Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1888-07-28
coTHAM's cRGsUsEs,
The Only City Where a thousand "'''''"
aires Can he Found.

The Only city Nhcre
aires Can BE Found.
How many m~illionaires are mere
In New York and its vicinity
This interesting query cant De
answered by examining the tax rolls
of the assessors. They shed no hSh'
whatever upon it. Nor is it practical
h,e 10 make a house to house canvass
Of the matter. A little a PRIOR reason
inc does. however, show their NUMBER
10 be necessarily very large
Fifth avenue begins at Washington
square. Put down half a dozen or Sc
m~ilIiopaires of the Knickerbocker
tyne for the square and press on up
| the avenue. Between the beautiful
old onare, so dear to somnolent re-
| speciality, and Central Park there
are 76q street numbers. Making a
| reasonable allowance for the space
occupied by club houses, boarding
houses. gambling houses and churches'
and for the ruck Of high furniture
bric-a-brac and modistes' establish
ments which are chasing the nops
residences out toward K~ingsbridge "A
quarter Of a mile or so a year, there
are probably not less than 400 private
residences on this portion Of the
avenue. Above Fifty-ninth street to
Seventy-ffth street there may be loo
or so more
Now. when q person lives on ruin
| avenue il means one of these these
| two things-either that he is "A mil
l%ionaire or that he is living beyond
his means. The proof OF this is SIM
pie. The income of n single million,
the possession of which entities the
possessor to the termination "aire, y
invested in United States bonds at 10
is 1872, 900 per annum, with the GER
tainty of the reduction Of the capital
at maturity to $4,000 Invested in
real estate or bond and mortgage il
may produce from $4,000 to $4,000
annually, Invested in business which
is more profitable than this it must be
classed as extremely hazardous.
Now for the expenses. The spring
''test sales of vacant lots on Fifth
venue have been held. Narrow lot,
two miles above Murray Hill, where
now is a goat-cropped pasturage o.
rocks. bring $4,000 each. On Murray
Hill, of course, they are worth much
more. aCheap houses are never built
on these expensive lots. The cost o
a narrow house complete, including
the lot, is from 800, 600 to 1928, 600
palaces like those Of the Vanderbilt.
and Whitneys cOme even higher. Tn,
first expense the owner and occupieI
Of one of these houses has to as
sumo by virtue OF his ownership is
therefore, some $1,000 at the yer,
least for interest, taxes and insurance
Add to this the cost of madalnc's an(
misses wardrobe, young hopeful
$1,000 a year at Harvard, the cost o
servants, carriages, pew hire, charity
balls, dinners, entertainments, house
hold expenses-less than a million
does not and can not safely do it.
On the external evidence then
there must be 100 or 800 m~illionaires-
ranging from the comparatively poo
chaps with only one or two each, t,
the Goulds and Bclmonts and Millsc
and Nanderbilts-On Fifth avenu,
alone. OF course external evidence i
deceptive in many cases, for a y%ariet,
of reasons. some of which have beer
limited at.
But the breed is not localized OF
Fifth avenue. 1t fairly swarms else
where. For two miles along Fiftl
avenue the side streets are choice. ant
good houses sell at 500, 900 and un
ward. Here millionaires do mos
abound, Indeed without a good bit o
money a man can not live in sight o
Murray Hill. Madison avenue has il
own quota OF wealthy mon, quic
Gramercy Park not a few, and solitar,
members are scattered here and Their,
as far north as Harlem and west {,
Riverside drive on the Hudson. II
Brooklyn there are a hundred. doubt
less, In e "A haunts of Jersey anC
Wcstchester County half as many. OF
Long island a swarm OF them. With
in an easy ride of New York's Cit,
Hall there can not be less than a thou
sand millionaires and there may b,
more, and Mr.. Georges attention i,
invited TO the patent fact that yer,
few of them made their wealth in rea
estate.
Of the second division of wealth,
men-those whose possessions run
comfortably into the hundreds o
thousands, or who enjoy incomes o
ike pr0portions-the number is lie
glon. Some people think that to be
member even OF this second class i,
the scale of wealth is luck enouph
", Y. Letter IN 81. L0uis Globe Dem
Or.1f