The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-08-07
THE FOOLISH FOUR

Recently q solicitor was arrested
IN New York for attempting to black
mail broken named Post The in.
vestigation that followed attracted
great interest A society" paper
known as Town Topics, which is a
soft Of Sunday Sun. and devoted to
abuse Of the rich. is involved. Il is
engaged in printing, a book called
"Fads and Fanc es." and it seems that
a great many rich people paid from
81 500 TO $4,000 for write ups" in
this book, which has not yet appeared
Associated with Town Topics" were
number of other editors of New
York society papers, The founda-
tion for the $4,000 "Fads and
Fancies" job was apparently not
blackmail but merely a sharp playing
on the vanity of the very rich peo
pie of this country Their lust for
fame was so great that they cheer
fully paid $500 TO $4,000 apiece to
have their memories embalmed i'm
this extraordinary production. The
twlg was lined for them with most
satirioal SIKH A few decoys were
necessary, and these were provided
They alone among the Immortal
hundred" got into the book without
cid Grover Cleveland. former pres.
idcnt of tlA United states and now of
Air Rylns Equitable Insurance com.
pany was given this free pass to
glory Il is said that opportunities
to i3ia the immcrtals were also sent
30 Pres dent Roosevelt Admiral
Dewey and General Joe" Wheeler.
with those nest eggs it was not diff.
cult 10 draw In the others
Men whose shrewduees and com
patence had given them distinction
far beyond anything a paid notice
could supply are mingled With others
whose sole qualification is in the
height Of the heap of dollars that an
ancestor had provides Who would
have supposed that Pierpont Nor
gan would have paid lavishly for adula
ton, or James j. Hill, or James R.
Keene, or Oliver Hartman. Jr. or
the late William c. Whitney,
It is not SO surprising that Chaun-
cey NJ Depew or William K. Wander
bilt. Or Reginald and Alfred Of the
same name should have yielded good
money for this sublimated press no
tice. But there they all are on the
list. and with them politicians like
Timothy l. Woodruff, butterflies like
Harry Lehr-1ll sort and conditions
Of men with the single common quality
of money
It is refreshing to those who still
have faith in the common sense OF
people to know that not all the rich
men Of the country we're foolish
enough to go into this thing. Frick.
the steel king. to whom a solicitor for
the work came and held out a glow.
ing presentation OF the value and utl-
ity Of being embalmed among the
Four Hundred, turned on the solicitor
and said
Il am not one OF the Four Hundred,
don't want to be one of the Four
Hundred and | don't want to be con
siderea as one of them. would be
very much more likely to pay S1.5O0
to keep out Of such society than to
get iato IT,"
Secretary OF the Treasury Shaw was
another one who refused to be en-
rolled.
Mr. Secretary" said the solicitor
to him. "do you realize that this will
carry the fame of your success and
achievements down to posterity?
You certainly want to be remembered
by those who will come after. and
this book viii be a magnificent heir
loom among your descendants for
ever"
Young man." replied Secretary
shaw. if ] have ever done or ever
do anything worthy of monument.
or worthy Of being remembered. 1
won't need TO pay 80 have It sent down
fto posterity in your book"
Even James Hazan Hyde refused 10
pay the pr'ce. and young John D..
Rockefeller considered il TOO worldly
a matter TO be worthy OF his attention
George Gould was another of those
who refused TO buy $500 worth Of
fame
Mrs c. p Huntington paid more
than anybody else. and her reason
was sentiment-vanity for her dead
husband. not for herself Because
Of the large price she paid the picture
of the dead railroad magnate was to
be the frontispiece Of the book. a
wonderful engraving. etched on bank
note paper-or at least so she was
told. The price of two pages in the
book was 81 500 The Huntingtons
We're to have hve pages besides the
portrait
Charles T Yerkes not only bought
fame for himself, but for his collec.
tion OF rugs reproductions Of which
were displayed with fulsome bio