Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], January 23, 1916, Image 43

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
What Baron Asters
Coronet Cost Him
Blunders, Lack of Tact and Enormous
Expense of the Expatriated Amer
ican Millionaire in His 25- Years'
Struggle to V/in the Lowest
Title in the
British
Peerage
The Coronet of Baron Is a Circle of Cold with Six Silver Balls Raised
Immediately Above. The Cap Is of Crimson Velevt, Turned Up
with Ermine with a Tassel of Cold on Top.
Enormous Sums Mr. Astor Has Paid
to Obtain His Peerage
Contributions to Tory campaign fundi in 25 year* (estimated) .... $3,500,000
Paid for Pall Mall Gazette, Observer and other Tory organs 2,500,000
Various contributions to hospitals and charities (estimated) 1,750,000
Contributions to war relief funds . 1,250,000
Entertaining King George and Queen Mary 750,000
Entertainments to influential politicians 750,000
Spent in entertaining the late King Edward 1 550,000
Hiring Countess to chaperon daughter 250,000
Retaining Tory politician to "train" oldest son in politics 250,000
House party to Tory political leaders 150,000
To Queen Alexandra's Working Men's Dinner Fund 50,000
v
GRAND TOTAL $11,750,000
Very Peculiar Things That
Mr. Astor Has Done
TTr> loft America, which gives him his income, bemuse it was "not
a fit country for a jeutleman to live in."
Offended King l.drard by telling him how he would entertain him,
instead oi" asking his jneasure.
Ordered Admiral Sir Berkeley Milne out of his London house be
cause ho came without an invitation.
Involved himself in a ridiculous quarrel with the Duke of "West
minster about the visitors' book of the house the Duke had sold him.
Presented to Knghind the Hag of Captain Lawrence's ship, the
Chesapeake, captured by the British ship Shannon in 1S13.
"Fired" his noble newspaper editors for making fun of him.
Expressed annoyance at a story that Queen Anne Boleyn declined
to haunt her old home after Mr. Astor had bought it.
Brought a libel suit against a London newspaper for saying lie was
going to entertain twenty-seven friends on a section of California red
wood.
WILLIAM WALDORF" ASTOR, the
larpest owner of Now York real
estate. lias finally obtained a
peerage from the King of Knsland, after
renouncing his native country, perform
in g tho most amazing sorles of antics
ever committed by a social climber, and
after paying incomparably the largest
sum of money ever paid for the honor
obtained.
He has chosen for himself tho title
"Raron Astor of Hever Castle."
For twenty-five years tho largest
owner of New York real estate has
been assiduously cultivating the King,
Government and puhlic of Great Rritain
with a view to obtaining a title, and
only in this present period of acute na
tional distress has he been able to sat
isfy his ambition.
Mr. Astor left the United States with
tho remark that it was "no country for
a gentleman to live in." Ills disgust
with this country was due, first, to his
failure in a political campaign, and, sec
ondly, to the freedom with which the
American press commented on him. As
a very young millionaire he conde
scended to be elected to the State Leg
islature.
Then he ran for Congress. In con
sideration of his generous contributions
to the party he was nominated for a
safe Republican district. Politicians en
joyed his liberality and newspaper re
porters had a good deal of fun with his
social pretensions, all of which annoyed
Mr. Astor very much. To his disgust,
he was defeated.
Tho party tried to console him with
a term as Minister to Italy, but the in
gratitude of the Republic always rankled.
Ho returned to America, and then his
dignity was still more seriously af
fronted. Ills wife, now deceased, in
formed the postmaster at Newport that
she was "the Mrs. Astor," and that all
letters so addressed were to bo deliv
ered to her. Tho lato Mrs. William
Astor, who had long been the acknowl
edged queen of New York society,
calmly informed tho postmaster that she
?was "tho Mrs. Astor."
This peculiar controversy becamo tho
subject of much humorous comment.
Few people know that this was what
finally disgusted Mr. W. W. Astor with
America. His dignity was more offended
than if he had been Czar of Russia.
After putting his financial interests in
order ho moved permanently to London
in 1891.
One of his first acts was to lease the
finest house in London, Lansdowno
House, whoso owner was in need of
ready money. Soon nfter that lie pur
chased Cliveden House, on the Thames,
a beautiful house and estate, whose
owner, the Duko of Westminster, al
though tho richest peer in England, felt
unablo to lceop it.
Then Mr. Astor plunged into a career
8
of Boci.il conquest. Of course, he
planned to win the favor of the then
Prince of Wales, afterward King Kd
ward. The Prince was very favorably
disposed toward persons with large ac
cumulations of cash, whatever their an
cestry might be. Mr. Astor gave balla
and entertainments which cost hun
dreds of thousands of dollars, and the
Prince put in an appearance at one of
these.
Finally ho accepted an Invltiiion to
stay over night at Cliveden, a very great
honor. Mr. Astor is said to have spent
?200,000 on this affair alone. He did
everything with Oriental splendor, but
with his customary lack of tact, he made
a slip.
When entertaining royalty it Is essen
tial to find out Just what they wish to
do. Now, Mr. Astor planned to take
tho Prince in the morning for a tri
umphal procession on the Thames in a
glorified steam launch. Sometimes the
Prince liked to lie about in the morn
ing rather than take strenuous exer
cise, like riding on a boat. When he
heard what Mr. Astor was going to do
for him, his reply?the Prince was
noted for his pungent repartee?is said
to have been something like this:
"Willit does the old bounder mean
by telling me what be is going to do
with me? Tell him I'm engaged and
not to be disturbed."
The Prince went a\rav from this af
fair seriously ruffled, and it was long
before ho showed Mr. Astor any favor
again.
At this early period Mr. Astor pur
chased the Pall Mall Gazette, a paper
originally Intended "to bo written by
gentlemen for gentlemen." It had be
como a popular sheet under the late W.
T. Stead, and then it had rapidly de
clined. Mr. Astor paid a great sum for
It, said to have been $1,000,000.
He made it a high Tory organ and
appointed an earl's son as editor. He
also established the Pall Mall Magazine,
and used it In the same way to further
his social ambitions.
Mr. Astor's sense of dignity and self
esteem was so great, that In spite of his
desire to win favor with the nobliity and
ruling classes, he was constantly getting
into hot water with them. He found
that the earl's son on the paper had
been making fun of his employer, and
Ignomlnlously discharged hini. A duke's
son, I>ord Frederick Hamilton, on the
magazine, went the Bame way.
Then Mr. Astor simply shocked so
ciety by kicking a distinguished British
naval officer, Admiral Sir Berkeley
Milne, who had been commander of the
royal yacht, out of his house. An Eng
lish society woman, who had received
an invitation to a gorgeous muslcale
given by Mr. Astor, asked Admiral
Milne, who had not been invited, to
accompany her. When Mr. Astor found
that the naval officer had como with
Exactly How William Waldorf Astor Will Look in His Baron's Robes and
Coronet as "Iiaron Astor of Hever Castle."
out an invitation, he ordered him out
of the house.
Then ho had a remarkable bickering
with tho late Duko of Westminster. He
purchased Cliveden from tho Dtike, with
all its furniture, but after a while tho
Duke claimed possession of the visitors'
book, with tho autographs of all the
royal and noblo persons who had vis
ited the place. After Ions and an try
correspondence and threats of law suits,
Mr. Astor held on to the hook, although
to Englishmen it seemed a personal pos
session of the former owner like a batch
of letters.
Mr. Astor became a naturalized Brit
ish subject in 1S99, and after that it was
notorious that ho was campaigning for
a peerage. JIo gave millions of dollars
to funds approved by the King or by
Tory political and social lenders. An
Englishman becomes a lord through the
nomination of the Prime Minister and
is formally created by the King. Tho
King does not have a free hand in cre
ating peerages, because they affect tho
legislature, but ho is ablo to eivo them
Copyright, 1010, by the Star Company,
to a certain number of his friends. On
tho other hand. It would bo difficult for
the Government to give a peerage to
a man who was obnoxious to tho King.
It is well known that a common way of
obtaining a peerago i3 to make a gen
erous contribution to the campaign fund
of tho party in power.
Successful English stockbrokers and
manufacturers of oilcloth obtained peer
ages in return for contributions of
$o0,000 or so, while Mr. Astor, who was
spending millions, got nothing. This
disappointment almost threatened his
reason. The King would not think of
glviug him a title, and no Government
imd tho hardihood to propose him for
ono. Whatever tho sum paid, thero is
always a pretence that the title is given
for some genuine public service.
Mr. Astor's quest of a titlo finally be
camo a joko in England. Weekly news
papers mado cartoons on tho subject.
Ono showed him as an American eaglo,
loaded down with money bags, In pur
Grcat Britain Rights Reserved.
Mrs. Waldorf Astor, Jr., the Charming Daughter
in-Law of the Baron, Who Will Some Day
He a Baroness.
suit of a vanishing coronet. T.abor
Members of Parliament poured scorn on
this "American money-bag who was
seeking to undermine our^free institu
tions."
To Increase bis social splendor Mr.
Astor purchased 1 lever Castle, near
Sevenoaks, said to be the most perfect
specimen of a mediaeval dwelling in
10nginnd. it was the birthplace of Anno
Boleyn. Kim: Henry VIll's beautiful anil
ill-fated wife No. -. A funny story about
this place began to go the rounds of
English society, that annoyed ^lr. Astor
exceedingly. It was said that , Anno
Boleyn's ghost had always haunted tho
castle, but aftor Mr. Astor went thero
she declined to appear.
Perhaps tho most ungraceful, and to
Americans tho most repulsive, thing Mr.
Astor ever did was to present the flag
of the American ship Chesapeake to tho
British United Service Museum. Tlio
Chesapeake was captured by the British
ship Shannon in 1813, during a famous
light, in which the American captain,
James Lawrence, uttered his immortal
The Drawbridge
and Moat of Hever
Castle. Here Baron
Astor Can Realize
the Ambition of
His Life?to Be a
Real Baron in This
Old Baronial
Castle.
words. "Don't give
up the ship." Tha
flap fell Into private
hands In England and
Mr. Astor bought It
for $4,250 and gave
It to tho Institution
named.
As Mr. . Astors
children grew to ma
turity hla social pros
pects In England Im
proved. Ills elder
son, Waldorf Astor,
n presentable young
man, educated at
Oxford, married Mra.
Nannie Langhorne
Shaw, ono of the
famously beautiful
Langhorno sisters of
Virginia. She has be
come very popular
In the smartest Eng
lish society. She
helped her husband
to win his election
to tho House of
Commons for Ply
mouth.
Tho second son,
John Jacob Astor,
/became an officer of
(ho Life Guards, the premier regiment of
tho llritish array, and proved himself a
good sportsman. Ho lias been wounded
In tho present war.
Tho title which Mr. Astor sought so
long to obtain from tho Tories he has
at last won from a coalition Govern
ment that is mainly Liberal.
Ills greatest contribution of all to
British funds is to pay the present in
como tax, which amounts to one-third
of a rich man's total income; In Mr.
Astor's case this is estimated to bo
$1,250,000 per annum. He could have
avoided all this by transferring his res
idence to New York. Ho has also given
great sums to war relief funds.
Tho title now eonferret on Mr. Astor,
that of baron. Is tho lowest in the peer
age, but it gives him a seat In the House
of Lords. It entitles him to wear a
scarlet velvet robo, with two rows of
ermine, and a coronet surmounted with
six silver balls.
His oldest son will inherit the title,
and tho two sons will now bo known as
tho Hon. Waldorf Astor and tho Hon*
John Jacob Astor.