The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-07-10
EX-SENATOR DAVID DAVIS
An Interesting Sketch of His Public
Life and Character.
How He Was Regarded When He Entered
the Senate-His Wealth and Some of
His Personal characteristics.
Chicago News Letter.

cused him of running away from the electoral
commission, where, if the truth can be
known, no name was taken without iudicat-
ing in advance what he was going to do. The
Republicans were afraid of him, not believ-
ing in his independence, and especially dis
trusting him because it was then believed
that Davis was candidate for the presidency,
and that be was looking to the Democratic
side for support. Both sides jeered at him
for following course they could not under
stand. 1t was such an unheard-of thing for
n man to ask which side is right, and then
use his Judgment, and only place himself on
the record where he believed the right
was to be found Naturally, this
caused some moving about. One day
the sun would shine upon Mr.. Davis
in the ranks of the Democrats, while the
next day the rain might be pelting down
upon his devoted head among the Repub-
licans. Naturally the consistent party men,
who never have to go to the trouble of think
ing, howled every time the wandering David
crossed or recrossed the party chalk-line.
They called him trimmer, and accused him
of possessing the most complicated OF motives
for the simplest OF acts. His composure and
undstributed Judgment in the shower of
jeering criticism soon silenced every one.
The real truth was, no one believed IN his
independence. Angus Cameron had been
elected under precisely the same circum-
stances in Wisconsin over Matt. Carpenter,
ard the hero of a scandalous divorce trial,
Christiancy, had been labeled independent
by the Michigan Legislature and sent up
to replace the iron-jawed bull-headed Zach
aria Chandler Both Cameron and Chris
tiancy, from the first voted with the Repub-
w q
that David Davis would go where he could
make the best terms. His changing from
one to the other was only regarded as way
of haggling over the price so as to gain
the greatest possible advantage. Illustrative
of this popular idea give a story told with
great glee, by Judge Davis himself He is
very polite man Every one who calls upon
him is always treated with the greatest re-
spect. But for one class of callers the Judge
has but the scantiest of formalties. News
paper reporters or correspondents find but
little information in calling upon the Judge,
unless they have had previous acquaintance
with him, but even then he never consents
to be posed as the subject of a machine inter
view.
Judge Davis is a very large man. His
weight is in the neighborhood of 326 pounds.
He is of such good height he carries the
weight very easily. Although he is sixty
eight years old. he is in vigorous health, and
when last in Washington was very energetic
and attentive to the public business. His
forehead is very high and broad over the
keen, twinkling gray eyes, shaded by beet
ling eyebrows. His nose is very large, with
a Roman outline and broad at the base. His
mouth is large. thin-lined, and curves down
ward into line of extreme decision. His
face is smooth shaven to the line of his jaws.
Below is a light sandy short row of whiskers
hardly as yet touched with gray His hair,
while trifie thin, yet holds its own enough
to insure the Judge against badness for the
rest of his life He nearly always dresses in
black. His clothes are very loose-fitting,
is becoming for man of his full habit. He
wears when out soft black hat, slouched
over his wickedly piercing eyes. He is very
simple in his habits and manners He often
walked from his hotel to the capitol and is
a regular patron Of the street cars. The last
two years he lived in Washington he kent
wide, roomy, singleton pheton, in which
he would drive all about the capital, with
small colored lad to hold the horse when he
got out, or to carry in his cards when he was
making calls. He was always rigdly pune
tilious in his social duties. He promptly re-
turned calls made upon him, and always
kept a very accurate list of the dinners
given to him, so that he could repay in
kind
Indeed this was one of the secrets of his
power in restoring some of the lost dignity
appertaning to the office of VIce-president.
Ordinarily Nice-president is mere fly upon
the wheel of legislation. There are depart
ment clerks who have more influence. Ig
nored by every one, they have not for years
tried to struggle from out of the obscurity
and nothingness of the office. Judge Davis,
when elected acting Nice-president, made
the position worth something by taking a
position as a social leader. He gave a series
of elaborate dinners. models OF the kind, ex-
tending throughout the season, and includ-
ing as his guests all the notable men of the
capital. The White House was closed and
cfi i.,t1 npf,irl . ,o
great feature of the season. The Judge was
seen at every great gathering, if only for
few moments. He would have preferred the
quiet and ease OF his own rooms, but he
knew that social prominence is necessary at
Washington to give public man a full equip
ment of legislative weapons
HIS WEALTH
He is quite a rich man. His wealth is
estimated to be in the neighborhood of
$4,000,000. His steward once told me that
the Judge paid in taxes every year between
$35, 900 and $4,000 His fortune consists
almost entirely of real estate The Judge
has never speculated in stocks The only
stock he ever owned in his life was in the
Bloomington National Bank, of which he
was one of the original founders. The Judge
says that when he was a young man he
never let year 90 by without buying some
land. When he was young there was
great deal of government land in Illinois,
Some of his early investments were in the
neighborhood of Chicago. He owns to-day
valuable real estate in the heart OF the city.
He has always been economical. and
Is to this day. He has no sympathy
with extravaganza, and cannot find
language strong enough to condemn
the young men of the present time who live
up to or beyond their incomes. He refused
The hand of his niece, some years ago, to
young lawyer In Bloomington, when he
found that the young man was running bills
carelessly about the town without having
any idea of where the money was to come