The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-04-13
THE WEDDING OF MILLIoNAIREs


Many thousands, perhaps millions o.
people were envious when they read o.
the presentation of $4,000, 900 by Will
lam K. Vanderbilt TO his son on the
day of his marriage to Miss Fair. A
crowd, if it looks at the picture in the
Bible Of the camel struggling at the
eye Of the needle, drawn in bold
strokes by the hand Of the Master,
wall and says: The picture of a
dreamer
But it is the error of the envious
that they fail to see the aggravating
limitations that are upon the power OF
money-almost wicked limitations up
on that power. 1t is written that ship
wrecked sailors with gold in their
| chests cannot buy water and food on
their desolate island. And the mil
lionaires cannot buy, with their gold
those things which will make them
happy
The VanderbiIts illustrate this abb
ject/ failure of the money power. The
elder Vanderbilt, the Commodore"
with his vast fortune, gave himself to
horses and poker" Day after day he
sat, for an hour, after a drive behind
his pair of fast horses, in the portico
of Judge Smiths road house, on the
Westminster boulevard. His Irish
friend and companion, Harker, the
owner of a pair of horses equally as
fast as the COMMODORE said to him:
You can't bate thin horses of
mine, Commodore, with thin mil
lions of yours" and the Com
modore replied: mo, Paddy, I
can't beat your horses and I'd
give a million for your belly" And
when the Commodore's horses were
sick or lame he was in rage about it,
and his millions could not help him.
AS he read no books and did not enjoy
the talk of business men, he spent his
evenings at the Club, and played "pok-
er" just as any poor man played it,
and his millions could not buy a game
that (2ly the rich could enjoy. When
he los, he was angry, because it was
the habit of his life to be victor. He
was in a chronic state of anger about
his many sons and sons-in-law, and
d-children, because, he said, they
II Ill
buzzards, watching for his dead car
cass So he got little out of his mill
lions.
Then came his son William K. Van
derbilt, who had the reputation of hav-
ing INDUCED in much early piety."
His millions could not buy good health. |
When the contest about his fathers |
will was before the Court, he lunched |
daily at the Aston House with his |
lawyers. A poor young lawyer would |
take his friends to the restaurant and |
point out the party at lunch. There |
are the lawyers eating and drinking |
ike pigs, but there sits Dives slipping
4 little tea and nibbling some toast,
because he has a weak stomach and
chronic Indigestion" And Rollins, the
Wit, said: Poor Vanderbilt is reducing
himself so that he can crowd through
he eye of the needle when the trial
lay comes for the rich men who wish
% get into the Kingdom of Heaven"
The Fates denied him health, however,
while they gave it in abundance to the
lite street Arab swallowing a meat
pie in a dark alley.
He died and then came the third
generation. His son, William K, in
herited millions, and married a hand
some woman with a fiery temper,
which dress and flowers and jewels
could not control. In stately mansions,
On richly appointed steam yachts, Gin
forbade pleasure, and he
paid several millions for divorce and
peace of mind.
One of his rich friends said: I'VE