Omaha daily bee., 1885-02-17
RlCH NEGROES OF AMERICA.

Colnred Men Who Were Once slaves
But Are Now Worth Millions
How They Made Their Money
and How They Use 1t
Career OF EN- sen.
alto Truce.
Probably no one, writes q correspond
ent to the New YORK Mail and Express,
has o wider acquaintance with the lead
ing colored men of the United States
than the Hon George w. Williams, ex.
momter CT the Ohio Legislature and
author of the "History of the Colored
Race in America Mr.. Williams Is a
light-skinned, vsll.dreseed mulatto of
perhaps 80. He is now engaged here en-
his second volume of "Ths History of
Reconstruction l asked him tonight to
give me some facts as to the rich negroes
of the United States. He replied: "The
C )lored people are amassing fortunes very
rapidly, and | know of a great many who
are worth from $780, 600 to 81, 900, 600.
Here at Washington there are l00negroes
worth over S25 900, at least fifty worth
$40 600, and l should say 1000 worth
SO, 900. Fred Douglass Is worth about
$500, 900, aud he has q beautiful home
surrounded by large grounds on the other
S dc of the Potomac, overlooking Wash
ingt IN. 1t Is the cid Van Hook mansion,
the home of the noted negro hater who,
when he divided his lands for sale, put
into every deed a stipulation that The
purchaser should in no case s2l! to a
negro. Fred Douglass OWES 1t to-day and
the whole of the estate, 30 divided. is
dotted with the homes OF colored msn.
Douglass WIS, you know, a slave. and he
fought as a boy with the dogs that fell
from ais masters table. He has made
h money chiefly by lect uring, and by n
pap, Or called The North Star, which he
used to edit. He got 500 a night lee.
tarlng, and he invested his money in
government bonds ard real estate. There
Is no pleassn'er home'in Washington
than hi, and his new white wife is q
bsa1tiful and accomplished lady. John
f. Cooke, the tax collector CT thu Dis
trict Of Columbia, Is a wealthy
colored man. He is worth about
$250, 900. He has held his present ofics
for fifteen years. He is a man OF great
ability and is W II educlted. Then there
Ia a broker here named Matthews who
did a bus ness of more than 500, coo last
year. He i, a graduate of the law de.
partment of Harvard university, and got
his start as q clerk In the pos.ofics de-
lartmeut. He saved his money, and let
1t out in dribblets at exotbitant rates Of
interest to his more improvident white
fellow.clerks. His pile soon grew large
enough to enable him to withdraw from
the department, and he now does q
legitimate brokerage business. John M.
Langston, our minister to Hayti, has a
good deal of property in Washington,
and he is G rich man. He is the son of a
rich Virginisn, of louisa county, Viz.
| einia, by o beautiful co!ored mother. His
father freed him at his death, and pro-
| vided funds for his education. He was
sent to uberlin, and he studied law.
aftr graduating there, at Cleveland.
When the war WaI over
he was given a place on
| the freedmen's bureau, and finally be
came vice president of thu Freedmen's
| Savings bank. This had a capittl of
| 800, 600, 900, and it failed. 1t Was not
| due to L.ngston that it did &c, though
he did not tail with it. He next became
| vice president OF Howard university, and
| WAS then a member of the national board
| Of health. All this time he was &c ng
| big salaries AMI was making more and
spending less than any leading colored
man In the country. When Hayes wa,
| elected Lsngstyn wanted to be commis
sioner of agriculture. Hayes c)mpro-
missd the mat er by sending him ~ min
lister to Hsyt, a place then worth S $1,000,
He now gets $4,000 a year"
chow about Senator BruceR"
"Bruce is rich. The story of his for
tuns is a curious one. He has made the
most of it in politics. He was born in
Virginia, and was a slave in Mississippi
at the time of the war At It's close he
went nor h to Oberlin, where he got
some education, and then drifted south.
He returned to Mississippi In the height
Of re%construction times, and arrived at
jackson when the legislature was just be.
Ing organized. He at once put In a claim
for tho office of sergeant at arms, and,
as he WIS a plausible fellow, and could
say hhe Lords prayer without biting his
tongue, he was elected. This position
wa, worth about ten dollars q day
Wnllo WIG iSStnintu'S Wdf III bobtlOu
Brace became an Influential factor abou'
the Legislature, and Alcorn, the governor
of Mississippi, wa glad to have hill
f iendship. One time Gov. Alcorn want
ed the legislature to make an appropria
tlon of $50, 600 or so to the secret service
fund, over which he had entire control
He called Bruce to bin. slapped him OIL
the back and said: "My man, you ar'
not msking any money at all. You de
serve a better place. Isppoint you cher
IF OF Bolivar county" OF course the &c
cret service fund wa, passed. A fey
months more and Alcorn again sends TO
Bruce. At the close of tn
interview he says; "The sheriff
office is too small a place for you, m,
man. You are making 90 money at all
/, l will make you the tax collector of Boil
var county. Both of These offices wer
very valuable. Bruce saw bis opportu
: nifty, saved his money, became q manipu
! lator of men, bought a largo plantation
0 and ussd negroes to farm 1t. lie speou
la'ed and added to his pile. and so,n be
9 came known as n OF the leading c)loIe
0 men oil Mississippi.
when the at was again admiste
to the union, Gov. Alcorn again rent fc