The Washington herald., 1916-12-24
Seen and Heard
BY GEoRGE MINER.

great lesson in Americanisn in the
life stories of two prominent New
Workers who died recently John D.
Archbold, of the Standard Oil in
terests, left an estate valued at $780,
100000. George c. Boldt, the ia
nous hotel manager, left an estate
valued at $4,000, 900,
Both men started, in life without
penny. Neither had what is now
adayst called an education. They
could read and write, and that was
about all when they began their own
livelihood. They were both self-edu-
Gated as we'll as self-made. By the
time they had reached middle life they
swere we'll educated and we'll read.
Not only that, but they took active
interest in educational affairs. Mr..
Boldt was the president of the board
OF trustees of Cornell University.
Mr.. Archbold also was much en-
crossed in collegiate work
Archbold 'began as messenger
boy in grocery store in little Ohio
town He was an energetic and
faithful messenger boy and earned
his $I.so a week salary. George
Boldt was waiter in Parker's res
taurant at Sixth avenue and Thirty
fourth street. He was a good waiter,
too, and deserved the meager tips it
was then the custom to give. Twen-
ty years later, he was made manager
of what was then the finest hotel in
the world, the Waldorf-Astoria,
within pistol shot of where Parker's
old restaurant used to stand.
The first time I met George Boldt
was a few days after the Waldorf
Astoria had opened, 1t was in En-
gels chop house on Thirty-fifth
street. Charles T. Murray and l
we're having supper there when a
short, black-whiskered man came in.
Murray introduced him as the man
ager of the magnificent new Waldorf
Hotel. 1t seemed that Boldt had
formerly been Murray's waiter in a
restaurant the later frequented in
Philadelphia He was not at all
ashamed of it, either, and chatted un-
concernedly about the days when he
was hash singer.
His elevation seemed to dazzle and
amaze him. He said that he couldn't
even get used to eating in the Wal
dorf, but always came around to En-
gels to get his meals where the mag
nihcence would not oppress him.
Afterward he took US through the
hotel and showed us with great de-
light the sumptuous furnishings He
took particular pride in the Turkish
room, which is now almost unused
There were a number of years
when the Waldorf-Astoria had a
rather unfortunate reputation. So
many wealthy people went there that
it was naturally the magnet to at
tract shady characters. Swindlers of
both sexes haunted it on the look
out for victims and, if one-quarter
of the stories are true, they found
a good many. OF course, Mr.. Boldt
did everything he could to stop this
and protect his patrons, but the Sit
uation got away from him for a
while.
OF late years, however, that has
all been changed and the gamblers
and bunco men and vampires have
been driven away as soon as their
occupations had been discovered.
There are three or four private de-
tectives patrolling the corridors all
the time and whenever a suspicious
character is spotted he is quietly
worked out A man must be above
suspicion, like Caesars wife, to be
allowed the free run of the Waldorf
corridors nowadays.
Naturally, mistakes are sometimes
made by overzealousness and, as a
result, l am told that the hotel is
constantly having damage suits
brought against it by people whose
feelings have been hurt. Nearly all
of these suits are pure bluffs, though,
brought by crooks who hope to clean
their regulations that way or get a
little money from the hotel
At any rate, the Waldorf is now
just as safe place as any other ho-
tel in New York for a stranger to
come to with a roll and no expert
ence. There are sharpers everywhere.
Also, regular New Workers have
got to patronizing the Waldorf again.
Formerly for years it was said that
you could never find New Yorker
there. The four hundred considered
it as too strongly favored with the
new rich and so Stunned it. While
it is still unquestionably the head
quarters for the new rich, some of