Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-07-27

Ities entail upon him. He does not give his leisure time, as Trollope did, to litera- turc, but he employs very much of 1t in the active personal direction of very many philanthropic, religious and clecmosynary institutions in New York city. The amount of personal attention which Mir Vanderbilt gives to these associations is of itself quite as great as some of the ablest business men give to their business vacations.
 But it is as n business man that this quality of systematic arrangement of his time especially distinguishes MT. Wander bilt among his business associates. As he Is Q very modest man, singularly retiring, unique in his desire to escape the public eye, these habits of his arc scarcely known to the general public, although greatly ad- mired by his business associates. Years ago, when his grandfather, one of the greatest gcniuscs of business organizations the world has ever seen, was busy dcvcl- oping that law of railways which is now seen in its perfection in the combination of many lesser railway lines with one great system, young Vanderbilt was n clerk in the Shoe and Leather bank in New York city. He was distinguished among banking clerks of New York for q proInptness that was esteemed t<uly pho nomenal. He was never ahead of time at his desk or his engagements, and, on the other hand, he was mover behind time. At the exact moment that the banking house opened ho took his place at his desk Sometimes, when there was m extraor- dinary rush of business, Inc remained at his desk until long after office hours, and | 1t was said of him by the officers of the ] bank that he was never known to be bc hindhand n single moment in his work. In these later years this quality of | promptncsS and orderly method has been | strikingly manifested not only in his busi- ""cs. but in his rlcasur, For instance | MT. Vanderbilt in May last went to Flu | rope for n brief vacation. Before he sailed | he had jottcd down in memorandum book an itinerary of his trip, fixing his arrival and departure from the various places he | proposed to visit tO the exact moment A copy of that itinerary was left with his subOrdinatcs, so that if it was desired to communicate with him upon any particu- lar day thcse subOrdinates wcro perfectly assured that n cable dispatch would reach him as swiftly as telcgraphic service made | possible. Further than that, he fixed the time of his arrival in New York not only | to the dny, hut to the hour, nnd If there should be any delay upon the steamer upon which he returns MT. Vanderbilt will be | of nll the passengers that one most an- noycd. because he has an almost morbid I
 So accurate arc his calculations that u | special train will bc made up at a certain | hour in tho Grand Central station in New York. scheduled to depart for Newport at n certain moment. If tho steamship ar rivcs at the pier in New York at the time set down in Mir. Vandcrbilt's itinerary, he will enter . cab there waiting for him, be driven to tho railway station, looking at his watch frequently, and if he arrives so I ehA fhaT, ke. is rejOiccd.
 So particular is he in regard to these ac- curacics of time that at the various meet ings which he attends his associates upon the boards arc able to fix tho time with the accuracy of a watchmaker by Mir. Vanderbilt s appearance. Tho private sec | rotary of President Low of Columbia col lcge says that when the meetings of the trustees arc fixed for 8 o'clock or any oth- CT hour the door always opens on the mo- ment exactly, and MT. Vanderbilt enters, unless he has sent word that he will not be able to be present. If he cannot be at any of the meetings at the hour set, it is his invariablc custom to send q note stat ing that hc will be delayed, but will be able to be present perhaps half an hour later.
 Some time ago an important meeting of one of the boards of which Mir Vanderbilt Is member was to be held at 10 o'clock in the morning. On the day before MT. Vanderbilt, who was in Vermont, started for New York in order to keep the en- gagement. His train was delayed by an accident so severe as to be likely to inter rupt traffic for many hours. Mir. Wander.
 bilt immediately wrote a dispatch, sent 1t
 by special messenger to tho nearest tele- graph office, some 10 miles away, announc. ing his delay, and not feeling satisfied with that drove himself to that office aft crward that he might send n similar dis patch Yet this meeting was an unimpor-
 tant one, and it was not necessary for MT.
 Vanderbilt to be there, but he had prom ised to be, and therefore he could not rest easy until he went to that unusual trouble and expense that he might notify his as- sociates of the delay.
 | K. J. EpwARDs