New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-09-26

Year by year it grows more absurd for dying
man to try to maintain any authority, by will or
otherwise over the goods and chattels which he has
leftbehind. Here comes claimant for the Forrest
Actors Homo, cousin in an obscure degree, whom
the great tragedIan perhaps never saw or
heard of yet who makes his claim too, with an APP
parent chance of success. The claim rests upon the
plea that in this State devise of land to trustees to
found corporation is void by statute. ard that in
Pennsylvania the trustees Of a home cannot hold
real estate of sufficient value to produce an annual
income of $50, OO0 The Actors Home, asserts this
claimant, has absorbed yearly revenue largely in
excess of that amount. Besides, he contends also,
the charity is misapplied, as one old man has
BEEN as yet the sole occupant Of the princely man
sion. There is something pitiable in this case.
Poor old Metamora sat alone during the later years
of his lfe in his great solitary dwelling, like the
forlorn giant whom Christian saw gnawing his own
flesh in his cavedoor while lesser folk passed jecr
ing on the other side of the way. he had neither
wife nor child nor knsman TO gladden. with his
wealth. so he planned this fantastic charity, great
beautiful retreat, where decayed actors might hide
from the world which had forgotten them, and keep
his memory green with their gratitude when the
world had forgotten him also Now, the retreat,
and his memory possibly will fall into the keeping
of a man who was stranger to him, and who GER
tainy pays no Difference to his dying wishes. The
half dozen decayed actors who have been unfortu-
nate enough to accept his charity have been thereby
dragged before the world in their condition of pau
perism. Moral: Spend your money before you
die if You leave a single gIoat Fate will sit aslrde
of your coffin with churllsh grim to take that
it shall be spent precisely you do not choose it
to go.
Gen. McClellan's letterof acceptance is short and
prompt and good at least in the that il con-
tains nothing bad. In saying little he shows his
characteristic prudence. Candidates have usually
lost more than they have gained by writing letters.
Mr.. Clay was naturally of as frank disposition as
possible, and two three times his frankness cost
him the Presidency; yet even he followed the old
plan of writing letters and one Of them helped to
defeat him when his prospect was uncOmmOny good.
1t used to be said falsely of course that Gen. Hai-
son, in 1910, was put into the hands of COM
mittee to keep him from writing damaging letters.
When Gen. Taylor was a candidate, his letters were
80 good that everybody said kindly that they were
not his own productions. Mr.. Van Buren, was
master of the art of writing letters of kind which,
we are happy to FAY, has become obsolete but all
his shrewdness and dexterty failed him in the long
run. Whenever Mr.. Greeley was a candidate, his
letters had the merit of perfect frankncss; lie never
said what he did not think and he always said what
he did think; and there was no falsehOood in him.
But as rule the letters of candidates are far from
being candid expressions of opinion, the main part
being frequently to avoid the expression of opinion
at all as Gen. Mcclellan does. Talleyrand's maxim
was never to write n letter and never to burn one
and. unless public man is strong in his integrity
and has nothing to conceal, perhaps he should adj
here AS closely as he can at least to the first part
Of this rule
We suppose there must be some standard of hon
esty in Philadelphia, and we should like very much
to know what it is. According to one of the sun
day papers of that city the entire community con-
vused with sympathy for Mr.. John ). Morton, that
"active able and energetic gentleman, who had
"long struggled hopelessly with accommodating bur
"dens." 1t was the opinion ofmany people that the
railway company, whose stock be had taken the lib
erty of appr0priating, "coud not suffer him to
"signp His retirement from active business will
be a great loss to the city; there are few
business men of such generous liberalism
''and capacity for great enterprises; the comlnu-
nity still has faith in him. and refuses to at
tribute the calamity to any purpose not consistent
with integrity" Possibly the confding owners of
the million or so Of dollars which he borrowed upon
fraudulent securities take part i'll the general
gush of sentiment but that only shows that they
have narrow and sOrdd minds, incapable of appre-
ciatng capacity for great enterprises" Isn't it
about time for us to learn that the model man Of
business must DO something more than active. able