The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-06-06

Minneapolis, Mimi, June 1.-"What
are the duties of the rich?" ...#
MY idea has always been that the
rich have really nothing at all--thai
they are really stewards, that's ALL"
Thus Mrs. George Grant Mason, wife
of a former railroad man with whom
she is now sharing the burdens of
S1B,000,000 legacy left by James Henry
(Silent) Smith. summed her idea o.
what the possession of wealth really
means last night at the Plaza hotel.
Mrs. Mason's ideas on this subject
have not been disturbed by the sudden
changed from a railroad division super
intendent's wife, living in Aberdeen,
s. d. to the wife OF a multi millionaire
who really doesn't know lust where
to register from"
A tall, graceful woman, dark haired,
brown eyed, with gentle voice and a
merry laugh, those of New York who
are wont to use ''the west" as an
anathema and to derive amusement
will flnd little material in their hand
in this case. Also they Will receive
q shock. ...
Won't Be a SOCIAL Butterfly"
my husband will certainly go into
business again as soon as the estate
Is settled up" said Mrs. Mason last
night. The last tking in the world
flies / have always been interested
in charities and we would both hate
to want to do nothing but sit around
and enjoy ourselves. We have always
thought that it would be an awful
feeling to know that when you left
the world it was not one bit better
than when you came into 1t.
TT is such a short time since we be-
came so very rich that we haven't
decided just what we will do. / do not
know what business my husband will
go into. Please be sure and say bust
ness'-the New York papers said Job
and 1t looked 80 dreadful as If 1t
might be ditch digging" inter1ected
Mrs. Mason with a smile over those
dreadful New York papers" what
ever it is, 1t viii not be the railroad
business think that the principal
thing he rejoiced over in getting the
money was the chance to get out Of
the railroad business so he could be
with the children more"
Like Falling From Balloon.
Asked how it seemed suddenly to en-
ter the ranks of those of whom they
say, How awfully wealthy these rich
people are," Mrs. Mason smiled.
cit seems to me just like one OF those
dreams where you dream OF falling
from balloon and wondering all the
time how long 1t will be before you
lana ana wake up. ....
There have been so many. funny
sides to the whole business that 1t has
kept us laughing good part of the
time" continued Mrs. Mason. THE
New York papers were so funny in
what they said about us that we could
only take them all as a joke. We de-
Cided that we wouldn't talk to report
ers any more. l hope you won't say
that / said anything ridiculous, for
have not, have /? OF course I'm not
used to being interviewed. / have
talked only to one reporter before.
That was in New York, and just had
to because the papers there said that
my daughter Margaret was 13 years old
and she isn't; she's only 8; so you see
couldn't let that go, being a woman.
Inherit Woes With Wealth.
There is more than one side to this
thing of being rich, though, of course,
/ have always heard of the troubles of
the rich. Well, I'm getting experience
now. Ever since we first got all this
money the number OF letters that have
poured in on US, asking for everything
under the sun, has been something re-
markable. In Aberdeen, where have
been packing up, there were scores of
letters-requests for everything you
could think of, from q sewing machine
to college education. One man mod
estly asked for only S65,000 to build a
hotel, and couple wanted us to build
them house, saying that we would
always be perfectly welcome to visit
them as often as we wished"
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