The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-30

ENU Grover Cleveland died com-
 w paratively poor man, like most of our Presidents. When congress meets a law will be passed giving a pension of $5OOO year to Mrs. Cleveland. This an- nuity is always bestowed upon widows of Presidents.
 Cleveland was a poor man when he be- came President the first time. He made some money through real estate invest ments in the neighborhood of Washing ton. With the savings from his salary he bought Oak View, which he occupied for a while as a summer home, and other suburban property. Then came boom in land values and he sold at con- siderable profit. His purchases gave fashionable importance to the localities where they were made and this alone made prices run up.
 MT. Taft is notorious1y a poor man. He has absolutely nothing more than his salary But for the aid of his hall- brother, Charles P. Taft, he would have been unable to make the canvass for the nomination. MT. Bryan was poor young lawyer at the time he made his famous
 
 for him A Presidential nomination. Since then he has been making money fast' and is now credited with being worth s5OO.O0O From the Commoner and hls lectures he is reputed to receive about S1OO,OOO a year. His candidates TOT the Presidency have been very prontaple TOT him, probably more so even than ms election would be.
 MT. Roosevelt will leave the White House in comparatively easy cEcum- stances and will add to the money he now has by magazine contributions ana the writing of books. Just what he IS worth is not known, but it is believed to be between S10O,0O0 and $2O0,OO0.
 William Mckinley left an estate worth between s4O00OO and $50O,0OO. By careful management under the direction or George B. Cortelyou, it's value was mate- riallv increased, so that Mrs. Mckinley was more than well off in worldly goods.
 Benjamin Harrison saved money Whlie in the White House, but was not wealthy man at the time of his death. When elected to the Presidency he was worth probably not more than $25,oo. lie lived simply while in the White House, and saved more than $1O0,000 in his four years occupancy.
 Hayes was accused of parsimony dur ing his term of office, because he offered no wine to his guests at state dinners' but the charge was wholly unJust' mas much as he was liberal beyond all other Presidents in entertaining. He gave one .'spread' at a reception that cost him s6OOO. Nowadays, as is well known, noth- ing whatever to eat or drink IS provided at White House receptions, not so much as a cup of tea or a sandwich being fur nished. The plan, while 1t seems inhos- nitable. has the advantage of giving uo encouragement to dead beats and other objectionable persons, who would other- wise present themselves merely for the purpose of filling themselves with tood and drink free of charge. MT. Hayes who spent the last years of his lire Ill what he called delightful retirement left his family well off.
 Grant during his first term got only s25.0OO a year, but at the beginning or ms second term the pay of the Preslden' was raised to $5o,000 and he had some | chance to save a little out of his salaxy Nobody seems to know how much he was worth when he left the White | House.
 | Lincoln was a poor man when he joined the majority Buchanan was well off and Van Buren died rich. Van Burer was so wealthy that he did not bother to draw his salary while he was in the
 White House, but allowed it to accounts late, paying all his expenses out or hls | nrvate purse, and drew $100,000 in lumr at the end of his term of four years.
 Folk, Fillmore and Pierce were all ricf
 men and left considerable properties
 when they died. Andrew Jackson wal | said to be impoverished during the las ! years of his life by assuming the dept' of his son, Andrew Jackson Jr At al events. his fortune was much reduced