The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-09-08
THE CARES OF THE RICH.
Defense of New York's Nervous Pin.
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Julian Ralph in Providence Journal
Frederic Remington, the artist, told me
one day Of the trouble a man out on the
plains once had to keep his money out of the
reach OF the motley crew he had to sleep
with in a new railroad town. At first he
put the big bills in the lining of his hat, but.
one day. when he hung his hat up, so as TO
comb his hair, another man walked off with
it, and he had to ride after hun for three
Gays 10 get IL back. Then the unfortunate
posseSsor OF wealth put hts roll in
the leg Of his drawers and kept
his stockings on while he slept, TO keep the
| money in place. But this was calculated TO
attract attention, and the man was at a loss
what to do. until the inspiration seized him
to put the bills In the sleeves OF his under
shirt, by turning up the ends OF the sleeves
and making a natural sort Of pocket for
them there When this idea occurred to
him he knew his money was absolutely safe,
for robbers might search his pockets, hts
shoes, and everything they could find or
think OF, bus they never would suspect him
OF using his sleeves for hiding place, and
II they did. they could not ransack that part
OF his clothing without awakening him.
That was out on the plains in the old.
rough days. What Of New York, the pivot
In the center of our civilization to-dayl
Does any one suffer disturbance Of mind
through the possession of wealth in highly
civilized, well ordered community like Thisi
The Vanderbilt women, mother and mar
ried daughters, live in two carved brown
stone houses Joined together and forming
palace-so far as size and pretension go
opposite the Roman Catholic cathedral on
Fifth avenue. Around the palace is low
wall, and on that is an ornate bronze rail-
ing. 1t has silver In Its composition; the
fence is patterned like an arabasuuerie
and to produce this pattern are many lit
tie curly-cues OF bronge riveted here and
there. As each one of these little pieces
Is worth SIS the street boys come over from
the east side Of town at night and break
them off, so that special detective is now
employed TO watch the costly railing at
night. But that man is not the only de-
tective employed by the Vanderbilts They
seldom give a musicale, or hold reception,
or enjoy dance without seeing to Il that
detectives are present TO mingls with the
throng and watch the invited guests and
guard the open doors so that nothing shall
be stolen OFF the mantels or the buffets on
the bureaus. The detectives are dressed in
evening attire on such occasions, and are
supposed to be indistiuguishable from the
select folks of the sacred Four Hundred,
Our rich people all live in prison; at least,
there is nothing but prison to which most
of their houses can be so we'll hkened. It
Is true that none of them carries his titnidity
30 far as did old John Anderson, the tobac-
conist, whose house was fitted with steel
doors at every window and inner sheets of
steel in every outer doorway; nor, per-
haps, has any one else shown such an tnRe-
nuity as a certain rich wine seller in town,
whose stairsteps are connected with bells and
pistols. SO that whoever tries to ascend the
main staircase will set off alarms enough
e. all III
really surprise and depressing expert
ence to walk through the streets in the dis
trict north of Twenty-third street and south
OF Sixty-fifth street, between Fifth and
Madison avenues. The lower windows are
all heavily barred with iron and the area
doors are built OF iron. You see thesserv-
ants aud the children peering out upon
you as birds look from out their cages. The
front OF main doors at the tops Of the stoops
open with rattle and clash, like doors in
jail, because they are fitted with
great chains and bolts land some
times bars, as well as locks. Queer
warlike spike-pointed bits of iron fence are
made by the thousands to flt in the outer
lower corner OF each psrlor window, 50 that
no burglar can step from your own stoop,
or your neighbours, upon your parlor win
dow sill to break through and steal. Upon
the windows are patent "catchesn-there
are 800 kinds for sale in the stores. each
warranted to resist outside pressure and
tampering-and there are usually inner
blinds made to fasten with iron bars to re-
sist burglarious effort. The city police who
walk the streets are not enough-iudeed,
they are distrusted-and, therefore, special
wstohmen patrol the pavements armed with
clubs and pistols and paid by private con-
tributions. Chains Of massy make danRle
from the covers of the coal holes under
their feet, and chains keep the area graf
ings doubly secure, for they are locked as
we'll.
Within the house are the secret wires of
burglar alarms, and the call-boxes of the
private messenger companies are in nv
lady's and my masters bed chambers. The
skylight on the roof is bolted and barred
aud lined with iron, and in those blocks OF
faucifully patterned houses, where dormer
windows project above the cutters and the
roofs, the windows are fitted with iron bars.
1t ia not TO protect their inmates, the serv-
ants, but 60 guard the silver plate and the
aristooraoy below. Then you should see the
back yards OF the rich. The walls and
fences are pieketed with sharp-pointed iron
Of. javelins. The lower
windows are fortified and the back doors
are made OF iron.