Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-12-24
Y-INDERBHT.
Some Characteristics-!Th Lost Mu-
scItn Short of Gnsh-POliiicinns.

William II. Vanderbilt. He has met
them nh with the utmost good nature
in it seems us if there was TO end to his
fund OF anecdote of the dead millionaire
For 30 years past Mr.. Depew has been on
terlus OF the closest intimacy with AIr.
Vanderbilt, and no one was more
thoroughly acquainted with his ways OF
life and habits of thought. Mr.. Depew
was asked this evening what especial
benefit Mr.. Vanderbilt had derived from
his vast riches. This question led him
into meditative frame of mind and he
said:
''Mr. Vanderbilt often said to me that
his enormous wealth really gave him no
advantages which any moderately wealthy
men might not possess. Il have my
house, my pictures and my horses he
said, and SO do they. cal have a
steam yacht if want TO, but il would
| give me no pleasure, and don't care for
it. 1t is true, however, that c,tu do big
things, and there is certain pl. asure in
the exercise of TINT power luve fre-
| quently seen a look of distress on Mr..
| Vanderbilts face when he was talking
with number of friends. lie was dis
| tressed because he could see that they
were evidently trying to learn the bent of
his wishes, so that they might follow him.
What he wanted was an honest expression
of personal opinion, and he tuund few
men independent enough to give him
their opinions il they differed from his
own. He knew very we'll that he did not
know everything himself, and that his
Judgment was not infallible and he was
anxious to learn the real truth about
things and to obtain the candid opinions
of others in regard to them. He might
differ with man and contest his reason
ing, but his own opinions were always
modified by what others said. In this
respect he differed entirely from his
father, the commodore, who followed his
own Judgment solely and who was i'm
patient of contradiction.
''An amusing story is told of Mr.. Lam
bert Wardell, who for 40 years was the
private secretary of the commodore. The
latter bought an expensive watch, of
which he was very proud. One day
friend said to him that the watch was
poor one and that Wardell had much
better timepiece. The commodore put
his head around outside his screen and
said: sWardell, what time is it p Same
time as you, Mr.. Vanderbilt, replied Mr..
Wardell, who knew too much to put him.
self in conflict with the commodore"
HWhatever Mr.. Vanderbilt's opinions
were in regard to the business manage
ment of the roads in which he held the
controlling interest, he never interfered
with the wishes of the officers. When he
made man the president of road he
meant that he should be the actual presi-
dent ; and while Mr.. Vanderbilt was free
to express his opinion on all subjects, he
let the president have his own way and
held him responsible for the conse-
quences. While letting others have their
own way, he never cared to undertake
anything himself unless he had his way in
it. AT one time he thought of doing some
great thing for the city. He wanted to
to be original and he sought for some
thing different from what other men had
done. Hospitals and libraries, accessible
and inaccessible, had been founded by
other men and were common enough, and
his family had already established uni
versity in Tennessee.so there was nothing
new in those lines. He finally decided on
building o museum if the ground could be
obtained on the block opposite his house,
in Fifth avenue and now occupied by the
Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum. He
commissioned me to buy the land and he
said he would build on it magnificent
museum and endow it with $5, 100000. /
spoke of his plan to Professor Waldstein,
of the Cambridge College Museum, and he
said that museum SO richly endowed
would be ten times richer than any other
museum in the world and would in few
years completely excel all other museums
in the extent and value of it's collection.
told this to Mr.. Vanderbilt and it added
fire to his enthusiasm He wanted to see the
museum going up opposite his own house,
where it would be constantly under his
eye and he could boss the work. tried
for year to obtain the land, but was
unable to procure it, because of the pecu-
liar manner in which it is held by the
asylum. It belongs to the city and is
rented for 500 years for 81 q year, to te
used ouly for asylum purposes. If the city
and asylum authorities should agree to
terminate the lease and sell the land, the
purchase price by law would have to be
turned over to the sinking fund of the
city. OF course, the asylum people would
have agreed to the sale of the land if the
million or more dollars were paid over to
them but this could not be done unless
by act of legislature and it was known for
q certainty that the legislature would not
do anything of the kind. Not being able
to have his own way, Mr.. Vanderbilt
abandoned the plan and the city lost one
of the most valuable monuments in the
world.
'Although Mr.. Vanderbilt was so enor
mously wealthy he had very clear idea
as to the value of money. He invariably
invested his income long time before he
received it, SO that he was constantly in
Ja114 G~..
him to look out for his dollars very
sharply. He considered his money not
relatively to his great wealth, but on the
same footing as the money OF other men
and expected as much for it. He had a
He said to me- "What is there in poll
tics to be desired There is no money in
it, and by going into it man breaks up
resume it afterwards. It lays him open
to constant abuse and gives him endless
trouble. There is very little honor in it.
Politicians never impressed me at all. /
had three United States senators in my
Office the other day and I pnid no more
attention to them than if they were SO
many clerks. If they had been great
shippers, great railroad men or great
business men of any kind should have
been interested in them, but as it was
didn't understand them. They do not
impress me at all. Whenever 1 go to
Washington they want to sell me patent
or ask for place on some of my roads,
saying that they want to get out of poll
tics"
"His idea of the highest pinnacle of
greatness to which man could attain
was TO become president of the New York
Central and Hudson River railroad. He
considered that the highest honor he
could bestow and worth more than n mil
lion dollars to any man."
A Munificent Gift.
Senator Stanford of California, knows