Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1877-03-10
SUFFERINGS OF THE RICH.
IH" Terrible Strain on the I nfortD'
mate millionaire in these Hard


Your newspapers make q grea.
fuss" said one of the wealthiest men il
/ New York TO 4 World reporter, '.abou'
the >utlrrings OF the poor man during
( these hard times, but | don't see that
any ui them notice particularly the dia.
bOlicai distress of the rich man"
The reporter wasn't aware that the
rich man suffered at AL.
That" said he OF the wealth. lis be,
cause YOU don't know anything about it,
Why, sir, | undergo more actual, abso.
lutte torture in All hour than any poor
wretch in this city. Ii | hadn't cent in
The world I'd have some sympathy, some
assistance. some rest. As it is. I'm
houudcd TO death. I'm desplsed, besct,
annoyed. condemned. backbltten, way
laid. The papers write editorials about
me. II | 60 to church, | am told that a
camel can ret through the eye OF Il nee
die sI;cker than ! cuu get into heaven.
II | don't dress my family in an cXtrav-
aganr manner | hear that | am an Old
shiHtiiut; it | do. | am told that all
think Of my money is TO make ii vulgar
show Of it. | suppose | worked as hard
as amy man tor more than two-thlrds OF
my lie to accumulate a fortune. but |
believe most people think | ought to
give it away and oven again.
In / winter like this you've no idea OF
Ia" ~hardshIps OF the rich. Ii | helpall the
pc pie who apply TO me. | might a.
Wi! q to the poor-housc; and Yet all of
;h"m expect it. and most OF .hem.I dare
>aE', are worthy. ll- out OF the ques-
ton. So they curse me. ! suppose. All
he benevolent societies. charities, pub
lie institutions and church organizations
have their agents out. | ain waited up
on by committees. clergvmen.
secretaries. They send me half Il bu7hel
Of letters L day. They drop upon me in
the most unexpected places. They get
INTO my private office. They wait in my
front steps. They follow me into the
iorSe cars What is a man to do? If |
It them have their way, nv name will
lie paradcd as if | wanted to advertise
ray charities. II | don't the press will
want to know what he has even done Tor
Eew York. The other dav 4 reporter
anne 10 see me about my will. He said
the public would like to be informed as
to the proposed disposition Of my prop
erty 1T my deccase. | suppose if | were
TO get a cold IN my head thercd be a
brigade of them quartered under my
windows. | begin to iecl that a rich
man is a disgrace to the community a:
that somehow have committed 4 crime
| don't like To look a ma sqUarelv in
the face for fear his hatred of me will
show itself, or he will stop and ask me
to lend him a thousand dollars To get his
starving family some food TO eat. |
tell yorI. sir, this winter sawfuI hard on
the rich man. He doesn't even eat his
dinner in peace. How can he when there
are tsrtv thousand who are dinncrless ?
HIS money gets to be Il reproach to
him. and he feels as if he'd like TO give
the whole OF it away in n lump. and
try the luxury Of being poor for a while.
But O. needn't say anything about that,
or III have a fresh battalion here to-
morrow, and half the idlers in town will
writing me letters. In fact wouldn't
say anything about it il | were you. but
its 4 fact. the rich man suffers in 4 hard
winter Il good deal more thar the poor
man. You take my word Tor it. And
the poor don't pity him a bit"