The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1890-06-20
The Cottage ana the Cow.

Some OF our Western contemporaries com
pare the acceptance by Gen. HARRTsoN'e
family Of an expensive seashore establish
ment ut Cape May Point with Mrs. CIBvE.
LANDS acceptance Of the famous COW pre-
scented to her by Mr.. GEORGE WASHINGTON
CH1LDs OF Philadelphia They seem to re-
gard the two gifts as belonging to the same
category, and to suppose that the COW JUS
titles tho cottage. This Is mistake. There
Is no parallel between the cases. The Kan
sas City journal remarks:
| Tho Globe Democrat reminds TEE 5UH that II made
no the acceptance by Mira CLEVELAND OF Jor
sey COW from Mr. GEORGE W cHiLps though It now 70,
Dukes Mrs HARRISON for accepting cottage from un-
| known douorh"
The Sun has not rebuked Mrs. HARRISON
for accepting the cottage. The person to
blame is the Hon. BENJAMIN HARRISON OF
Indiana, who ought to know b tier. The
gift Is really to him. 1t is really gift OF
money to him. The dividends which some
Of the subscribers to the cottage fund e1-
pect to derive by and by from their invest
ment depend wholly upon the circumstance
that BENJAMIN HARRISON Is President OF
the United States.
Among the known subscribers to the fund
Is the proprietor Of a seaside hotel at Cape
May. whose profit from the transaction will
be direct and immediate. There Is good
reason to believe that part Of the money was
supplied by persons not remotely Interested
in building lots in that sandy neighborhood.
Perhaps JOHN WANAMAKERs name Is on
the list Of subscribers. He is certainly In a
way to gain or to lose according to the tenn
perature OF Gen. HARR1soN's gratitude.
Mr.. GEORGE WASHINGTON CH1LDs and
Mr.. ANTHONY JOSEPH DRExEL were
also among the contributors. Col. SIN
GERLYs newspaper is an authority for
the statement that neither Mr.. CH1Lps nor
Mr. DRExEI knew that the money they
gave was to be applied to the purchase Of
real estate for the Presidents family. They
went into the transaction blindly at the
solicitation Of gentleman In whom Mr..
CHILDs has confidence, supposing they
were helping along some worthy charity.
When Mr.. CHILDS discovered the real pur-
pose of this blind pool. he Immediately pub
lished in his newspaper, the Public Ledger.
a forcibe editorial article on Mistaken Kind
ness, in which he pointed out the bad con-
sequences of injudicious charity.
The COW that went to Red Top during the
CLEVELAND Administration was merely one
Of the conventional expressions OF MIR.
CHILDs's universal benevolence. He did
not give the COW to Mrs. CLEVELAND be-
cause she was the wife Of the President Of
the United States, but because she was q
charming woman whom he admired and es-
teemed; and, in the mind Of this friend Of
mankind, admiration and esteem are the
parents Of an irresistible desire to give
something to the person admired and es-
teemed. Sometimes the token Is teacup;
sometimes it is a silver gilt mug; some
times 1t Is an Attorney COW; sometimes 1t Is
a copy OF the Public Ledger Almanac. The
motlveis always the same; the good will
that goes with the gift is never measured by
the money value Of the article Mr.. CHILDs's
peculiar right to give. to give what he
pleases, and to give to whom he chooses,
rests upon moral, legal and popular foun-
dation as firm as II 1t had been established
by a Constitutional amendment.
II the Kansas City journal and the Globe
Democrat refer to tho figures OF the last cen-
sus, they will find that not one Of the 3d.
1861 S3 inhabitants Of the Uuited States Is on
record as Directing to Mr.. GEORGE WASH
NaToN CHILDss prerogative. 1t is his by
unanimous consent and approval.