The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-03-17
The Misery Of the Rich.

Your newspapers make great fuss"
said one of the wealthiest men in New
York to a World reporter, "about the
sufferings of the poor man during these
hard times, but don't see THAT any of
them notice particularly the diabolical
distress of the rich man"
The reporter wasn't aware that the
rich man suffered at all.
"That," said he of the wealth, "is
because you don't know anything about
it. Why, sir, undergo more actual,
absolute torture in an hour than any
poor wretch in this city. If hadn't
cent in the world I'd have some SYM
pathy, some rest, some assistance. AS
it is, | am bounded to death. I'm de-
spised, beset, annoyed, condemned,
backbitten, waylaid. The papers write
editorials about me. If go to church,
l am told that a camel can get through
the eye of a needle slicker than l can get
into heaven. If | don't dress my family
in an extravagant manner, hear that l
am an old skintiint-if do, l am told
that all think of my money is to make a
vulgar show with it. suppose worked
as hard as any man for more than two
thirds of my life to accumulate fortune,
but | believe most people think ought
to give it away and commence over again
In winter like this you have no idea of
the hardships of the rich If | help all
the people who apply to me, | might as
well go to the poor-house, and yet all of
them expect it, and most of them, | dare
say, are worthy. It's out of the Ques-
ton. So they curse me, Isuppose. All
the benevolent societies, charities, pub
lie institutions and church organizations
have their agents out. am waited upon
by committees, runners, clergymen,
secretaries. They send me half bushel
of letters Il day. They drop upon me in
most unexpected places, They get into
my private office. They wait in my
library before am up. They sit on my
front steps. They follow me into the
horse-cars. What is a man to do? If l
let them have their way, my name will
be paraded as if l wanted to advertise
my charities. If don't, the press will
want to know what he has ever done for
New York. The other day reporter
came to see me about my will He said
INC puDllC NOulu llht W DC lHlOTneu us
to the proposed disposition of my prop
erty at my decease. suppose, if l were
to get a cold in my head, there'd be a
brigade of them quartered under my
windows. | begin to feel that rich
man is disgrace to the community
that somehow have committed crime.
l don't like to look man squarely in the
face for fear his. hatred of me will show
itself, or he will stop and ask me to lend
him thousand dollars to get his starv-
ing family some food to eat. l tell you,
sir, this winter is awful hard on the rich
man. He doesn't even eat his dinner in
peace. How can he when there are over
1000 who are dinnerless? His money
gets to be a remoach to him, and he
feels as if he'd like to give the whole of
it away in one lump, and try the luxury
of being poor for a while. But you
needn't say anything about that, or I'll
have fresh battalion here tomorrow,
and half the idlers in town will be writ
ing me letters. In fact | wouldn't say
anything about it, if were you, but it's
fact that the rich man suffers in hard
winter a good deal more than the poor
man. You take my word for it, And
the poor man don't pity him bit. IN.
Y. World.