobe tribute to bis
memory to say that it was acquired fairly and
regularly, chiefly through the enhancement
of the value of land in city that grew as if
By magic. He Is said to have never sought
to drive hard bargains; nor would he per-
NIT others to do so for him. How different
man was he from such men as DREW,
and VANDERBILT, and GOULD, and the
tribe of stock-gamblers, and gold.gam-
blers, and corner-make rs, who are ever,
through sharping, and gambling, and mo.
nopoly, seeking to amass wealth at the ex-
pense and to the distress of the public Mr.
AsToR goes out of the world With his robes
uustained and his heart unseared by the
burning remorse for wrongs inflicted through
ill.gotten gains. 1t is not for the money and
gamblers to depart with any such
judgment from the public, nor any such con.
ISOLATION as that which was AsToR's in his
closing hours.
When we look at the immense fortunes
that are acquired by individuals in this coun-
try we cannot consider that they are inGica.
tions of general prosperity or of general con.
tentment. On the contrary, great deal of
the disturbance, the disquiet, the spirit of
speculation, and the mass of crimes commit
ted under the desire to get rich quick, or to
acquire money without work, are produced
by the wonderful inequalities in the condi-
ton Of the people. There is always sure to
be great amount of abject poverty where
great wealth is concentrated in few hands.
But in o country where wealth is not en-
tailed by law, great fortunes cam OF long re.
main in the same families. Time makes
great changes in society, and we see every
day families that were once wealthy reduced
to humble condition; and, alas, too often,
severe poverty. In the face Of these facts
how else Is the prayer Of AGAR, " Give me
neither poverty nor riches"
The existence Of so many millionaires In
The North While poverty is depressing SO
many of the southern States presents sec.
tional contrast that prompts inquiry and
suggests complaint. 1t is certainly cause
OF disturbance in the Interstate commerce,
social and business. We behold that the
sectional war has impaired southern wealth;