The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-06-08
OUR NEW YORK LETTER
As1oR NAME RENDERED MORE PoPu-
LAR BY THE PRESENT JOHN JACOB.

His Businessiike Conduct Since He Joined
Uncle Sans Army Offsets the Course OF
William waldorf, Who Is Regarded
without Favor Here-Teddy Roosevelt.
NEW YORK, June 8. i Special. THE
prescnt John Jacob Aston has done what
no other living member of this opulent
family has ever succeeded in doing-he
has made himself popular with the plain
people of this town.
This sentence is penned advisedly. IL is
a fact that for the first time, at least with
i'm the memory of the present generation,
an Astor is receiving the plaudits OF the
work folk of New York and their words OF
praise are quite as hearty as the words OF
contempt which are the only portion or
his self exiled cousin, William Waldorf.
But it isn't the mere enlistment in Uncle
Sans army that has made John JACOB
Aston favorite with wage earning New
Workers. To tell the truth, his stock,
which had never been high in the popular
mind here, fell away rapidly Immediately
after he offered his services TO the govern
ment and declined still further when he
was appointed inspector with the rank of
lieutenant colonel.
That was because he was accredited
with no higher motive than desire To get
his name before the world as patriot by
securing appointment to place with sup
posedly nominal duties only. And so
prone is humanity to take only selfish
motives into consideration that the offer
of his yacht, free use of his railroads and
the equipment of battery without ex-
pense to the nation were looked upon as
nothing more nor less than open brides
for military rank.
Fears Neither Dirt Nor Work.
One of the papers sometimes termed
yellow egged on this sentiment by print
ing his name at the head of list of mil
lionare soldiers together with sarcastic
comments, and the resulting sneers that
fell from the lips of the workers in this
town were so bitter that John Jacobs ears
must surely have burned were the old SUI
perstiton true one.
Now, it may be that the New York
workingman's former estimate of John
Jacob Astors character was fully justified
by the facts. He may he a person of no
force at all, one who without his great
wealth could never make himself known
to the world in any capacity. But the av-
erage New York workingman does not
think so today. In his opinion John Jacob
Astor has redeemed himself, and he has
done it solely by showing that he is afraid
Of neither hard work nor dust and dirt.
Every printed dispatch from Chickamauga
relating how the millionaire has been hus-
Ting, how he was seen on one occasion all
covered with sweat and CRIME, how on an
other he rode in n common day coach and
disdained not to talk with whoever adj
dressed him, how he has been sleeping in
a tent the same rs everybody else-all
these things have markedly changed his
| status with the men who work for wages
| here.
1t is unfortunately true that they cannot
understand it, since examples of rich young
| Americans doing disagreeable things be
! cause they think 1t their duty are all toe
J rare, and an explanation of his course on
! these lines would not bc received for n mo
ment Neither would the notion that III
finds plenty of action and continuous men
tai occupation a relief from the lnonotony
| of his ordinary easeful pleasure seeking
life be credited. But that his motives ar,
| neither sinister nor trivial seems to be &C
| cepted by all hands. Here is the way h,
| was sized up this morning by an intelli
gent imam in his shirt sleeves:"
"John Jacob Astor is so rich that h
can't be doing this thing for Doodle. Hi
social position is so well assured that h
can't be impellcd by a desire to improv
his standing with the swells. As to pur
patriotism-that can't be it, for he coul,
hire a man to be army inspector VIII
would do the work as well as he can. NJ
opinion is that his main object Is famil
pride. William Waldorf Astor has bee
jumped on so hard by the papers and tn
people that John Jacob wants to show eN
erybody that there's something of res
value I'm the Aston blood after all. An
, that's the kind of thing we like to Sc,
Men in his own class may sneer at him a
they like in the future; we who have I
3 sweat and put up with dust and dirt ever
q day of our lives are for Jack Aston ever
= time after this. "
Jack Aston as n Man.
There Is no doubt that the working
mans feeling of admiration for Mr.. A
tors policy of personal action is large
Z shared by those "of his own class" also.
1t is no secret that he has been regardt
by them in somewhat humorous ligl
D hitherto. His book descriptive of adve
{ lures in the inter stellar ether, produc,
q at considerable expense and widely heral
II ed by the newspapers as millionaire
literary effort, fell fiat SO far as sales z
Y His laboratory, fitted up with every co
k ceivable appliance for scientific invcstig
10 ton, has been barren of results. He h
, never displayed political ability. His ter
as an officer of the state national qua
'r was noted by nothing more important tn,
e the clothing of his lank figure in INC
10 gorgeous uniform. In social life he h
lived up to his level perhaps, but he h
&c never signalized himself by any notal
70 splurges, and his morals have always be
n uninterestingly good. About the or
= thing he ever has done to raise his MAJ
above the "deadly commonplace has be
u to make one trip as an engineer on 10,
OF motive of one of his own railroads, a
that was generally held to be simply
~ freak, altogether too trivial and boyish
Gu any use.
al Now, however, he is really doing son
L. thing, and, so far as the world knows,
m ing 1t well. That he isn't attemptin,
| toe l. # 10 l...& A. 4