The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1899-05-01
BEGGING BY LETTER.
American Millionaires Are Annoyed
Through the Mails.
Many Such Missives Received Every
Day Are Considerably Treated
by Their Rich Re-
cfDieuts.

Rated in accordance with the num-
Der of begging letters received, Miss
Helen Gould would probably be ranked
first among the men and women of
New York who measure their wealth
by millions, though this was not so,
perhaps, till after she had begun her
remarkable work of relieving the wants
of the soldiers.
Miss Gould treats her begging mail
with much more respect than do most
persons of large wealth, for, unless
engaged with other matters, she reads
every letter asking for financial aid
on the same day it is received, setting
aside a<certain. part of each "a hours
for its perusal in company with her
private secretary. Many of these let
ters, most of them, in fact, are so palp-
ably fakes that no serious attention
is paid to them, yet so sincerely court
eous and considerate of the feelings
of others is Miss Gould that a polite
answer is sent by the next post to near
ly every letter-writing aims asker.
Miss Gould's begging mail must call
for a preposterous annual aggregate
of charity nowadays, for it has almost
doubled within the last six months,
and the total asked for in gifts by let
ter in the year 1897 as footed up by
her private secretary was little more
than 100000 or about $2,740 a day.
How much she actually gives out
for charity not even her private sec
retary knows, many benefactions be-
ing extended by Miss Gould in abso-
lutte secrecy.
Though richer than she by goodly
does not receive nearly so many beg
ging letters, nor does he open his hand
so freely as she, yet his begging mail
is something enormous, and the num-
Der of favorable responses is greater
than is generally supposed.
How the younger of the two i'm
mensely rich Rockefeller brothers
treats his begging mail has neyerleaked
out, but John D. Rockefeller and his
family are known to give it great deal
of their personal attention.
They look after it at breakfast time
when every member of the family pres
| ent takes his share of the letters ask
ng for favors, scans them, and later
reads them aloud to the others. A
| good proportion of all the Rockefeller
letters are inconsequential, as a mat
ter of course, and these receive little
discussion. This is true also of the
| few which add threats to their plead
ings, for the Rockefellers have long
been ease-hardened to this sort of epis-
| tie. like most other modern million
aires. Letters full of unconscious hu-
| NOR, and those in which the writers
strive 10 make their point by being pur-
| posely humorous are more common
than those of sinister import. Fewest
If all, as might be imagined, are the
letters which seem really worthy.
These always receive the most re-
spectful consideration, often being dis
:ussed at length and sometimes almost
formally, it being comparatively com
ron, after a good deal has been sale
3ro and con as to the merits of the ap
peal, for some member of the family
to ''move the request be granted OIL
investigated" or dropped" In such
Eases the fate of the petitioner is otter
decided by vote, but it not infrequent
y happens that the asked-for relief i:
granted in spite. of an adverse vote
)y some member of the family who be
/ ieyes the case deserving in spite OF
he burden of opinion the other way.
] Notwithstanding his uncharitablt
:eputation, Uncle Russell Sage gets
big begging mail, though if is smalle;
han that received by Mrs. Sage. Sh,
told a friend one day that Mr.. Sage re
eeives more requests for favors on west
ern railroads in which he is interested
than for any other sort of benefaction
Id that he is forever agreeing to hau
freight free for some man who has suf
fered a loss of crops, or sending passei
to some one who has made mess of i
in the west and wants to get east again
Or helping to buy seed for a farme
who finds the world temporarily agains
him.
Still. the general impression that Mrs
Sage is more epen-handed than he
husband is undoubtedly correct, he
benefactions, given entirely withou
ostentation, as al rule, aggregating man.
thousands of dollars year. Russell
Sage himself has only one serious oh
lection to submitting to a general news
paper interview, and it is that ever.
article detailing such an interview
followed by an enormous increase in hi
begging mail.-N. Y. Press.