The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-03-04
A FRUGAL STATESMAN.
One of the Characteristics of "St.
Jerome" Edmunds.

Senator Edmunds is believed to
be in very comfortable circum-
stances. He has a good brick house
on Massachusetts Avenue, in this
city, and a good frame house at
Burlington, Vermont, and he lives
very nicely in both. lie has big
rugs and big dogs in both. He is as
fond of them as he is of a good
table ana good sideboard. But he
is very careful man. His Bur
lington dwelling is the only house
on the street without a strip of side
sidewalk before it. The sidewalk
comes down to the Senator's line,
then there is Il break of gravel, then
the sidewalk. The Senator would
not lay d sidewalk. He was
only there in the summer, he said,
and gravel was good enough for
him. The town did not lay the
pavement, because it doubted
whether it would ever get its money
back. 1t knew that the Senator did
not pay taxes willingly. 1t remem-
bered that when the legislature
passed an act levying a personal
tax, the Senator quietly declared it
unconstitutional and announced
that he would pay no taxes under it
except such as were wrung from
him by force. The assessors didn't
have mu h luck with the Senator.
The act gave them the right to
double the value of all the personal
| property thew could find, They
strongly suspected that the Senator
was worth something like S50J,000,
but all they could find was a cow, a
horse or two, some jewelry. gold
watch, some furniture and so on,
" orth in all $4,000 or $4,000. They
doubled it. They collected about
one tenth of the tax they
ought to have collected. The
Senator smiled grimly and stroked
the silky back of his largest dog.
The Senator never wastes anything,
not even words. Last summer he
| invited two friends, both well-to-do
lawyers like himself, though not so
well known outside of New York,
to fish from salmon stream annu-
ally placed at his disposal by some
Canadian friends. He gave his
guests an idea of the number of
days he contemplated remaining on
the stream, and informed them that
it would be a 'tbasket lunch
everybody to contribute something
to the general table. The lawyers
were delighted with the invitation
and rather impressed by the fact
that it was extended by a man who
was wanted by some people as
President of the United States.
They equipped themselves as for
an Arctic expedition. They did
not BEE the Senator again until they
reached the fishing camp, He had
preceded them. They could not see
the baggage he brought IL was
presumably under cover some
where. Their baggage was perfectly
perceptible. The first man to I'M
pack turned out potted meats and
vegetables, dried meats and fruits,
preserves, jellies, bread, cakes,
crackers, cheese, sauce, condiments,
wines, liquors, cigars and all the
other good things to be found in
Boston. Then the Senator's other
guest opened his hamper. He had
almost every edible that the
other fellow had and more
drinkables. The contents of
the two magazines covered
about all the vacant space there
was around the camp. When they
had laid everything they had on the
ground, the guests looked at their
host, who was quietly stroking his
long white beard, as who should
say: Show your hand, Senator"
The Senator returned to his baggage
train and soon reappeared, bearing
his contribution without difficulty
in his two hands. Some crackers,
some cheese, some simple dried and
sailed meats, a little good brandy,
and that was about all. The guests
had profound respect for the Sena-
tor, Tut I'm told that their some
what disrespectful opinion of the
man was fully visible in their faces.
He is very careful man, as well as
a very good Senator.-Letter in Phil
adelphia Press.