The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-09-01
9esrirptiue Artirles,
vanderbilt's Palace.

A special correspondent of the Balti-
more Sunday Herald, under date of Au-
gust 10, gives the following description of
George w. Vanderbilt's residence near
Asheville, North Carolina:
Imagine having Vanderbilt for your
milkman-f favoring your coffee with cream
from the dairy of multi-millionaire. 1t
is enough to make one smack his lips and
imagine the product is richer than that of
ordinary dairymen. OF one thing | am
sure, no water is mixed with it; and if you
do pay 10 cents quart, you have the sat
isfaction of knowing that it is for the gen
uine extract of the COW, and that the only
aqua pura which is in it is the water the
COW drinks.
When George w. Vanderbilt began
prospecting around Asheville, less than a
dozen years ago, farming was the thing
which he least thought Of The palace,
for it is that and nothing else, which he is
buildings intended to be monument
to last for ages, silent but significant
tribute to the perseverance and ability for
accumulating wealth with which this re-
markable family is endowed. At present
roofers are covering this main structure so
that work may begin on the interior. The
outer walls Of stone and brick are com
pleted. So far not a piece of wood has
been placed in it, except scaffolding and
false work. Everything is stone, brick
and iron and steel work.
| heard an eminent architect say that it
would be as solid five centuries from the
time it is completed as the day its owner
enters it to live. Stop and think of that a
moment. Then think that 900 men are
at work on this palace and the ground, and
that Mr.. Vanderbilt viii not allow one to
be paid less than 81 per day, making
payroll alone of between S500,000 and
100000 yearly. Add to this the fact
that six years will be required to build this
magnificent home, and that in all as many
millions will be spent in the work, incud-
ing the building of roads, the terracing of
mountains-the planting
of trees and shrubs and other features of
landscape work, and you will have merely
a faint idea of the magnitude of Mr.. Van
derbit's plans.
For several weeks Wagner palace car
has been standing on the private railroad
track near the uncompeted palace 1t is
named Swannanoa In fact, Mr.. Wander
bilt loves the name and uses it whenever
possible. In this car he came from New
York to personally examine the work of
all kinds now in progress. A year ago he
usually lived in the car and confined most
of his inspection to the building and roads,
but now the farming interests occupy much
Of his attention, and, to be on the spot, he
has a suite Of rooms in an ordinary looking
two-story farmhouse about three miles
from the "mansion," " as the natives around
here termed it. The rooms have been
newly papered and have modern furniture.
Here the owner remains with no other at
tendant than an English valet, besides the
family in the house.
From the windows of his bedroom he
can see the fields of grain and the plowed
hillsides ready to be seeded. It's right iu
the country, without any indication of city
life in sight. Every morning his secretary
and superintendent Of agriculture, Baron
Allings, visits him, and an hour or so is
usually occupied in reading such reports as
the yield of corn on this or that patch, how
many tons of fertilizer have been put on
the garden, the comparative yield of milk
Of Jersey and Holstein cows, &c. Then
he often jumps into light, two-wheeled
cart and drives over to this or that farm
with the baron and examines some new
fodder plant or some insect which may be
damaging the grain. Often he will walk
into the field and talk with the hands at
work, on some detail of planting
In short, 1t is easy to see that nature
has strong attractions for him, and the cul-
tivation of the soil has as much fascination
as the buying and selling of stocks and
bonds, or the planning of railroad combina-
tions. Naturally, his interest in agricul-
ture has attracted much attention through
out this section. People who at first re-
garded his purchases Of land and his plan
with envious eyes now speak of him in the
highest terms. They perceive how much
benefit his experiment win be to agricul-
turists generally, as well as to the lovers Of
good roads, since he has ample means to
carry out these experiments on the broad
est and most comprehensive basis
The general name for the Vanderbilt