The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-05
POOR VANDERBILTS.
HUMBLE RELATIVES OF THE NEW
YORK MILLIONAIRES.
Cousins of the Late William n. Van
derbilt Who Have to Work Hard for
Every Cent They Get" Declined
With Thanks"

From the PHILADELPHIA Net1s.
New YORK, Feb 25.-The other day
had occasion to 60 to Hibernia. That does
not mean the City Hall and Gothams AL
dermen, but village in the New Jersey
wilderness, forty miles from New York.
The postmaster there asked me if kne W
the Vanderbilts. 1t would never have
done to deny the acquaintance, so | said
did, whereupon he suggested that
should call on some other Vanderbilts,
cousins of the Fifth avenue people, who
live in the neighboring hamlet of Den
mark
The trip from Hibernia to Denmark is not
very long, nor is it very pleasant. In fact,
from Cork to Copenhagen would be pleas
anter journey than this jolting ride over a
rough mountain road. When Denmark was
reached it showed itself to be made up of
three or four rough implanted houses stuck
! up in the mud on the rOugher hillsides. l
| inquired of some gaping miners children
for William H. Vanderbilt, and they vol
unteered to conduct me to 'Bill's house"
That is bare cap-b 3arded structure of
| two stories with an "I4' and a bleak orch.
A rail fence separates its muddy yard from
its muddy lane. The interior Of the house
L
| is kitchen, pallOr and bedroom all in one.
Rags patch the broken glass of the win
dows; big kitchen stove warns the room;
| firewoOd constitutes the dadO of the walls,
and husk bed i'll one corner completes the
furniture. Here | saw, sitting in a high
back rocker, an old man, John Vanderbilt,
cousin of the famous Commodore.
The other members of the family came
in Immediately. Mrs Vanderbilt, the old
n NJ wifi of
famous as the most rapid catfish cleaner in
Bergen and active still; their son, William
H., a man under 30 and his wife, who take
care Of the old people
William II. said that he wouldn't let his
father work, now that he is so old, and be-
sides he managed to do pretty well con
siderin'." He rents the land and takes
crop, such as tits" off every year, work
ing around considerable also, so he didn't
see las we've got any cause to complain"
1--WE amt complainin', broke i'll the old
man, I'VE don't want anything off our rich
kin. | was up in New York just after the
Commodore died and | says to Bill after l
cum back, that when folks git so cuttin' up,
we'd better leave 'em alone They can't
deny us though" added old John. Were
the same stock. There were two brothers,
Jake and John, Low Dutch, come over and
sot down on Staten Island nigh foods Hill
Jake was the grandfather of Cornelius Van
derbilt and John was my grandfather.
That's our relationship. AS long as the
Commodore lived we were pretty good
friends, but since he died it's different. They
don't know us,
OF course Fifth avenue doesn't know
Denmark. Poor relations are always I'M
pleasant enough and are apt TO intrude, like
accidents, in the best regulated families, so
why should the Vanderbilts act differently
from the rest of the world?
The Nineteenth Century Club has been
brought into prominence of late by the
schisms which have broken its harmony
Before it was more or less obscure Not
outstanding its fondness for the expression
of advanced views, many causes have
operated to prevent the clubs acquiring a
widespread influence. One of them is said
| to be the absence of the Bohemian element
The members of the club are too 'starchy,n
| too fond of wearing evening dress
and of being seen at the evening parties
and first nights instead of cultivat
| ing literature i'll dishabille and amid the
| fumes of liquor and the Odor of tobacco
Moreover, the club is prone to wait to be
| galvanized by the Atlantic cable before be-
coming Illuminated by an idea. Until mes
| merlsm and hypnotism had agitated Eu-
ropean literary clubs, the Nineteenth Cea-
| fury scoffed at the notion of considering
either of them seriously. The sole Ameri-
can topic-the copyright-has been talked
to shreds A member once solemnly pro-
posed to vary the monotony of the debate
on "The Bible in Public Schools and kim
dred subjects by a discussion as to whether
in these da, of hurly-burlv and unrest,
| quiet and steady literary career is possible.
This dissatisfied member says he would
open the ball by telling twJ Stories illustra-
tive of the hardships of his literary start
| When he was commencing author he took
|
saw Mr.. Phillips in person. That gentle
man was sit ing with his feet on the
desk in front of him. Restoring them
| to the floor, he took the extended MS and
scooped up his Eyeglasses, which were at
tached to his coat by a chain nearly as
long as himself (Mr. Phillips is short,
| glanced careleSsly at the second page and
handed the MS. back to the author. "Why
not read it," said the latter, land give one a
chance9 It's very good. :" 'Tve no doubt
of that" said Mr.. Phillips, "but you'll dc
better somewhere elsen where do you
advise me to take itg' asked the sprig of
literature. "Oh take it to any good paper,
any good PAPER" replied the editor, reSum-
ing his first easy posture.
On another occasion the same writer car
ried an article, which subsequently APP
peared in the Forum, to review similar in
scope. Whats thisF' demanded the editor
In a tone of mingled pity and astonishment-
"A NJ $! What do you want" II want
to sell it" Sell it y lie repeated, as if the
author had offered to sell MIN a bucket of
water or a cylinder of air. "Sell it! Why,
my dear sir, | have seven safes full of origi-
nal thought, fancy and science, all of which
was given me-"
The gentleman who tells these stories is
now a reader for a large New York pub
fishing house, and he went on to give some
of his experiences in that capacity. He
said it was mistake common to both au-
thor and publisher to forget that a profess
sional reader has human limitations. Last
summer he went into the country to obtain
complete rest, the house advising him not to
read a written or printed line But he had
scarcely been away a week when a package
followed him with a note from the publish
er, stating that he himself had read the
book with pleasure, but he would rely, as
usual, on the readers judgement. The au-
thor, however, was anxious for decision,
and the book had been sent on at once.
"Well ! read it, concluded the Nine
teenth Century man, with my judgment
clOuded by resentment because my vaca-
ton had been invaded, and in consequence,
| wrote a note, advising my house to de
cline it. They did so, and since then | have
regretted my decision for the book haunts
me strangely 1t is new and powerful
But the world won't suffer. 'ISldra-that's
the title of the books 10 be published
this Surinp bv TjcknOr a. Go -