Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1889-07-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WA~HiNnTON. June II. 1889.

WASHINGTON, June II. 1859.
Nu man ia Washington ha. enjoyed dur
ia. the last decade "a wider local celebrity
than Frank X Wsrd. the dairyman who
nov languishe- in Jail cha rge.l with murder
Fourteen years ago Ward drove wagon
attached To the signal sers lee. and on his
rounds became enamored of the milk bust
ness. The capital required to buy one out
~ was small aud II was only the quest ion
oi little adroii fnanci-riag To secure il.
The merry milkman was only in business "a
few months when the several millionaire
philanthropi-t W. W. torcoran noticed his
attentive business energy and encouraged
him to put forth stronger efforts II was
the reconstruction period ia the history of
Washington business Odd houses were
vanishing aud new ones coming To- the
front.
No one was surprised then when Frank |
h. Ward bought two more wagons aud es- |
iabllsh-o himself in headquarters. The !
iorcoran money had again been taxed To- |
assist wcrthy man. For the next three
- foui years the growth was phenomenal. !
Ward WAS not even cont-nted to allow hi. |
headquarters To remain merely a reposi- |
tory and distributing point for hs half
hundred wagons. lie fitted up in one part |
ri the building Il lunch room. The furnish |
ing WAS pretty and the food palatable t.
the large class that like pie and milk. The |
venture succeeded well that one aitersn
other branches were opened about town. |
until Ward; Trademark, 'Allern-y sp- |
peared on a dozen neat place about town. |
These rooms were all similarly fitted
wicker furniture, polished floors oruauen.
tai scales for weighing Yourself. music boxes.
flowers. aud canaries in brass cages Every |
thing was scrupulousl, clean. Frank h !
Ward had the respect Of every one. Iii, |
luck became proverbial. When he g-ner- |
"usly gave valuable horse aud buggy toa |
charitable fair Ia he aiiled oil. every one
was glad that he the lucky man Ia :
draw it,
Everything might have gone on swim
minel, Z" the end of life ii Ward had not
one failing. lie was no, q gentleman His |
name at the bank was good for many thou.
sand dollars, and when his old heneractor
'orcnran died Ward still retained his re.
spect and confidence. lie b-longed To- the
Masonic fraternity, aud many will remem
her that he distributed milk sweet and |
,-eminsl, pure. at the san Francisco con
clav-. that had been put in cans ia Wash.
ington five days before. of cour-s. it mast
have been heavily dragged. but il was u
surprise to the talifornians. At every
charitable bazaar and at the fair. al the
crack local military organization he Was
foremost in contributing. and from what
ever impulse the giving comes. people warm
toward generous souls But Ward loved
notor-ty -thirsted for it. He wa- noisy
in hi. attempts Ia impress every person he
met with his Importance. Neglect was death
Ia him.
Now. {" lac constantly the central figure
III any legitimate social east in Washinsi on
is nearly Impossible. for the city is for the
greater portion eli the year the rendezvou.
Of the most Important persons in every
line of life.
SO Ward sought the social uutca.is, aud
became n great character among he sport
ing class. lie hobnobb..l with cheap act
ors and 'tin-horn" gamblers, often in the
saloon in which lee this week committed
murder, lac was wont to throw pennies at IA
crack in the floor for SlOo a toss lie
never drank ANYTHING but wine and his
diamonds were mounted and worn strictly
IN the approved gambling style. Lacking
mental resources outside his business, and
being as genuins vulgarian as ever lived.
he sought relaxation in stupid, alleged
jokes. Tie would astonish some weak bar
room ghost by taking off his old plug hat
and jumping on it, and then giving the
physical wreck five or ten dollars with
which to buy a new one. His associates
included II Brooklyn congressman with
sporting proclivities. and in time - running
horse was named after him.
No business can really be trusted to run
itself and as the human machinery needs
rest, Ward was compeled to neglect his
business in order to b- up all night with
I he boys. Still, he spent Money like water.
and when new business rivals came into
competition he was not worried.
Even when things went their worst and a
lev months ago he became a bankrupt he
retained his sporting proclivities and no
rhangs was observable. except that he
drank harder than ever and his resorts ,
were still lower dives. \ few weeks ago he
received II serious beating at the ha nds of IA ,
Young man named Adler. on Tuesday
night vi this week he met him in IA saloon, !
nd seemingly without furth pruvocation,
sithoui the shadow "f an .Nclisr, wantony
shot him to death