Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1899-03-15
BEGGING BY LETTER.
American Millionaires Are ANNOYED
Through the Mails.
Many Such Missives Received Every
Day Are Considerably Treated
by Their Hitch Re-
cl2ients.

ciaients.
Rated liz accordance with the num-
Der Of begging letters received, Miss
fe'cn Cou.d would probably be rar kcd
FIRST among the men and womel 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
If the soldiers.
Miss Gould treats her begging mail
with much more respect than do most
persons CT large wealth, for, unless
engaged with other matters, she reads
every letter asking for financial aid
en- the same day il is received setting
aside n certain part of each ~ 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 considerable of the feelings
of others is Miss Gould that a polite
answer is sent by the next pest to near
y every lettsr-writing aims asker.
-'-i.NS NtOt.-A > w Z a 8 iii.iii YAH
for a preiosterous annual aggregate
Of charity nowadays, for it has almost
doubled within the last six months,
ard the total asked for in gifts b. let
ter in the gear 1897 as footed up by
her private secretary was little more
tkan $i,oo0, eco or about s2,7i0 day.
Tow much she actually gives out
for charity not even her private Sec
rotary EaoWs, many benefactions be.
| ing extended by Miss Gould in abso-
| lutte secrecy.
Though richer than she by goodly
| mum Der OF millions, her brother George
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 neverl leaked
| out. but John d. Rockefeller and his
family are known to give i a great deal
of Their personal at.en lion.
| TLcy look after it at breakfast time,
when every member Of the family pres
ent takes his share of the letters ask
| ing 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 W hich add threats to their plead
| ings, for the Eoclsefellers have long
been case-hardened TO this sort of epis-
| lie. like most other modern million
aires. Letters full Of unconscious hui
nor. and thoae in which the writers
strive 10 make their point by being pur-
| poseiy humorous are more common
Than those of sinister import. Fewest
Of all, as might be imagined, are the
letters which seem really worthy.
These arrays receive the most re-
spectful consideration, often being dis
cu~se,. ii; length and sometimes almost
formally, it being comparatively com
zion. after good deal has been said
pro al,, cen as to he merits Of the APP
| peal. for sci1e member of the family
10 81, ave the request be granted or
";nya' .a,sd' or dropped In such
cases ,Ge late Of tEe petitioner is often
| DECIDED by Il vote, but ii not infreque Mt
u ha.peas that the asked-for relief is
| granted in spite OF an adverse vote,
! oy sor1c member of the family who be-
i.eves The case deserving in spite OF
the burden Of opinion the other way.
Notwithstanding his uncharitabe
reputation, Uncle Russell Sage gets a
big hergiIg mail, though ii is smaller
than thai received by Mrs. Sage. She
told IA TREND enc day that Mr.. Sage re-
ce:ves niore requests for favors on west
era railroads in which he is interested
than FOR ais other sort CT benefaction.
and that liz IS forever agreeing to haul
freiq hl free -cr some man who has suf-
fcred loss Of crops, or sending passes
to some enc who has made a mess of it
In The west and wants to get east again.
| or heiriug 10 bug seed for u fan
who iinds The world temporarily against
him.
SILL the general impression that Mrs.
Sage is more open-handed than her
husband is undoubtedly correct, her
! aenofae;ions. given entirely without
ostentation. as rule, aggregnting many
thousands Of dollars year. Russell
Sage himself has only one serious OBJ
lection 10 submitting to a general news
aapyr interview, ard it is that every
lrticle d failing such an interview is
lNolowed By an enormous increase in his
,egglng mail.-N. y. Press.