The Washington times., 1921-08-05
CARUSO LEFT NO
HOLDINGS OF ANY
DESCR|PT|ON|NU. us.
Foresaw Prevention of Return
to U. S.-Long Island Villa
Held by Lease.

NEW YORK, Aug. 6.-Bruno Zirato.
for years the private secretary and
confidant Of the great tenor. declared
yesterday that Caruso left practically
no property, either real or personal
In this country when he sailed away
last spring to his native shores.
His bonds and securities had been
sold under his orders before his de
parture. Even his beloved objects
Dart, his ceramics. his pictures. coins
and curios. OF which he had a mar
velous collection. were packed into
twenty great trunks and boxes. and
most of them were shipped to Italy.
So were all the personal effects and
furnishings with which he had beauti-
fled the Caruso suite In the Hotel
Vanderbilt.
Forsaw Long Stay.
And Caruso's frankly spoken reason
for this course, according to his sec
rotary, although the tenor expressed
1t with an almost jocular nonchalance,
was. who knows. Bruno, l may
never get back to New York;"
Zirato secuted the cabled report
from Naples that Mrs. Garrison had
taken steps ito sell the New York
residence OF the late singer pending
decision regarding the disposition
u
said the secretary, ''ehat Mrs. Caruso
has done anything Of the sort. for she
knows quite as well as / do that there
IL nothing whatever remaining here
that belonged to Mr.. Caruso. All the
furniture and appurtenances now In
these apartments are the property Of
the Hotel Vanderbilt and part of it's
regular equipment. The few pictures
which you see here on the wall behind
my desk. personal souvenirs and the
like, are mine. There is nothing what.
ever here to be sealed
Owned No Realty.
Mr.. Caruso. in the first place, never
has owned any real estate In America.
The villa In East Huntington, Long
Island. he leased for term of six
months from Mr.. Herter. the artist.
His city residence here in the Wander
bilt. of course. was also under lease
hold. When he sailed for Italy last
spring II was his request that 1 oc-
cupy 1t with my wife, and have con.
tinued to do so.
'As for personal property, practi-
cally all Mr.. Caruso's stocks and
bonds, with the sole exception of
comparatively small block Of Liberty
loan securities which he still re-
tains in a safety vault, were sold
out completely something like two
years ago by the Fifth Avenue
Bank. under his orders. His reason
for this action. 1 presume. was the
heavy Government taxes now nm
posed upon such holdings, though
, during war time and thereafter. there
were few men. IL any who paid
large income tax imposts more cheer
fully than he.
Until shortly before his departure
for Italy many OF Mr.. Caruso's most
cherished art objects remained here
in his suite in the Vanderbilt But II
was by his order that these were all
hacked into a score of trunks nnd,
large packing cases and were re-
moved.
Even the magnificent collection of
gifts--silver. china, pictures, and all
kinds of rich nicknacks-which were
lavished upon him on the occasion
of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his
connection with the Metropolitan
Opera Company, were carefully pack
We'd away and these accompanied him
and Mrs. Caruso to Sorrento. There
were eighteen trunks and large cases
required to contain these personal et.
fects. In addition to the twenty trunks
which went aboard the Presidente
Wilson as cabin baggage. A few
cases which remain here are now in
safe deposit vault"
Mr.. Zirato was asked II he knew
the purport of the will executed by
Caruso before his Zines last winter
In this city"
II should like you to make this
particularly emphatic" he replied.
There is no man in America who
knows anything authentic Of the
amount Of the Caruso estate nor Of
the manner in which he has disposed
of It,"