The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1906-02-24

War Have Such Huge Accumulations
OF Property Been Known In U. S.
F ON the New York Evening Sun.
The fortunes that men pile up live after
them, though in a new country, where
great estates are comparatively few, riches
become quickly disintegrated, broken up
into parcels of gold and land, dealt out to
separate members of the family that remain
to enjoy the glory and the ease of COM
pounding millions. America, however, is,
not as new as it nsed to be. Primogeni-
ture was one of the first of monarchical
vestments the republic divested itself of,
so that the tame procedure of having the
bulk Of property to 90 down through the
generations to the next in line has given
place to the exciting reading of portentous
wills A great artist could create a mas
terpiece out of group around the last test
ament of an irresponsible millionaire, with
It's proscriptive codicils and oftentimes
blurred chirography. He could entitle it,
as for the living. Loving Remem-
brance, or Where There's Will
There a Row.
The question of what a man wants to be
done with his wealth after his death, how
he intends to guide the destiny of his dol
Lars from the other side of the graye-in
short, the disposal of his fortunes al
ways a matter of prime importance to the
curious.
Great fortunes in America, such, for in
stance, as William H. Vanderbilt and
Marshall Field left, are matters of the last
40 years. Before the war, TO hand down
a big million to heirs and institutions was
a big thing. Today, to be ''one of the
richest, mans wealth must approx
mate slO0, 900, 600. In speaking and
writing of such aggregations Of cash power
there Is a natural proneuess to multiply the
millions at every breath, as in the case of
c. Z. Huntington, whose fortune, at the
time Of his death, was variously estimated
from $40, 900, 600 to So, 900, 900. Rus
sell Sage said it was the former. 1t was
finally learned to be neither the one nor
the other In the matter of estimates
high average usually gets near the mark.
Yet so great are some of the vast estates
left by American multi milliouaires that on
the last day of their sound mind they them
selves probably couldn't tell exactly how
much they were worth.
MARSHALL FIELD.
During the last 20 years there have
been about a score Of men who left nearly
half hundred millions behind them. The
greater number Of these laid the founda-
tons Of their vast estates during the Civil
War and the gold boom days that preceded
it by decade.
Marshall Fields death recently brought
back to mind a remembrance of those
troubled, half romantic tunes, when a man
went up or down with something Of the
eclat of glorious desperation OF these
pioneers, however, few Jared SO well as
Field, who amaSsed, some say, nearly
$3.50, 600, 900
The peculiarity--almost the originality
of the getting Of his wealth was that by
far the greater part Of it came out of his
drv goods business. Without indulging in
the spectacular speculations that to the less
fortunate make a rich mans life round
Of magnificent achievements, he piled up
cash power higher than any other merchant
/ in the world.
When he died he bequeathed no less
80 81 M
the Field Columbian Museum in jackson
| Park. Chicago. Other bequests to friends
and relatives aggregated sl7, ,56S, 900.
| The rest Of the estate went to his two
/ rrandsons. ths children of Marshall Field,
Jr., who died shortly before his father
/ through q shooting accident. These two
bows are aud II years old, respectively,
and the estate is to be kept intact until the
elder Of them reaches the age Of 80.
VANDERBILT ESTATE.
The vast aggregation Of millions handed
down by William H. Vanderbilt, son Of
| the Original commodore, was considerably
larger than Fields, according to the esti.
mate put upon it at the time of his death
on December 8, 1885. Il was said theI
that the amount was slS2. 900, 600, thu
larger part of which was distributed thus
Fifty five million dollars in Government
bonds. $50, 900, 900 in railroad bonds
SIS. 600. 600 in New York Central stock
SIS. 900 900 in Lake Shore stock, 81,
OO0. 600 in Michigan Central and SS, 600,
Z =. seq a n
the s12. 900, 900 or more 20 be accounted
for was in real estate and cash. Beside
these enumerated enterprises there were
of course. a multitude of ether corporation
with stock holdings of ofvarious sizes. Three
quarters Of the estate was left in trust, TO
the purpose of and with the result that to
day the Vanderbilt fortune is beyond com
putation to the mind not versed in lookin:
upon 81, 900, 600 as the unit of wealth.
Cornelius and William X. Vanderbilt
were the residuary legatees, sharing equal.
more than one-half of the estate. TIL
widow received 5000, 900 a year. TIL
following are the sums the members of tn
family could call their own: Cornelius
| So, b9U, UUu aDSuiutelS huu So, AoV,oo'
for life; William K $50, $50, 900 absc
lutely and Sc, $50, 900 for life; Frederic
W, s11 500, 900, and the like amount
respectively, to George W., Mrs. Shepard
Mrs Sloane, Mrs. Twombly and Mrs
Webb. The income of more than $500,
600 was for annuities to relatives, 5000,
600 to Vanderbilt University and 81 900,
600 to public and charitable institutions.
AsroR LEFT $3.50, 100000.
At the time of John Jacob Astor'
death, in February 1896, his wealth wa
computed at something ike $3.50, 900, O0O
And he was only of the third generation o
the family. Ofthis vast sum all but abou
$3.50, 900 went straight to William Wal
dorf Astor. The Astor Library got S400,
900 for the purchase of books. A curiou
bequest was slso made to the institution
the gift of $50, 900, the interest of whic
, q, &c N ', =,