The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1897-01-13
NEW YORK LETTER.

The will of the late Mrs. William II.
Vanderbilt, mother of the present gen.
Grafton OF Yanderbilts, was presented
for probate the other day by Doctor
Chauncey Depew. Its provisions seem
somewhat peculiar, yet sensible wlthal.
Mrs. Vanderbilt gives nothing to char
ity and nothing to her children save
her jewels and plate to the latter and
her pew in ST. Bartholomew Church
to the youngest son, George. The es-
tate which is valued mt about S1.100,-
600 is divided among her family, the
kissams. The sons are made eXecu-
tors, and no doubt counseled their
mother in the division of her property.
The fact that Mrs. Vanderbilt during
her lifetime gave freely to charity,
doubtless led many to believe that she
would bestow some endowments, but
she did not, with the single exception
of $25o00o to parish house of which
She was the original promoter.
The Horse Show of 1896 Is now n
memory. 1t has again demonstrated
its right TO be known MS the first great
social function of the year. As in
former years, SO this year, IL has called
the faithful home from the seashore,
and the mountain. and even from
neross the sea. or course, it has been
a success. 1t was society's affair. So
ciety was In 1t and behind 1t. Enough
Is said While the opening sales of
boxes did not bring rs large premiums
as heretofore, the receipts cannot be
much less than in other years, reach
Ing Its climax Friday. when there
were ETH. paid admissions. This Is
the biggest day save one the last year,
when the Duke and Duchess of MARI
borough were the stellar attractions.
There We're no empty boxes the last
evening, and the promenade was JAM
med almost to sufocation. The officers
of the association were feeling well
pleased with the success of this years
show. and had no hesitation in saying
SO.
The proposal to use horscless wa
CONS for the collection of mail In this
city, following closely on the success
full introduction of the collecting
wagons themselves, will inspire New
Workers with the hope that nj last
some effort will b. made to give them
an adequate postal service While the
Postotllec of this city earns more mon
ey for the Postoilice Department than
that of any other city in the Union, its
service IL, In many respects, little bet
ter than that Of n rural town. The
trouble is not With the Postmaster or
his staff of assistants. They do the
best they can under the circumstances,
and some of them, we believe, are over
worked. The fact Is that Congress
has never done Justice to New York In
making appropriations for Its postal
service. The point has been lost sight
of that, in sense, the New York Post
office Is the general postotlice for the
whole country, and that, therefore,
every Improvement in its service Is
beneficial to the people of the country
in general. Jealousy of the financial
and commercial supremacy OF this city
has too often swayed fhc votes Of Con-
grcssmcn, and instead Of reaping any
benefit from its enormous profits, the
New York Postoflce is seriously Grip
pied for the lack of funds to do its
work properly, while its profits help
10 make good the losses Of the Depart
ment in other places. When we come
TO compare our postal service with that
of the great cities of Europe, we see
Mt once how far bchindhand New York
IL In It's postal facilities. There are
more than twice AS many mail deliver
les in London as there are in this city.
A letter In London reaches Its destl-
nation In less time than II does In New
York. ana the deliveries in the English
metropolis ARE more regular than in
this city. AS Il result, people can tell
almost to the minute when letter
viii reach the person to whom II Is ad-
dressed.
And now the great Wanamaker of
Philadelphia has opened the store
made famous by A. Il. Stewart, and In
famous by the sons of Judge Hilton
Mr.. Wannmaker was poor boy when
Stewart was II merchant prince, and il
Is said that in those days Wanamaker
came up from the Quaker city and
Stewart gave him credit to the extent
of n considerable amount, which was
the virtual beginning of his successful
career. Wnnamaker promises New
York IA store which VIII parallel his
Justly celebrated Philadelphia estab-
lisbment, and one several grades bet
ter than the so-called department
stores we have, where anything from
clothes pins to political preferment
can be obtained for n price. Wanna
maker announces himself as successor
to A. II. Stewart, and not Of the Hilton
Brothers, and as such will doubtless
succeed. CYRUS THoRP.
A VALUABLE SERVANT.