The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-06-09
Our New York Letter.
The Vanderbilt Estate-WO0d-
huII * Claflin-Fletcher Hars
per-CustOm.hOuse 1nvestiga.
tiOn-Brsains at Auction, etc.
NEW YORK, june 2, 1877.
EDITOR CHIEF /:

New YORK, June 2, 1877.
EDITOR CHEF:
William j. Vanderbilt has gone off
to Europe, no Ope knows why; Mrs.
LIE Bau, one of the daughters, has
commenced the contest over the will,
and Cornelius has sued for million.
Aud to add to Williams trouble, Ten.
ME Claflip aud the Woodruff come
up and sue for 500, 900, which they
claim the old Commodore owed them
for commissions when they were
brokers. 1t is a well known fact that
the Commodore did furnish them with
money on which to do their business,
and that is was his money that run
that scandalous sheet, TVoodhuH and
Clqfin's Weekly, which preciWtated
the Beecher scandal. Cornelius is
about the beet abused man in Amer
ica, just now. His affectionate broth
er's friends-and man with u hun
dred millions always has plepty of
them-are spreading stories that Cor
nelius is drunkard, spendthrift,
a gambler and roae. Probably at
one time of his life this was partially
true. But for years he has been as
correct as any map in world. In his
childhood he was struck with epilepsy,
and only recently recovered from it.
Heidi spend some money, and he does
now owe the Greeley estate Sl5,00O
which his father refused to pay. But he
is a kind, wcllmeaning man, and, in
spite of hislong continued ill-health,
man of much more than ordinary
ability. Nearly every body here
hopes he will succeed in getting what
would seem to be little enough out Of
SO great q fortune.
Speaking of Woodhull and Clafin,
this is their first appearance for some
months. They lost their grip upon the
public about two years ago, and have
never been able to regain it. Once
they were very rich, but they did not
know how to keep their money, and
they went down, down, till they are
living now in abject poverty. Wood
hull makes spasmodic attempts to
lecture, but tAp public take no interest
in her. Blood has deserted her, fol-
lowing his notion of standing by an
affinity only so long as it is pleasant
to him, and Fepnie was always
disagreeable person, without any
point all. Thrown off from very
nasty surface, they lived about as
long as such flies usually do, and
have gone as such flies always do.
They have had their very short sum-
mer.
Decoration day was generally OBJ
served in the city. Business was ep-
tirely suspended, the stores remaining
closed all day. The procession was
fine, comprising all the military, the
police department, all the societies,
and vast host of citizens who took
this way af testfying their respect for
the memory of the fallen brave.
A great many years ago, four BROTH
ers, sons Of a Long Island farmer,
came to New York and learned the
printing business. Getting through
their apprenticeships, they con-
menced book printing in a small way,
which, as they were sober, indus
trious and shrewd, soon got to be a
very large way. These boys were
Joseph, James, Wesley and Fletcher
Harper. Fletcher, the last of the
brothers, died this week, after bus
mess career of over half Il century.
The family was remarkable one in
many respects. They never had a
difference or quarrel, With bus
mess amounting to millions per year,
with the largest publishing house in
this country aud one Of the largest
in the world, every thing went like
clock work, each brother managing
the department he was best fitted for,
without interference from the other.
If one had doubts us to the advisa-
bility of a movement, u council was
called, aud whatever the decision
it was carried out. As sons were born
to them, they came into the firn, all
being literally born to the business.
Every male Harper was educated first,