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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1906)
44 THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, NOVEMBER- 18, 1906. Conspicuous Only in the Diplomatic Service of the United States E' mm j II Inability toMix" Prevents Them From Being Chosen to Elec tive Office BY DEXTER MARSHALL. DESPITE the fact that one of the op posing principals fn the recent Gu bernatorial contest In New York was h born multi-millionaire, it seems, more nnd more as the Republic grows older, that men who have Inherited great riches either do not care, or are not able, to cut much of a figure in public life. There are plenty of rich men in politics there are rich state Governors, rich Senators, rich Representatives In Congress and rich diplomats. But, except among the diplo mats, most of them have accumulated their wealth for themselves. Secretary of State Root is now a man of grea"t wealth, but he began a poor boy, and many of his New York friends re member him as a struggling young lawyer. Secretary of the Interior Hitch cock Is also very rich, but he earned his own money. Secretary of the Navy Bona parte Inherited his wealth. Secretary of War Tft inherited money, but not great wealth. No other Cabinet member is a marked man because of great posses sions. Among the Senators, Mr. Lodge of Mas sachusetts Inherited his wealth, but he can hardly be termed a multi-millionaire. Mr. Kean, junior Senator from New Jersey, was born rich. Mr. Dryden, senior Senator from the same state. Is much richer, but as recently as 20 years ago was just beginning his remarkably successful career in life insurance. Mr. Clark of Montana Is considered in many quarters next to Rockefeller as to wealth, tout the world has been told over and over again how poor he was when he began and how desperately he struggled to get started Mr. Hale of Maine and Mr. Aldrlch of Rhode Island, both rich men, did not Inherit their wealth. Mr. Du Font, the new Senator from Delaware, did, bul his case Is somewhat unusual. ,An analysis of the entire list of very rich men now In public life would show that the majority of them had little money when they began for themselves and that 4 1. ... . . 1 , 1 1 . nn-.v ripl Liirir nciies mainly Dy reason OE their own power of Initiative and their personal push and drive. The famous millionaire Senators from the Golden West Fair, Hearst. Tabor. Jones and all the rest who bulked so large In public life 20 or 30 years- ago. were poor when boys and won or mined their own wealth. As to the Presidents. Washington was a wealthy man, for his times, when made IVesidcnt. but he was by no means rich when young. Next to Theodore Roosevelt. Jefferson was perhaps the richest man by inheritance who has ever sat In the Presi dential chair. Neither of the Adamses, nor Monroe, nor Madison.. was poor, but none of them was born to great riches. Benjamin Harrison was born well-to-do, but his family was- never famous for Its millions, while the early lit of nearly every other President after John Quincy Adams, except Ben Harrison's grand father. William Henry Harrison, was full of struggles with fortune. Jackson. Lincoln. Johnson. flrant, Hayes, Gartield, Arthur, Cleveland. Mc Klnlry all were poor boys who had to light to make their way in life. Famous Kich Families Not in It. Not one of the families that have been most famous for their many millions during the last two .or three generations has a representative in public life at the ' present time. Some of them have been represented for brief periods, but none for very long. No member of the famous multi-millionaire family founded by Com modore Vanderbllt has ever tried to cut a figure in the public service in any way. The whole country would be stirred with a ripple of genuine surprise today were Alfred Gwynne, or Reginald, or "Willie K.." Jr., to be put forward as a candi date for the votes of the people for any office whatsoever. It was proposed not many years ago that the present Cornelius Vanderbilt should offer himself as a candidate to the State legislature or the National House of Representatives", but either he de- -cllnea or the political leaacrs aeciaea agalnsj it, probably the former. At all events he went no further In politics than to attend some primaries and to ''or two. There was talk some time ago or .giving nini a mce in mt iipiuiimiic Service, but it didn't materialize, it is ri DUPovr or ! rMMMW0SSU&9 ' fill a : mm siit i ZSASSjlDOJS to . 1 ; i I1 ; ! 311 " ifm t i ":i . AH- : 4 -VI i Jr T , " - j ' ; dwfrrtiihn- - 31 I' 1 - . ..... , 3 I 1 - quite likely that his entry into public life would be received with less' surprise than' that of any other Vanderbilt. He is a man of ability and serious purpose in life. While it Is not, perhaps, to their dis credit, none of the other Vanderbilts of the present generation has ever shown himself to the public in any other role than as a coaching man. a patron, of automobile and motor-boat contests, or a man of leisure. The Astors have been little more prominent In public life. John Jacob, the founder of the family, helped finance the Government In the War of 1812. as Commodore Vanderbilt did in the Civil War. Wrlllium Waldorf, now a British subject, was elected to the State Legislature for a term- or two. and tried to go to Congress, but could not keep the pace. He was sent to Italy as Minister by President Arthur, but on leaving that post dropped out of public life and has remained a private citizen ever since. Lewis Stuyvcsant Chanler, named for second place on the Democratic ticket this year. Is a direct descendant of the original Astor on his mother's side. John Jacob Astor IV has often been mentioned as a possible candidate for some office, but he has never shown any enthusiasm in that direction. He would be glad to serve as an Army man, how ever. If only a war would come along. He not only paid for a battery which was sent to the Philippines, but him self served as an Army Inspector in the Spanish War. The Belmonts have b,een more promi nent in public life than most of the famous, multi-millionaires by inheritance.- Perry Belmont served for some time In the National House of Repre sentatives and with some distinction, ButUhat was nearly 20 years ago. He still has political aspirations which he inherited, as well as his wealth, from his father, who was long- chair man of the Democratic National Com ftuttee. and he still occupies himself largely with public matters, but it has been a long while since he was a factor of weight. Oliver H. P. Belmont showed political aspirations a few years ago and established a politico-comic week ly, the Verdict, edited by Alfred Henry Lewis, to help himself along:. But the result was not encouraging, and there is no sign that he intends to enter the political lists again. Autrust Belmont was chairman of the Democratic Na tional Campaign Committee in 1904. but he has never shown any desire to be a candidate for any office. As to the Havemeyers." the Lorillards. the Gerrys, the Armours, the Goulds and the Rockefellers, multi-millionaires in sugar, tobacco, real estate,, beef and pork, railroads and oil, they have all, save the Havemeyers, let politics se-. verely alone, so far as puslling their own personal claims for office is con cerned. W. F.-Havemeyer was elected Mayor of New York twice', in 1848 and in 1873. .Theodore A.' was long Consul General of Austria at the port of New York, and believed himself entitled to a place in the diplomatic service of the United States, though he never got It. No Havemeyer of the present genera tion appears to have any desire at all for public life. More, hereditary millionaires have been prominent in the politics of New Y'ork State than elsewhere, chiefly, per haps, because the City of New York has had more millionaires as posible candi dates to offer than any other city. Saving Mr. Hearst's candidacy, the winning of the Mayoralty by Seth Low in 1901, was the most recent instance of a New Y'orker with great Inherited wealth coming prominently to the front in public life. Mr. Low had served two or three terms as Mayor of Brooklyn when that borough of the present New York was a city by Itself. His election as Mayor of the greater city to follow Van Wyck. the first Tamman.y Mayor after its formation, was thought to be a long, step on the road to the Gover norship, itself the next step on the way to the Presidency, then supposed to be Low's ultimate- ambition. But . somehow It didn't work out as expected. . Neither Low nor his best friends and backers, could ever under stand it, but when he came to run for a secOnd term ' in 1903 he was beaten, hands down, by McClellan. himself born more than well-to-do, though by no means so rich as Low. , Low's public career now seems per manently a thing of the past. His ca reer as an educator was cut short when he became Mayor, since he could -not resume the presidency ', of Columbia University at the. expiration of his two years' incumbency of the Mayor's chair. !n,spite of the fact that he had given to the university a magnificent Jibrary building. Which cost $1,000,000 or more, and ate up a third or more of his for tune. ' Undoubtedly he. was convinced that he wou be able to make himself a perma nent power in politics when he accepted the nomination for Mayor. Soon after accepting the presidency of Columbia, he said frankly that his ambition was to ue vote the remainder of his life to that in stitution. Nothing save his practical con viction that by leaving it he would be able to gratify his political aspirations, which had lain dormant after the expira tion of his last term as Brooklyn's Mayor, could possibly have induced htm to' give up Columbia. Mr. Low's failure to be elected a second time as Mayor, of New York is not attri buted to lack of intellect, nor to his sin cerity, but rather to lack of the power to "get next" to the people, 'to "mix" with them, as only the man who is or has been obliged to earn his living is generally able to do. Somehow Low could not take the ordi nary man's point 01 view 'at all. and. while he would never have found it neces sary or desirable, perhaps, had he re mained president of Columbia. 11 was his inability to do so that made it impossible for him to win a second term as Mayor or advance from the Mayoralty to the Governorship. Mr. Low's disapiJblntment was pro found. His friends were anxious that he should ,not drop out altogether and there was talk for some time about his being named to a diplomatic post of high degree. Whether the President ever contemplated naming him to such a post or not. It Is generally understood by Mr. Low's friends that he did not wish to enter the diplomatic field because of his distaste, for social life as it is lived in the great capitals of the world. Some of his friends rather expected he would turn to literature, but apparently it has no charms for him. He spent most of the year 1905 abroad, ana in 1906 located him self on an estate up the Hudson, where. It has beeu announced, he Intends to live out his days as a country gentleman, unvexed by the strife of politics. Failure to learn how to be a good "mixer" has undoubtedly been the main trouble with more than one rich man by inheritance, who would have been glad to be a public figure. Rich Man In Diplomacy. Although Mr. Low did not care to he a professional diplomat, there are many men of inherited wealth who think E77f jLOW5 AZ'WS OOOOO service an ideal one. Men born to money could undoubtedly be found to u.kc every one of the Ambassadorships to Austria Hungary, France. Germany, Great Brit ain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and Russia, and, as a matter of fact, three of these Am bassadorships are now being filled hy men who are rich by Inheritance. Robert S. McCormick, Ambassador to France, and Charlemagne Tower, the Ambassador to Germany, were both born to millions. Clement C. Griscom, Ambassador to Bra zil, though not so rich, probably ts lit very good circumstances, indeed, through inneritance. Until a few months ago the Embassy to Austria was held by a man of large in herited wealth. Bellamy Storer. His re signation, it will be remembered, was de manded by President Roosevelt last Spring, because of Mrs. Storer's activity in Roman Catholic Church matters, al though she was closely related to Nicho las Longworth. It should be said of Mr. tively few men of great inherited wealth Storer. however, that before entering the diplomatic service he did what compara tive done in the United States. He served more than one term in ine lower House of Congress at Washington from a Cincinnati district, winning his prefer ment at the polls in the orthodox Amerl canway. and served as M.nlster to Bel gium and Spain before going to Austria Hungary. Neither Charlemagne Tower, son of a typical Philadeluhian, nor Robert S. Mc Cormick, son of the reaper inventor who won his wealth manufacturing harvesters In Chicago, ever appealod to the voters for office. McCormick is much the richer nan of the two: Towers has, perhaps, the greater initiative. He is now only a year or two less thitn W), and he was nearly 30 before he settled down to a choice of a career, late In the 70s. .A grad uate of Harvard in 1872 he studied nnd traveled in Spain. France. Germany. Den mark. Norway. Sweden, Russia, Greece and fcgypt till 1875. Then he fell to in earnest and studied law in Philadelphia, where he. was ad mitted to the bar in 1S7S. Four years later he was made president of the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad, which made resi dence in Duluth necessary for some years. By 187 he was back in Philadelphia, where he became interested In many en terprises. He entered the diplomatic serv ice nearly 10 years ago, his first post be ing that of Minister to Austria-Hungary: was transferred ' to Russia in 18M. and sent to Germany in U'l)2 to fill the place which Andrew D. White had occupied so acceptably for some yt-ars. McCormick followed Tower in Russia, where he remained till a year or two ago. and where it was said that the Russians treated him with some coolness while the Russo-Japanese war was in progress, pre sumably because of the strong sympathy for the Japs In America. Tower's predecessor at Berlin, Andrew D. White, is not of a multimillionaire family, but his father was a rich man a banker in Syracuse. N. Y. though not so rich as to make it impossible for his sons to 'get next'" to the voters. At all events, Andrew D. White began his public life by appealing to the voters of Syracuse, who elected him to the State Senate. He was a member of that Legislative body when Ezra D. Cornell, having be come several times a millionaire, and re gretting more than anything else his own lack of education, determined to found a school in Ithaca, "where." as he put it. "any man could be educated on any suhject." This determination was crystalized In Cornell University, and. next to Cornell himself, the then young Senator had more to do with the realization of Cornell's de sign than any other man. He took hold of the project with enthusiasm, and, both as a politician and a scholar for he was a Yale graduate and had studied exten- (Concluded on rage 43.)