Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1911-07-12
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Price That a Famous
Man Of Yesterday Paid
for a Little Vanity
By Holland.

In the midWinter OF 1881. ! spent
part Of an evening with Ben Holiday
in the library Of his home on X street.
Washington. Though once he had been
wealthy, Mr.. Holiday was at that time
in financial reverses. and IL seemed to
me that he was also something of an
invalid could not realize. as ] sat
chatting with him. that he had been at
one time the most famous of American
eSpressnien, that he mad organized.
and in a sensational manner. the Hol-
liday Pony Express. by which mails
and passengers were first carried over
land from the Missouri Valley to the
Pacific Slope before the building Of the
Pacific Railroad; and that he had also
organized and put in operation the
greatest fleet OF coastwise steamers
that then sailed. or has sailed since
probably, along the Pacific coast from
Alaska to Southern California.
Mr.. Holiday had taken up temper
airy residence in Washington for the
purpose of securing a congressional
appropriation in payment of very
large claims which he had establish
ed for service for the Federal Govern
ment TO maintain a postal line between
the Missouri Valley and the Pacific
coast l asked Mr.. Holiday If delays
he was meeting with In securing ac-
acknowledgement of his claims had Affect
ed his health; or If he we're recover
ing from a temporary illness.
There came into my hosts eyes a
momentary fash of the power and de-
termination which We're Characteristic
of Ben Holiday when he established
his overland mail and passenger stage
service, the very line that had so many
encounters with the Indians and the
buffalo herds.
NO. he said. you have to wait a
long time some times. If you are going
to get a claim paid by the Government
The Government of the United States
is the worst debtor and the harshest
creditor in the world. OF course, the
Government pays its fixed obligations,
like interest upon bonds; but it is a
master hand at staving off just debts.
/ knew that and was prepared for 1t,
and I can wait a good while yet There
is one thing that have done, however,
that has come nearer to breaking me
down physically than any other thing
] have done in my entire business
career. / am paying now for little
vanity" ccr
Mr., Holiday stopped for a moment,
looked at me with penetrating and in
quiring glance, and then asked
Il suppose you have heard Of the
Ophir Mine"
OF course, 1 had heard of that mine
and the stories Of its fabulous rich
ness; Il was a California mine which
Mr.. Holiday had owned, but which
brought him financial disaster after
promising for a time to be a pro-
Queer of wonderful riches, hence its
name.
Well" said he. Il thought the mine
was going to make me rich as Croesus;
and I determined to spend some of my
wealth in building a great castle IN tho
centre OF the greatest private park
owned by any American citizen up C
that time. / bought a great tract o.
land several thousand acres, lying be
tween White Plains, Westchestei
county, New York, and the Connect
cut State line Upon It l built the fines
castle that had up to that time beel
erected In the United States. l enter
Idlntu people just as the OMutlb ~
great estates in England do. / calleI
the place Ophir Farm, and there was
great deal of talk about it in the pa
pers II stood me I'm about a million
and half; and it and the Ophir Min
got me into all kinds of trouble. Their
were lawsuits and foreclosure proceed
ings, and that was about all l got Oh
OF an attempt to crafty a little per
sonal vanity. If ! get my claims pail
by the Government, ! may be able &
hold on to It."
A year or two later, announcement
was made in the newspapers tina
Whitelaw Reid, the editor of the New
York Tribune, who in 1881 had Marie
a daughter of d. o. Mills, had bough
Ophir Farm. and that it was to be hi
country home. Il is Mr. Reds countr
home to this day; and since his pun
chase of Orphir Farm there have bee
entertainments in it which surpasse
in splendor and in the illustrious char
acter OF the guests any of the great en-
tertainments given there by Ben Hol
liday, who died I'm the late eighties
when he had owned it.
Copyright, 1911, by r. J Edwards A
Rights Reserved
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell {