The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-07-16

We
which was distressing thought.
COLUMBIA COLLEGE IN LUCK.
The sum of $4,000 bequeathed to Col.
umbia college to endow German profes.
sorship was revoked in the fourth codicil,
made three years after the item had been
written. The open-hearted old christian
was in early life a member of the German
reformep church, where he once was wont
to meet with his beer drinking countrymen;
when the family became fashionable ard
left the Germans, and the old man allowed
his membership 20 become merely dead
letter. Nevertheless out of sympathy!wth
old friends, he bequeathed the church
$4,000. In the fifth codici, dated March,
1S4l, this item is revoked, the reason be-
ing given that he meant to bestow that sum
to the religious improvement of the Ger
mans in some other way, but no such way
is subsequently referred to. lie gave 500
900 for the aid of the German eociety to
aid cmigrants but in the fourth codicil it
is reduced to S20,0 900, and it is possible that
had another been made he might have re-
voked it altogether. Astors benevolent
legacies outside of the library, were as
follows To the German society, $4,000
to the institution for the blind, $1,000; to
the society for the reliet of orphans, $1,000;
to the New York lying IN asylum, $4,000.
The fifth codicil gives the poor OF his ma
tive town 100000, and this would no doubt
have been revoked had not the old man
soon aiterward discontinued the manufac-
ture of these ridiculous coidcls.
THE LIBRARY.
This was projected in the third codici,
made three years after the signing of the
original will. The provisions are very
brief, and the endowment is S400,0 900, to
which William b. Aston added two valu-
able lots on which stands the extension of
the building, THIS scheme was intended
to perpetuate the Astor name as patron
of literature, but the plan has been entire
ly defeated by the wilful and Illegal action
of the trustees. The will made the follow
ing provisions and specifications 'the said
library is to be accessible at all reasonable
hours and times" What would the found
er say could he be restored to life at the
perverson of this injunction ? Is half-past
nine in the morning reasonable in the sum-
mer or 10 in the winter How few of the
working class has ever enjoyed its benefits
The fact is the management of the instit-
tuition was placed in the hands of Cogswel,
who was mere bookworm and knew moth
ing Of the wants of the public. His idea
was that of literary men generally, to make
reference to subjects during daylight and
then write them up nights and mornings.
The consequence is that this grand insttu-
ton, whose cost of interest money is equal
to $40 per day, accommodates an average
of seventy readers, being a dollar day.
If the institution could be opened IN the
evening or in the morning it would be
thronged. The will further says that 'thc
trustees shall be subject to the courts to pre-
vent any mismanagement, waste or breach
of trust" | am not the only one who
thinks that a mandamus should be issued
by the supreme court compelling the trus-
tees to carry out the founders plan. If
they have right to say that 10 to 4 are real
sonable hours in winter. they may increase
| the limit and still further diminish the ac-
| commodation. 1t has been replied to the
request for more time that the trustees have
no funds to appropriate to lighting up in
the evening. Admitting this to be the
case, the necessary expense would at once
be provided by subscription 1t is to be
remembered that the state library at Albany
which is considered very exclusive is open
in the evening till five, and in the winter
un.ii oiH. Tao astnr library il now. so far
as the founders plans are concerned, II
complete failure. Read the following eX-
tract from the codicil as the object of the
object of the institutions FURNISHING from
time to time books, maps, charts, models,
drawings. paintings, engravings, casts,
statues, furniture and other things apper-
tanning to a library for general use, upon
the most ample scale and liberal charac-
ter" The reply to this is found in six
daily hours of service during winter, which
| is the best time for reading The number
of persons mentioned as beneficiaries of
Astor's will was about twenty-five. In his
fifth codicil he bequeathed FitZ Greene
Halleck. his faithful clerk, an annuity of
| 5000 This was so ridiculously small that
even William was shocked by it, and at
once changed the aspect of the case by send
ing the poet check for $4,000.
YOUNGEST son.
John Jacob was the youngest of the four
sons of his father. They all did well.
Two renamed on the east side of the Allan
tic, and two found homes and wealth in
America. The first to arrive was Henry,
who adopted his fathers trade as a
butcher, and was the richest man in that
line ever known in America. He was eleven
years older than John Jacob, and died
twenty years before the latter. Being
chidless, he left his large estate to his
American nephews, who OF course did not
need it. Here was lost to the public what
might have been rich endowment Of some
charity. Henry Astor came to this city
during the revolution, and this has led to
the report that he was one of the llessian
troops, but this is no doubt incorrect.
THE CRUGER PROPERTY.
The name of Astor leads in Tie array OF
German wealth, which has included many
grand estates, such as the Costere and the
Hackshers, of former days, and the Rull'
wagons and Elavemeyers of the present
Among these is the Cruger property, which
is now to be divided among the heirs. The
German mode of spelling this name is
Kruger but the family followed the STYLE
which made "Cruger' n more fashionabl,
term. The Rosters did the same, and thus
many families toned down the asperites o
foreign speech TO suit the amenities of higl
life. Harriet Cruger was an eccentric bu
very benevolent woman, and bequeathc,
her entire estate to benevolent purposes
, but the will has been broken, and the en-
, | tire property will soon he brought int
market. People must learn that if they ar
really to accomplish any good it must b.
done by their own hands, and not left 4
executors. There is no difficulty in prov
e ing almost any one crazy when an estat
: is at stake.
HOW TO GET RICH
= To return to Aston, may add few bu
| siness facts. His entire inventory OF rea
r estate purchases averaged one every quartz,
!, day Cor once in three months) during III
n whole commercial life, making in all tw'
d hundred and fifty. The last purchase wa
IT ma le in his name few weeks before n
# died. As this is the way the man got rlcll
n | advise all my friends to adopt smila
i, method. Let them each purchase piec
"a of real estate and pay for it every thre
, months, and If they do not also get ric
d they may throw the blame on
,s The HERMIT IN New York.