Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-02-09
To the Editor ofthe Free Pres. and Times.

To the Editor Of the Free Press and Times:
Stewart, Astor and Vanderbilt are gone,
and now the richest representative of the
old families is Peter Geolet, an eccentric old
bachelor who lives on the corner of Broad
way and Nineteenth street, in the most ex-
pensiye section of the street. Goelet's
wealth is estimated at from twenty to thirty
millions, the most of Ii having been made by
his great-grandfather and grandfather III the
hardware trade. 1t is the old story. French
emigrant commenced the hardware trade be-
fore the revolution, and by hard work made
money Every dollar made was invested III
farming lands mile or more from the store
down town, and for three generations tins
has been the rule. What We're farming lands
then is covered with six story buildings now,
and what the first Goelet bought for twenty
dollars an acre is worth to-day hundreds of
thousands. There are two lett of them,
Peter, the bachelor, being the best known.
He occupies several lots on the corner OF
Nineteenth street and Broadway for a resi-
dence the property being worth, probably,
two hundred thousand dollars, and he keeps
it that he may have room for COW, dozen
guinea hens, stOIk or two, and tne lot OF
chickens Uncle Peter" AZ he is called,
has a passion for this kind of farming, and
he keeps this splendid property idle that he
may indulge his whim. He doesn't put
dollar into pictures or books ; he hasn't
single piece of sculpture , he never travels
or sees anything never takes part III any
public enterprise but the money that other
| men put into such things he squanders on
hiH COW and chickens. Counting interest, it
costs him twenty thousand dollars per year
to keep that COW, which makes the milk
come, | should suppose, at about dollar
| DROP 1t is queer sIght-a COW feeding
| quietly in the busiest part of New York.
| But this is Goelet's whim, and perhaps it Is
| as sensible as many other mems whims. lie
/ is over seventy, and has not child to leave
his vast estate to. His nephews and nieces
are all very rich, but as they have not "uncle
| Peters quiet tastes. they will not object to
adding his millions to their own.
now THE CITY GOVERNMENT Is ADMINISTERED
The actual deprnyity of the New York Off
| cial, under what is left of Tweedlsm, has
never been sounded. Let me tell you true
story A store on broadway, hardly stone $
throw from the Post Office, was enlivened
Yesterday by the visit of deputy-sh eritf,
| with AN execution for debts of the firm whose
business the present owners bought, and he
| proposed to levy on the office furniture Tor a
! debt of the old firm and the fact that 1t be-
| lonced to the new head Of the house, per-
sonally and that the new firm was not hold
en- for the old in any way, did not alter the
pertinacity of the deputy. Even when these
facts were made known, he insisted he should
| levy.
NV dear sir" said the sheriff. pleasant
w. ' will tell You how thi. can lie settled
very easily. II you will just pay ne my fees,
| will make return no effects found, and 1t
will he all right"
.' But won't do any such thing" rctroted
the indignant merchant. " Messrs. Blank II
Blank don own any furniture here, and I've
no more business to pny you than the man
across the street.
You had better pay the money, and get
rid OF the trouble" persuasiycy said the
deputy. " All | want Is my fees and II you
can make them secure
=. Get out of here, and go to Halifax.
ruared the merchant, "nnd II you don't
leave in minute, I'll send Tor policeman,
and have him put you out.
My dear sir" said the deputy. coolly,
=. how are you going to help yourself? What
is to hinder me from levylng ON any oi TINS
furniture choose to take :"
DO SO, was the answer and I'll send
after you. and have it replevined IN five
Minutes
"Ah hut before You could get out re-
plevin, | could put the things where you
would never find them. and what would you
do to help yourself Perhaps you'd su,
sheriff Connur 2" And again came the lmpu
dent question, " How nre you going to helr
yourselit'
This is u faithful statement of what tooh
place IN the office of one ot tho most re
spectacle and respected business men in tn,
city There isn't anything So rotten IN the
world Ms the administration of law III thE
city since the courts and the officials passed
, under Tweed's hands. There is NO respon
sibihty anywhere, and an officer here hn'
nearly much range ns an Arab otlicnl
) When lielmbnlds store on Broadway passo,
into the hands of the sheriff the entire stock
, valued at over S75. 900 waspartly stolen out
right, and the balance was eaten up IN costs
, the creditors only got IL few thousand dollar
out of the whole of it. There was vas
amount of valuable goods that never appear
ed on the invoice. and which the sheriff
: officers could probably tell all about. 1t Is ,
: common thing ior them 10 find some case
of imputed irrcgulnrity. and to arrest tn,
/ party and hold him, till he pays, not tn
= claim that may bc against him-that is al
ways compromised for little or nothing
but the costs. The officers hunt up the case