The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-12-10
SATURDAY., DECEMBER 10, 1917.
MA1.ponr Asron. nkrA1n.ArE.

tories and greatest surprises oil inc
day., said the London correspondent
Of the New York Times on THURSDAY,
..,yas NJ Plymouth. There Waldor AS
oar elder son OF William Waldorf AS
Tor. and \. Shirley Benn, John Burnss
old opponent II Battersea' captured
Two seats of the unionists, me
,rort that Mr.. Astor had done in the
constituency was shown in his success
in replacing c. u. Mallet, flnancial
Secretary TO the Wa Office, who is
the first minister to be defeated. In
addition, your. Aston headed the poll.
This was. inueed. n very remarkable
victory but We have nc doubt that
the young man viii make good III
Toast we do not see why he should he
denounced simply because he has a
little more money than some of the
rest Of us He lives in England ana
is doubtless as much Interested III inc
welfare of that country as the foreign
ers who have come to the United states
and settled in this land are interested
IN the DTOSbtil Ivy VI lis1 ~
cared. for any reason satisfactory to
himself, To give up his American citl-
zenship. surely the people OF the unlteu
states can nave no substantial ground
of complaint. Many of our most emf
nent men are of foreign birth, and, so
tar as we know, there has been No
General denunciation of them in their
own countries because, for reasons of
their own, they preferred to live here.
There is Samuel Gompers, for example,
who was born in England, and VINO
mas been president of the American
Federation of Labor since 1882, There
are oscar S. Stratus, United States Am
bassador to Turkey, who was born In
Germany, and Richard c. kerens,
United States Ambassador to Austria,
who was born in ireland, and other
men who have attained distinction and
rendered good service to the United
states in spite of their foreign birth.
In war and peace men of foreign ma
tionality have been of great value to
the United States. and as we have had
so much from them is ii an unpardon-
able sin that now and then a native
born American should give up his resi-
dence here to live in some other land
more to his liking? We may in our
patriotic devotion say that he has
not displayed wise judgment or good
taste, but in view of what the foreign
ers nave lone for us, we should not
he SO unselish as to deny to other
lands an occasional contribution from
our own ranks.
We do not know what sort of mem
her of Parliament Mr.. Astor will make,
he does not know himself; but he is
said by those who know him intimate
~ to be a very fine young fellow of
remarkably good common sense, un-
affected by his immense wealth, n
willing TO do his part in whatever n
terprise is undertaken for the general
good. He did not get his money by
any doubtful or dishonest means; but
him made 1t in a perfectly SQUARE way;
first by trapping in the Hudson Bay
country, and then by investing in New
York real estate when nobody else
wanted 1t or thought very much of it.
The Astors are one of the American
Families that got rich by waiting.
They have never made corners IN
wheat or cotton Or meat; by wrecking
railroads. by ."kiting' stocks, by
squeezing out the little fellows, by or
ganizing combinations in restraint of
trade, by standing in with the ticker
crowd but by investing in real es-
tate and holding on in their way. just
as other people all over the country
have held on for the increased values
which they expected and which in the
case of the Astors ha3e been realized
51f a man in Richmond had bought the
land lying along west Franklin STREE
thirty or forty years g at the price.
then asked for it and held it for sale
Al the prices It fetches to-day, hi
would have repeated in a way the ex,
perience OF the older Astors, who
Da't'oSGSS NiiS ii0bo ny HiOllle
this Very thing in New York City
There was nothing wrong in that, a
the people who have converted farm
ing lands into city lots all over III
country would admit if they wer
taken TO task for their fortunes. TIL
mistake that is often made is in no
E~diherentiating between the rich, VIII
have come by their wealth in a lawfl
snyay, and the rich who have made the!
money by hook or by crook.
II is said by the New York Worl
That -Astor won in the election in III
plymouth district by the lavish use /,
money. We do not know thathe did an!
thing Of the sort; but il he did he wa
simply following the American habi
Only a few years aso 10000 votes wei
changed in New York BY the expend
Ftnre of 100000 raised by Mr.. IIarr
iaan for the purpose, and in the 4,
cent election in New York state ovs
100000 was expended in the successf,
E-I ny ~ t,,,, nArI,.a.xzlL 49, -. ~.