Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-09-09
HOW THE Asr0R FORTUNE GREW.
Amassed by .Debauchinf and Swindlinf the
Indians

AmaSSeo oy .DeOauchine AMI Swlndlinf the
Indians
YELM, WASH, Aug. q.
Ed. STANDARD:
l have just read an account of how
the Astor family acquired their vast
wealth, and it may interest some of
the readers of your valuable paper
think it is very rare that any man
ever acquired a million dollars hon
estly. Here is the story of the AS
tor clique as told in government aud
court documents. The founder of
the AstOr fortune was John Jacob
Astor. a German immigrant. who
came to the United States in 1873
with five pounds in money. He died
in l84S leaving a fortune of $50, ,O00,-
900, then the greatest in America.
How did he get it ? The records
show that he became a fur trader
and swindled the Indians by first
getting them drunk. After he Or
ganized the American fur-trading
company in 1910 he. shipped enor-
nous quantities of whisky out among
the Indian tribes. To sell liquor to
an Indian was serious crime in law.
But he purchased immunity by brib-
ing officials, something after the
manner of the Oklahoma scandal ex-
posed recently by Senator Gore and
which the administration will try to
cover up.
On one occasion, in 1917, he gave
Lewis Cass a bribe of $50. 900, and
who was Cass? Well, he was the
Governor of Michigan territory in
which Astor had one of his principal
trading posts. and Cass later became
Secretary Of War. Astor charged
the Indians from $25 to $50 per gal
lon for whisky, payable in furs. The
records show that the Indians were
never allowed to trade when sober.
After debauching them, Astor would
take further advantage of them by
exchanging cheap merchandise, at
exorbitant prices for their fnrs. He
charged, for example, $3.50 for a
brass thimble. $18 for a pound of to-
bacco, $50 for $1l rife, "a for pow
der that cost him 2Oc., etc., etc. Is
it any wonder that the Indians rose
ip revolt in retaliation and massa-
cred whites and murdered AstOr
traders +? And yet the government
would hurry out troops. and shoot
them down and burn their villages
1t was long chapter Of horrors.
But Astor was safe in New York
pulling in his millions. More than
$50 white traders were murdered by
the Indians. but Astor,s fortune kept
on increasing with murder and mas
sacre. He hired men, to do bis sinis-
ter and dirty work and brave death
.while. he was secure more than o
5h6usand miles away. and lreaped all
the profit. The government records
show that he received an income of
$500, ,OO0 o year from this traffic, a
tremendous sum for that time. This
is hoY be obtained the money to in
vestin New Fork city land and in
bank and other stocks. But at the
same time he was debauching and
sswindling Indian tribes in the West,
he was corrupting New York city
officials to grant him land. This
land was part of the large area
that New York city then municipality
owned. Its value then was not
great. At present it is worth hun
dreds of millions of dollars. Astor's
immediate descendants continued the
process. They bribed the common
councils and Legislatures, evaded
taxation and reaped millions in rent
not only from business buildings, but
from vile tenements unfit for human
habitation. Less than q century
after John Jacob Astor was directing
a continuing campaign of debauching,
swindling, bribing and murder, his
descendants have chains of regal pal |
aces, and sit high and mighty as |
naughty arist0crats, far. superior to |
the common mass. William Waldorf |
Astor, has shown his contempt for
the country from which his wealth |
comes by renOuncing American citi-
zenship and becoming a British SUBJ
ject.
We may learn from the history of
the Astor family that the cussedness
of the present day, as practiced by
the special interests. are simply a
repetition of history and, il not
will finally result in a titled
aristocracy. with O King at the head.
and | am not certain but one good
high-minded King would be prefer
able to The dozen or more petty
kings who are debating the policies
Of our government and placing sala-
ries on the necessities OF life by con-
trolling the means of production and
distribution. The American people
are certainly models OF patience.
J. G. CO9.