The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-02
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT.
An Interesting History OF the Wander
bilt Family.
FOm MuHseN's Md9d-iHs.

bilt Family.
Prom MuHsea's Magazine
Seventy-fve years ago the earthly prop
erty of the house of Vanderbilt consisted OF
a sandy farm on Staten Island and a sail
boat that Piled up and down New York
harbor. These modest possessions have
since grown until they now form the I'M
menSe estate which is held together as a
sort of family trust by the sons Of the late
William H. Vanderbilt. The entire previous
history OF the world cannot show parallel
TO this financial romance OF nineteenth cen
| fury America
IL is not enough TO cite, as the cause Of
| tbs marvellous accumulation Of wealth, the
wonderful abilities and remarkable good
luck Of its founder. the Commodore. ="
Dlncult as it is TO make IA great fortune. il
has often been proved that 1t is a still rarar
achievement TO increase one inherited from
| its maker. And so vast have been the ad-
ditions to the estate left by tae first million
| aire Vanderbilt, that his requests, great as
they were, have become overshadOwed by
the acquisitions Of his son and gIandsons The
late W liam II. Vanderbilt made twice as
much in seven years as did the commodore
in the whole course of his long career of
business ana speculation. The formers sons
are adding 60 the family pile at Il rate
Which, IL lcSo SeIlndblNIaA, - 3 III Iabll.
Miserliness is one OF the last faults of which
they could be accused, but there is no doubt
that their expenditures, ample as they are,
amount to but a comparatively small share
OF the revenue that rolls in from their
colossal investments.
10 what extent is public discussion of
the private affairs OF individuals leniti-
mater has become question of DntemDor-
AIRY interest and importance The ultra
inn fs5f .laTlx
duoed feeling OF revulsion against the
excuses in this direction of wh ca the
personal Journalism of the day must plead
guilty. Attempts have even been made Co
restrain the progress of moier1 intrusive>
ness by means OF the law, as being an in
vasion Of the constitutional privileges of the
citizen. Whether such right can be
established by writ or injunction is doub.-
full. But if a man cannot invoke the
courts to keep the details Of his private life
from the wagging tongues of a tattliag
public, vet gentleman. among gentlemen
will find his right to individual privacy uni
versaily recognized. II is not our PURPOSE
to pry into the person.. affairs OF a family
that ell joys the respect OF all its fellow cii-
zens. with the possible exception Of few
wild-eyed socialists, to whom the word
millionaire" Is as "a red rag to an
ilrtenDered bull. But IS the mention
an intelligent discussion of national
affairs, so also is it legitimate and proper to
discuss the growth OF vast fortune thai has
become part Of the history, OF modern
| finance, and TO canvass The tremendous pos
slbilities !nvolved in its possession. The
possessors themselves would readily admit
that IN the control Of these pos sibihries they
| are, in II certain sense, trustees for the peo-
| pie at large-though not in the sense INSISTED
upon by the Missionaries who, i'll their hostil-
ity to individual ownership, would destroy
| the foundations upon which society rests
There s but one parallel to the marvellous
Inheritance of financial ability that has DIS
tinguished the Vanderbilt family. That
one Is 10 be found in the house OF Roths
| child. whose colossal fortune has had much
| longer to grow and has been fostered by the
support OF most Of the crowned heads Of
Europe. In spite Of these facts, the united
wealth Of all the branches of the Roths-
COLD family is estimated at not more than
half as much again as that Of the four
Vanderbilt brothers. The landed posses
sions Of the Astors, preserved Intact for
four generations and augmented by the IN
earned increment of New York's develop
meat, hardly afford "A parallel case. The
rising generation of the Gould family he's
yet to prove its ability to manage fortune
which was probably as great as Commodore
Nanderblt's at the time of the lattsr's
death, but has since been far surpassed by
the acquisitions of the conmodores success
sors.
Seventy-fve years ago. as has already
been stated Cornelius VandsrbiIt's
grandfather and namesake was captain of a
Staten Island sailboat In 1917 no took the
bold step Of putting upon his route one of
the new-faugled vessels that went by steam.
It paid him well. and the enterprising young
mamie was then 23-hranched out rap
idly. He appeared on Wall strset with a
scheme which took shape as the Nicaragua
Transit Company. The capital of the con
Germ was placed at the ambitious figure of
"a 100000. to which the future railroad king
apparently contributed little except his per-
suasive eloquence and his wonderful ad-
illustrative ability. This latter
talent was employed so effectually
| that the young tiuancier, who acted as pres
ident Of the company, soon grew TO an i'm
| portance that dwarfec all his colleagues
, into utter insignifcance, The enterprise
was finally wound up with little profit to
the stockholders: but the commodore
stepped from its ruins TO more extensive
ventures in the same line During the rush
to California his steamers divided with
those OF the Pacific Maii Company the traf-
fic OF the isthmus route to the far western
gold fields. Others crossed the Atlantic
and a. one time he had more than sixty yes
sells in commission.
But he was one Of the first to foresee the
coming subordination of steamboats, to rail-
roads, and to realize the immense possibili-
ties OF the latter system Of transportation,
which was then hardly out of its infancy
Gradually abandoning bis marine interests,
he sought firm footing upon land by buy
ing up the stock of the Rer!sm railroad
Getting a controlling interest, he used his
power TO infiict merciless punishment upon
the Wall street spectators VITO ventured to
interfere with his plans and 20 meddla with
the securities of his road. From the com
paratvely insignificant Harlem he went on
to the New York Central, the nucleus Of
the far-reaching highways of steel that are
now known as tho Vanderbilt system Of
railroads"
When the commodore died, in January,
1887, in his SD year, he left two sons. The
younger, Cornelius Jeremiah, possessed
many amiable traits Of character ard re-
tanned to the last the friendship of some of
the foremost Of his contemporaries, notably
Horace Greeley After other legacles.
amounting in all to about SIS 600, 900, the
remainder Of the commodores accumula.
tions were left to his other son, William II.
Vanderbilt.
The man who thus, at the age of Sc, in
herited fortune estimated at S7J, 900 900 d,
was perhaps the most remarkable member
of a remarkable family He was born dur