Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-16
GREAT FORTUNES ARE
NO LONGER DISSIPATED
The Rowland Family Gets only a
Small Part Of the Sum Which
Searles Added to the Hop
Liz, MilIIa,e

THE bequcst of $4,000, 900 and a
great estate at Mcthucn. Mass, to
Mrs. Mary A. Rowland and her chill :
dren. of Melrosc Park. by her cousin.
the late Edward +. Searles, disposes
of but a small part OF the fortune of
the tcstator. The comparative mcagcr-
ness of the amount calls attention to
the disposition of the residuary estate
and suggests some reflections on the
fate of large American fortunes.
Arthur T. Walker, described In the
will as a friend" receives the bulk
of the searles fortune, estimated at
$50, 900, 900. Mr.. Walkers share, It
is said, will be 500, 200, 900.
The fortune is that which Mark
Hopkins. a partner Of G. p. Hunting
ton. accumulated in building the Gem
tral Pacific and the Southern Pacific
Railroads. Hopkins had no children
He had adopted as his son baby boy
named Timothy Nolan. and the child
was brought up with the understand
| ing that he was to be the heir. IL this
plan had been carried out the Hopkins
I millions would have gone into the pos
session of some one not of the Hopkins
blood
The widow inherited the estate in
the first instance 1t included three or
| four large mansions in different parts
of the country She was woman Of
taste and refinement. and she employed
Edward +. Scarles. who had been a
! decorator and furniture salesman. to
assist her in rcfurniShing her houses
and redecorating them. She was be-
tween sixty five and seventy years old.
Scarlcs was about forty FIVE. The tastes
of the two proved to be congcnial. and
in the course of time Mrs. Hopkins
asked him to marry her. He asked for
year to consider tho matter. At the
end of that period he asked her to marry
him. and she consented. She lived six
or eight years in apparent happiness
and contentment, and when she died il
was found that she had left her whole
fortune to her husband. 1t was then
said to amount to $30.000,000. The
adopted son contested the will and the
suit was settled by the payment to hin
Of SO, ,O00, 900 Then the Hopkins for
tune passed into the hands of a mar
whom Hopkins never knew.
The greater part of the fortune now
passes still farther from the Hopkins
! family into the hands of the business
| agent of SParles. II it shall appear thai
| Walker was largely responsible fol
doubling the amount which Searles in
herited from his wife no one need bt
surprised. If this proves to be true
| then a reason for allowing Walker e
enjoy the results of his business acu
men can be found.
The doubling of the Hopkins fortune
indicates that we have entered upon 6
new phase of social development ir
America. It used to be said that thu
heirs of the man who accumulated
riches squandered their inheritances
And it was often true. The hard.
headed man of business was frequently
too much occupied in accumulatinl
money to give any attention to training
his sons to take care of it. We had nc
laws intended to conserve wealth as
they have in Great Britain, and the
unframed sons did not know how tc
care for that which had come into their
possession. Their children had to start
| in poverty where the grandfather had
| begun.
The Astor family was for years about
the only notable exception to this rule.
This was largely because the Astor for
| -, nrE pnnl
| estate and because it was the family
policy never to sell any land. The
growth Of the city multiplied the value
of the original purchases 80 that with
all the subdivisions by will there is
hardly an Astor in the direct line to-
day who is not richer than the man
who started the fortune
But the Vanderbilt family, the
vealth of which is invested in railroads,
is fast rivaling the Astors. William
X. Vanderbilt, the grandson of the old
commodore who used to run a ferry
boat from Staten Island to New York,
died a week or two ago with a fortune
twice as big as that which he inherited
! from his father. The Vanderbilt great
grandchildren are manifesting the same
skill in keeping and enlarging their in
heritances. And the Morgan grand
children have inherited the commercial
genius Of julius Spencer Morgan, who
grew rich as a New England banker
! The wealth Of the du Points, which
started with the accumulations Of
Pierre, who died in 1917, is so great
that II would have dazzled the ole
Frenchman who came to America tc
sock his fortune more than hundred
years ago.
Scores Of other instances will occur
to the reader. There are many Of then
here in Philadelphia, not quite so wei
known as some Of those mentioned but
Illustrating the same development in the
sons to add TO that which the fathers
| have accumulated.
In the early history Of the country
we had social as well az politica
democracy. There were variations il
the wealth of the people, it is true, but
the wealth Of most was in the hands OF
the men who had accumulated il. W.
had no large population brought up in
luxury with no unsatisied wants. The
number of men with an income OF
81, 900 900 year Is as great today as
the total number of millionaires in the
whole country in 1900, and the internal
| revenue collector has recently reported
that there are more than 200 mil