The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1867-12-25
The Rich Men Of g ngress.

|
Cincinnati Commercial thus skot ,hcs fcw q
the monied men of Congress-
"Thcre are from half q dozen to q dozc,
men OF great wealth in the present Congress
Sometimes riches represent great aud s,cr
ling qualities in thc posscSsOrS-oft enc
tkey are tho result Of acquired or inherited
good luck. an outlining for your readers {
few Of tho millonaires Of Congress it is no
with view of cxalting any man bccaus,
Of his wealth, but to crafty Il reasonable
and almost universal curiosity to know tn,
personality OF conspicuous or successful
| mon.
Hon Oakcs Amcs. Of Massachusetts, came
into Congress in 1862, being then, rs now,
the head Of one Of the heaviest and wealth.
| est manufacturing firms of New England.
! Everybody who knows anything about tho
| hardware trade. (and who docs not y is
familiar with the fncL that Games spades
and shovcls" arc a leading staple Of the
business, without n stock Of which 10 up.
country store or cross roads grocery in all
the States and Territories Of America is
considered complete. Having early got q
reputation for making q good article, tho
firm have made The most Of it, and the
stamp Of "Ames" on n spade is guarantees
of excellence SO universally trusted, that
from Cape Sable to Rio Janeiro YOU will
find them in universal use. The hcadouars
tcrs Of this manufacture arc ut Easton, n
little obscure town in Eastern Massachu.
sets, and the profits of tho cnormou s
manufacture arc 50 la~ge that Cakes Amos
returned M income of Sill 900 in 1866
and about as much more in 1867. At the
same time, threo other members ofthc
Amcs family nctted M income Of S225, 900
or n quarter Of q million between them.
With all this good fortune, 0akcs Amcs
is not one Of your puffcd up or purse proud
aristocrats, but u homely, hearty man of
business, whose wife and family dress as
plainly as possible. The Congressman him
self is a Radical of tho Radicnls, believes
not only in negroes rights, but woman's
rights, aud though lie ncvo" made speech,
(not being given to that particular ''ynni-
ty,'D is always found voting with the vnn-
guard the Republicans, lie is sixty
thrco years DID, and bluff, heavy built,
good .humored, off hand man, who has just
taken the biggest contract at railroad build,
ing, to case off his superfluous capital that
was ever undertaken in the world. 1t
is the construction Of the Rocky Mountain
section Of The Pacific Railroad, aud involves
over thirty millions of dollars.
1t would, doubtless, surprise some very
knowing persons in tho political world to
be told that Fernando Wood is millionaire
Yet the worldly possessions of the cidevant
Mayor of New York and present member of
Congress from that imperial city, were rcck-
oned ss !; $4,000, 900 in 1863. lore is nm
which New York hns witnessed 30 many.
In 1880 Fernando Wood was poor scgnr
manufacturer, Tor manufacturer of poor
scgars, which ever the reader plcases,) in
one Of tho lower wards Of New York city
4 few years later he pushed himself into
the prOprictorship Of one OF the most lucra.
tive corner groceries in Washington street
then fronting on the North River, as West.
street does now. lie sold ship stores, chan
dlery, and, last, not lcnst, liquor. The lat
ter commodity being then, rs now, in prime
demand among b0atman and stevcdores, and
Mr.. Wood hpving made advantageous ar
rangcments for selling to these thirsty Gus
toners on credit and taking it out Of their
weeks wages every Saturday night, he
dispensed more liquor than any other shop,
and profits were, of course, "upwnrd of
considerable" From this beginning Wood
tranched out into the business Of general
merchant and ship owner, and, being gifted
with remarkable shrewdncss, hc soon got
command Of every considerable means In
1841 he run for Congress, and was elected.
He was twice chosen mayor Of New York,
(from 1854 to 1856,) and it is not commonly
believed in that immaculate city that his
political career contributed to impovcrish
him in the lcnst.
In marrying tho accomplished and we'll
educated daughter of Drake Mills, one Of
the merchant princes of New York, Fcrnan-
do Wood achieved another step in his sHc.
oessfnl career rs man Of wealth and Of
the world. 1t was Drake Mills brother who
Il 10 4 olo1r tod l1c l
in Charleston, and Drake Mills himself,
whom in the grocery house Of Smith, Mills
& Co., used to be the New York consignee of
huge crops Of rice from the Carolina marsh. +.
es-a highly profitable lrado.
Fernando Wood is personally precisely
tho reverse Of Ike style of man popularity
asssocintcd with his name. Tall, Slcndcr,
1.-the, palefaced, almost silver-haired, with
fashionably cut griz2lea mustnchc, smooth
shaven face, highly polished manners and
-iceplass energy and will, Fernando Wood
rep csents, at sixty five yenrs, life long
struggle to conquer fortune, position and
name, in the midst Of obstacles, and in tho
teeth Of q reputation which would have
quickly ruined an ordinary man. lic is
row, Tor The third time in Congress, and
seems TO have apermancnt affinity for po-
litical lfc.
EX' Gov. BRowN.--In another column
will be found letter Of FIX Gov. Brown to
Mr. Parrot, on the subject Of relief, and
the duties of the convention not sitting In
Atlanta, on TINT subject. The Governor,
as usual, rides his old hobby, ostensibly for
the benefit of theIpoor man, but undoubted.
ly with an eye singic,to q future candidacy
of some sort. either for g ovcrnor under the
constitution about to be framed, or for Uni
ted States Senator. We regret to 800 the
Governor use tho expression '1andcd hris.
tooraoy," in speaking of tho large planters
OF the south But this only in keeping
with tho limo of policy hc is now pursuing.
we remember that in one Of his letters last
summer, he used the word rebellion"
'ghen speaking Of tho late war. Such OK :.
'prcssions grnto harshly upon the ear of
Georgians. and moro especially when used
by man who formerly was honorcd by
his countrymen with tho highest Office in
their gift, and who was one ofthe chiefpro-
moters OF the $50 called" rebellion. - Cen.
trail Georgian. a
l9aE VI A>------ .t 80 (
In SEonET seN--4GEHRnhbtG GRA -
we learn from the Washington Star that on