The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-08-02
GOthCn Gossip
BY Francis Phillips
Breezy Letter from the Great Hub = Doings of
Nofobles and Would-Be's.

NEW YORK, July 30.--The inven-
tory taken recently of the estate of
Mark Twain the humorist. disclosing
its value at more than 100000, is
significant of the great change that
has of late years marked the financial
status of the successful author. No
longer is the literary craftsman who
has made his mark dependent upon
the bounty of an indulgent govern
ment. the charity of his publisher or
the patronage of those who think he
should be encouraged as an interest
ing parsonage.
The day of the spare-boned, half
starved, seedy genius and the studio
in the leaky, wind-sWept garrett bed
room has passed away with the tai
low candle and the packet ship, and
the writer of best sellers" has come
into his own.
Twains revenues from his books,
it is estimated, Appropriated $1,000
600 during his lifetime The bulk
Of this was swept away in the failure
of a publishing house he was induced
to back, and at the age of sixty he
found himself pennilesS as the day
he was born and heavily in debt. Had
he listened to the advice of some of
his friends he might have been freed
from liability for these debts by 60
ing through bankruptcy, but the au-
thor of "Tom Sawyer" Huckleberry
Finn" and other best sellers insisted
upon turning over to his creditors
thus in time liquidating his entire in
debtedness with interest.
The fortune he left at his death
represented the earnings of the last
ten years of his life, indicating the
immense popularity of his writings
practically up to the time of his
death. Although he had the benefit
of the advice of his friend, the late
Henry H. Rogers, vice president of
the Standard Oil company, in the
matter of investments, singularly
enough the inventory of his estate
showed that he had been literally
loaded up with stocks of no market
value.
Ida Hustled Harper took issue this
week with representative Kahn,
who proposed in congress last week
the imposition of a tax on the dow
ries of American women who marry
English and other foreign noblamen.
The hostile attitude displayed toward
woman suffrage by the majority of
American men has not improved her
opinion of them. and she availed
herself of this opportunity to make
some unpleasant comparisons of them
with the men of title, whose willing
n
Yankee gold excited the wrath of
Representative Kahn.
"A heavy tax" said Representative
Kahn in congress, should be i'm
posed on the dowries of American
brides in international marriages. so
that the penurious but titled FORTH Ae
hunter might secure but small
moiety of the price the bcide pays
him for a name which he himself
dshonors by thus putting it UP at
auction to the highest bidder"
at is indeed" retorts Mrs. Harper.
"exasperating to see millions of good
American dollars going to Europe to
supply roofs and drains and bath
tubs for decaying palaces and castles,
but that is better use for them than
other gambling resorts by our gilded
fools of the masculine sex, which
goes on year after year.
From a historic standpoint 1t is
better than the way they are left in
the jewelers. and other shops by
those of the feminine gender who
carry the money of their American
husbands abroad to spend it. The
amount of good many marriage
dowries was spent in London this
summer in order that the citizens of
the greatest republic on earth might
gaze upon q king going after his
crown. Some people might think that
the American millions given to Eu-
rope for pictures of doubtful an
tiquity and baubes from old cathed-
rails could better be spent at home on
philanthropic institutions.
It's all in the point of view If
the American woman feels that she
can get more for her money by pur-
chasing title of nobility with hus-
band attached. this simply shows her
! judgment to differ from that of the
other American spendthrfts. This
point should always be remembered
In buying husband of this kind the
American woman is sure of some
thing for her expenditure-the title
| In buying an American husband she
may get practically nothing.
Probably the average of marriages
that turn out we'll is just as large
among those of our women with the
so-called nobility of Europe as among
those of the 400" of our own coun-
| try. In both instances the life is ut
terly demoralizing and opposed to al
that contributes to domestic happi-
ness.
American women take a much
greater risk in marrying men of con-
| tinenta Europe than men of Great
| Britain, whose estimate of women is
similar to our own 1t is natural that
we should resent seeing our women
and their millions going in marriage
| to men of nations where the status OF
wives and OF women in general i:
much inferior to that of our country
Very little hope is entertained by
the police and secret service agents %
the Russian government, who hav,
been securing new York for the las
few weeks in search of the missing
/ Countess de Lacy. wife of the Russian
nobleman recently sentenced to a 81
4 beriau priSon for life for COnSpirinf