The Dickinson press., 1888-03-17
CMAUNcEY NJ. DEpEW.
HOW HE LOOKS AFTER HIS VOL
LUMINOUS CORRESPONDENCE.

Varied Character Of the Letters He Re
ccivcs-An Sorts of Requests from All
Sorts OF REPRESENTATION Letters by
the Dozen.
~ safe yawns in one corner of the room.
From underneath the closed iii eff Mr.. De-
pcw's desk peep n row of newspapers. Some
one has been in his room before him. and his
mail has been placed at hand for his insIec-
ton. And it is something of II mail, too. SO
You would think if Won had to open it. Thu
oldest thing about these letters is their varied
character. Hall on more refer to the bust
ness %! the great corporation which MI.
Dcl,cw manages. The other half refer to his
still more widely known relations to the
social world.
Here Is a letter that would nave made the
Presidents great predecessor, Commodore
| Vanderbilt, turn black with rage. 1t only
rrovokes II smile on MIR. Depcw's countc-
nance. 1t is from Il college boy who has been
appointed by his Greek letter society to de-
fond a certain proposition i'll Il public debate.
rh" question is: ''Rcsolvcd, that free trade
is more advantageous to the country than
protection" The unhappy writer is expected
To uphold the Golden theory, and, realizing
the magnitude OF the task andtle Importance
OF the question. lie seeks Mr.. Dcpew's views
briefly on the subject.
y courteous reply is Immediately dictated,
thanking the youth for tho honor of the re-
quest. and expressing regret that business
cures prevent his giving the matter hat de-
liberation the importance of the subject de-
manls.
ALL SORTS OF WANTS.
Another and partially similar request comes
from a young man in Ohio. who is called
upon TO make n speech at IL Sunday school
convention. Would Mr.. Dcpcw please send
him Il few suitable suggestions for the occa-
sioA. Or, if that would ctoo much trouble.
Il copy of his own speeches would be greatly
appreciated.
''Tlle third letter of that sort within three
months,' comments the president as he
crumplcs the paper i'll his hand and drops it
into the waste basket.
astonishing how meny people there are
who want money. And they always want
lur.s', sums, too" he remarks, as lie lays down
an open letter in IL wolnanis handwriting. ~
have no doubt of this woman's need INT her
sin, Gritty. Read it."
Hon. Chaunccv NJ. Depew:
am forced to appeal to your generosity,
THOUGH Slf)lllu llutil iiltHcF llpl GU So. rive
years ago my husband died, leaving me with
six children and my little home. | was
obliged TO mortgage the property for $4,000.
Last summer l was sick and could not pay
the interest. Will you please advance me the
money. The place will be fdfecloscd Oh the
first of the month, and 1 don't know what we
shall do. Please don't disregard the prayer
of Il widowed and dcspairing mother.
INDl1 notice observes tha praSit1pOt tsthat
there is not one word in this about my loan
ing the money. She evidently expects it as
a gift
twill you answer it!"
"What good would that do. She would
only write again. l very seldom answer
begging letters. Courtesy in such cases gen.
orally makes matters worse"
There are other letters of q similar nature
asking for sums varying from $500 to $1,000.
They are read and buried without ceremony
in tho waste basket.
LETTERS OF INVITATION.
Now we come to a different kind of letters.
These ask %favors, but not pccuniary ones. UNI
less; Il busy mans time islegurdcd literally i'll
that light. They arc invitations to dinners
where Il speech is expected in addition to his
company. There are an even half dozen OF
these. three of them for the same evening.
They are pleasantly answered and politely
declined, with regret.
Here is a letter from Il committee in a,
thriving southern city. They are about to
open with impressive ceremonies IL new
chamber of commerce, and want Mr.. Depcw
to deliver the Grafton of the day. He is
urged i'll fcrvcnt terms not to disregard this
invitation.
COZ course, l cannot CO. he observed. sit
is OUT of the question. If | accepted all the
Invitations | received l would have to be i'll
half Il dozen different towns on the same
night frequently.n
The stcnographcr takes down a witty reply
rcgrctting that other duties prevent his ac-
crptance.
Now, next week." he continues, II shall
receive half q dozen letters from gentlemen
i'll that town whom l know. They will urge
me to come and will tell nW that the occa-
sion is of such Importance that the ordinary
reasons which prompted my refusal do not
apply to it i'll the least. This sort of a re-
fusll has to be repeated two or three times
on the average"
Letters from clergymen asking for passes,
from friends asking for places, from parents
bc9ging the reinstatement of dismissed sons,
from political managers making suggestions
Tor SleeclleS, ana from captlouS crltlcs o1tcr'
ing structures regarding speeches that have
already been made, comprise q part only OF
the remaining letters.
Rather IL hard task to wade through then
all. 1t would be under any circumstances
but it is rendered doubly difficult to Presi
dent Depew. There is hardly ii letter i'll tho
bundle which is not read while some visitor
is talking to him. His vocal replies are con
stantly mingled with his written ones, ant
the stenographer is often half i'll despair a
to whether q sentence is intended for the cor
respondent in San Francisco or the railroad
magnate from Chicago who is seated1y TIN
presidents side.-Benjamin Northrop in New
York Mail and Express.