The age-herald., 1900-12-16
VANDERBILT'S
 IMMENSE ESTATE
Officially Appraisedat $75,5OO,-. 900 and Taxed at
 $25O,OOO

Gladys gets.... ...................... 7,500,000 Reginald gets......... ................ 7,50OOO Mrs Harry Payne Whitney gets. S,5OO,OOO Cash to widow. w........................ 2,OOO,OOO It will please Brooklynites who have got money in Brooklyn Rapid Transit to know that the late Cornelius Vanderbilt had nearly a million dollars worth of the stock. At what he bought 1t is not known If 1t were, his Judgment as an investor could better be determined.
 The fact that the estate Is so heavily in terested in the Brooklyn traction property explain the tenacious grip which President Rossier has upon the Presidency.
 The fact that the Vanderbilt family has made no attempt to underestimate the for tune is shown by the frank statement of Chauncey M. Depew immediately after MT. Vanderbilt's death. It was made at time when the widest estimates were flying, one going to the s20000O,000 figure, while a newspaper of this city actually declared the estate to be worth half a billion.
 Said the Senator:
 q don't want to be understood as giving S70, 600 as the total valuation of the es- tate, but only as suggesting that S7O,OOO,OOJ is a good basis to work on in figuging out the residuary estate"
 It will thus be seen that it cost Cornelius vanderbilt-o -officially-s37, 100000 to wed his charming wife, Miss Wilson. This makes her probably the most costly wife, in a financial sense, that a man ever took to his heart and home.
 She would have cost even more than that '--$6, GOO 900 more-had it not been for the promptly assumed and firmly held attitude of young Vanderbilt. Cornelius Vanderbilt said mol He would not accept such an un- fatherly kick as that to the elder son just because he had married the girl of his choice. He would fight to the last ditch and a few trenches beyond, and by the legal proceedings would tie up the estate for years; and, he firmly believed, break the will and assume his proper place at the head of the family.
 So the "brotherly love" allowance was made, and Cornelius, satisfied that he had provided his wife and the coming babies against rainy day. withdrew his opposi- tion to the probate of the will.
 Everybody was talking about the Wander bilt fortune, srolling the nice, fat official figures under the tongue as sweet nor sel Seventy-two millions Is easy said if you say It rapidly, but the fact that the offi- cial valuation had at last been reached, that appraisers and Vanderbilt representa- lives had agreed after years dfckering and figuring, and that the sum, with Sooo,- GOO added for good measure, was the official appraisement, made the mouthful seem more substantial when the words were spoken.
 Bird S. Coler did not know whether to be most amused or incensed over the state
  S52 900 as his fee for being comptroller when the taxes on the estate of the late Cornelius Vanderbilt ware handed into the City Treasury.
 "Did you ever hear anything more annoy dng?" he said. "Why, on the official valua- tion of Mr Vanderbilts estate, as made p0blic this morning the city will only re- ceve per cent of the 1852 900, ,000 personally. Of this I would get 1 per cent, which makes my share $52o0 But there have been added expenses which will bring my share still further down. As a matter of fact will not get $5000 all told.
 "There are others who are quoted as get ing big amounts. The appraiser is declared to be entitled to $52,000 He really gets S3 a day. which will bring his fees up to the enormous total of $400. I expect my mail will be full of begging letters on Monday in consequence of the statement made of my fee.'
 Outside of the $37, 900 GOO residuary, which goes to Alfred named by his father as his successor in being head of the family'- and with this goes a certain moral respon- sibility not to spend it foolishly, but to pass it along to his oldest son-Alfred and each of his brothers gets the same fortune, Whitney,, who was the eldest daughter and her fathers pet and favorite companion, gets S1, ,000,000 made in a codicil.
 The appraisement calls fora tax of $250,- 900. So even the public becomes heirs at law who will benefit from this shifting of the estate.