Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1881-10-13
ARTHUR'S NTIMATES.
Who May Have a GOOD Deal 10 DO
with the New Administration.


/ New York Letter to the Boston Herald.
| George Bliss stands foremost in char
acter and ability among Arthur's init
mate friends, has all along been his
cOntidant and adviser, and it will be
surprising indeed if he does not go into
the new Cabinet. Bliss is a stout man,
Of medium height, and full face, re-
markably light complexion, and hair
which, though now tinged with grey,
was formerly so faxen that, when he
was private secretary to Gov. Morgan,
he was popularly known as 'Morgan's
tow-headed boy" He comes of an old
Massachusetts, family, Springfield being
his birthplace. and is about so. lie is
a Harvard graduate, and lawyer of
great ability. His professional practice
is largely in Insurance cases, and he is
| the attorney for several leading COM
panies. He is said to be worth $1,000,-
600, partly from inheritance and partly
| from his own accumulation through
labor and lucky investment. He is a
| politician from love of politics and not
for pecuniary gain. He is fearless and
aggressive. AS a member of the gov
ernor's staff during the war he had
charge of the maintenance and trans
portation of troops in this city. and ii
was then that he formed a friendship
with Arthur, who was quartermaSter
! general. His services at that period
are said to have been honest and val
liable. He has been an excellent
United States district attorney. He is
a charter member of the Union League
club, and a frequenter of its house,
where he is popular and influential.
He is the author of "Bliss' Annotated
Code" and of several works on insur-
ance law. He has travelled extensively
abroad, and has some linguistic acquire
ments. He has been an organizer in
his party.
| Stephen B. French is Arthur's boon
companion. He used to be merchant
at Sag Harbor, r. l., and dabbled in
politics there, serving one term as
treasurer of the county. He was not
successful in business, and in 1879 Ar
thur brought him here to make him
police commissioner. He is something
| oV0l 90, lIeao "hiUv hesiI alIu nIuuataohc,
is stout, and below the average in
height. He is not brilliant, mentally
or morally, and is set down as poll
| tician for what he can make. He is
essentially different man from Bliss,
and Elihu Root is quite as different
from either. Root is young lawyer of
thorough culture, striking ability and
high ambition. He has for several
years been practicing law in partner
ship with Willard Bartlett His age is
not more than 50, if so much, and he
is rather handsome fellow, with suffi-
cient self-cOrfidence to enable him to
employ all his brains on any occasion.
He ran for judge of the Court of Com
mon Pleas last year and was beaten.
He did not do much in political way
| until latel y, and his intimacy with Ar
thur is not of long standing. Socially
his connections are pretentious, and
his friends regard him as bound to
make his mark whenever he gets the
ppOrtunity-say as Attorney General.
Daniel G. Rollins is our district attOrn-
ey, by appointment, to succeed the late
Benjamin K. Phelps, whose first assist
ant he was for number of years. Rol-
lins is small, active man of 35, with
good round head, no airs, and really
remarkable ability as a public prosecu-
tor. Rollins is Yale graduate, thor
oughly respectable in his personal CON
duct and relations, quite popular among
lawyers, and an able schemer in poll
tics. His intimacy with Arthur arises
from political association and is based
principally on mutual interest. Rol-
Inns brains are of superior quality
and he uses them as Arthur directs, re-
ceiving political preferment in return.
Enough has already been written to
show that Arthur's companions are of
varied sorts, and this is illustrated fur
ther by Thomas Murphy and Pierre G.
Van Wyck, who are alike only in de-
sire for Office. John r. Lydecker was
Arthur's deputy in the custom house
and with him was turned out. He had
long held appointive offices, but has
not Jared well since, though now in the
Assembly. He is a good-looking six-
footer of 56 and most faithful hench-
man Of Conkling.