The Virginia enterprise., 1910-03-04

ties of blood common interest-and enjoying. like
US. the rights OF selfgoverment."
company was formed and two expeditions set out
for the mouth of the Columbia river, by land and
the other by sea.
The land expedition barely got through aive-it was
perlous undertakings with accidents by flood and field
But the route by the water feasible.
The town was founded and became center Of
commercial activity. Had Astor been the ground to
take personal charge city like Seattle would have
bloomed and blossomed the Pacific SO years ago.
There grand grab at Astoria and it each
for himself and the devil take the hndermost; it
stampede. System and order went by the board. The
strongest stole the most usual but all got little
And Engand's gain in citizens our loss.
Astor lost million dollars ry He smiled
calmly and said, "The plan was right, my
weak; that is ALL The gateway to China will be from
the northwest My plans were right. Time will vndt
cate my reasoning"
When the block Broadway bounded by Vesey ana
Barclay streets was cleared of its plain twostory
houses preparatory to building the Astor house. wise
men shook their heads and said Its too far town.
But the free bus that met all boats solved the diff
Guilty and gave the cue to hotel all the world
Astor worth ten million but he took personal de-
light in sitting in the lobby OF the Astor house and
watching the dollars roll into this palace that his brain
had planned
Astor tall, thin and commanding in appearance
He had only haucinaton and that that ht
spoke the Eglish language The accent he at
80 with him in all its pristine efugence at 85 mo
pcdy would know a Cherman-aind't it?" he used
to Yet where John Jacob wrote English with
out faw
In all of his dealings he uniquely honorable and
upright He paid and he made others pay. His word
his bond He not charitable In the sense OF
indiscriminate giving ITO give something for nothing
is to weaken the gver OF his favorite sayings
That this attitude protected miserly spirit is
to say, but it is wholly In later years he
carried with him book containing record of his
possessions He would visit certain piece of property
and then turn to his book and what it had him
ten or twenty years before. To realize that his pro-
phetc vision had been correct to him
Of satisfaction.
His habits of the best. He went to bed at nine
o'clock and up before six. At he was at his
Office He knew enough sparingly and to walk so
he never sick. Milonaires, rule woefully
ignorant. Up to certain sum. they grow with their
acquisitions Then they begin wither at the heart
The of fortune is penalty advise the gentle
reader to think twice before accommodating ten millions
John Jacob Astor was exceptional in his combined
love Of money and love of books. FitzGreen Haleck
his private secretary hired basis of literary
friendship Washington Irving close friend too.
Astor died, aged &c. 1t natural death.-a tfins
that very seldom occurs. The machinery all ran down
at
up in the financial he should He studious.
methodcal, conservative and had the good to
out the wishes of his father His John Jacob
Astor, was very much like him, only of more neutral
tint The time is ripe for another genius in the
Astor family. If William B. Astor lacked the courage
and initiative of his parent he had culture and
spoke English without accent The SOD of John
Jacob Astor, second Is William Waldorf Astor, who
speaks English with an English accent, you know.
John Jacob Astor, besides having the first store
the sale of musical instruments In America organized
the first orchestra Of IL players He brought
leader from Germany and did much the love
of music in the New World. 3~
Every worthy Maecaenas imagines that he is great
painter writer, sculptor musician, tracked by
cares thrust him by unkind fate John jacob As
tor once told Washington Irving that it only
responsibility that prevented his being novelist:
and at other times he declared his to take up
music as profession he had gotten all of
MS securities properly tied up And whether he worked
out his dreams not there is doubt but that they
added to his happiness length of days. Happy
the man who escapes the critics by leaving his
ary masterpiece in the ink.