The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-31
JUDGE DAVID DAVIS.
His Method of Adjourning the Senate-How
He Made His Fortune.

His Method of Adjourning the Senate-How
He Made His Fortune.
" ashington Letter in New York Tribune.
Letters received here from the home of David
Davis. at Bloomington, ILL.,, represent him as
rapidly recovering from his recent spell of sick
ness He may even pay Washington visit be.
fore Congress adjourns, if the weather should
permit This, however. seems improbable in
view of the fact that the physicians counsel rest
and quiet to their patient for the present ut
least Judge Davis always liked the gay life of
the capital 1t was somewhat of a dsappoint-
ment to him when he left the Senate, though
he consoled himself as best he could
by marrying handsome young wife. There
was another thing which made his retirement
bearable-the reflection that he no longer was
compelled to listen to Mr.. Bavard's long speeches
Those were trial to the Judge while he acted
rs President pro tempore OF the Senate, especial
ly where they threatened to interfere with his
dinner hour He was apt then to carry things
with high hand and adjourn the Senate wheth-
er majority wanted to or not without giving
Senators a chance to vote on the question. ''The
Senator from so and so, he would excaim when
the hands OF the clock pointed to 5 o'clock,
"moves that the Senate do now adjourn.
Those in favor Of the motion will signify
by saying yea, contrary no. The yeas have it,
and the Senate stands adjourned until to-mor-
row at IL o'clock" 1t was all over in a few sec
onds, before the astonished Senators could re-
cover their breath, especially "the Senator from
having made the motion to adjourn. But not
outstanding his many idiosyncraces and his
anomalous position in politics, the independent
party" was very popular always with his
brother Senators. l notice that Of all the
former members of the body who occasion
ally visit Washington he receives the warmest
welcome whenever he makes his appearance on
the floor of the United States Senate. He had
lost considerable flesh when last saw him. but
when he first came into the Senate. after having
81. IL
Court for more than fifteen years, it was neces
sary to construct a chair especially for him, he
was so heavy. What has become of that chair ]
don't know, but rumor has it that it was offered
to Mr.. Evarts, who declined it, for the obvious
reason that he was unable to fill it.
Judge Davis is a rich man. He is worth
probably two million dollars. The bulk of his
fortune was made-or at least it's foundation
laid-in spite of himself. A friend of his tells
me that when young lawyer, struggling for a
bare living, Mr.. Davis was intrusted by some
Eastern firm with the collection of bill incurred
by a Chicago company. The latter were on the
verge of bankruptcy, but still willing to satisfy
the demands of their Eastern creditors as best
they could. They told young Davis that they
could give him no cash-the bill was only So. 600
but that they would deed to him some prop
erty in the outskirts of Chicago. Mr.
Davis accepted the proposition, and q deed was
made out in his name. Meeting shortly after
ward one Of the partners Of the Eastern firm in
st. Louis, Mr.. Davis told him what he had done
What" exclaimed the merchant in disgust;
s'you accepted the land in settlement of our ac-
count / thought you knsw better than that
We don't want any wild Western land. We
want cash. And he berated the young lawyer
soundly for what he considered his lack of judg-
meet ia the matter Mr.. Davis took the dis
satisfaction of his client very much to heart.
He returned to his home in Bloom
ington determined. If possible, to rectify
the blunder he bad been guilty of. He could of
course not annul the bargain made with the Chi
cago company but he resolved to raise the So, 600
necessary to satisfy the demands of his Eastern
clients himself. This he succeeded in doing with
much difficulty The new obligation incurred
weighed upon him for years, as the Chicago
property was unremunerative but he held ON to
it all the same. And, in the end, he came out