The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-11-06

believe that with all my heart. The
tariff will be the next issue, and tariff
reform under Cleveland will whip the
fght-such is my faith.
BILL ARP.
GEORGIA'S RETIRING SENATOR.
A Graphic Pen Picture of Old Man Joe
The Senatorial contest which is now
waging in Georgia means the retirement
of Senator Joe Brown. Gen. LawtoD,
of Savannah, who was minister to Auatria
during the last Administration, tells me
that Brown is on the edge of the grave.
"Senator Brown has not been to Wash.
ington this winter" said he, .and be is a
very sick man. He has, however, SIS
many livesas cat and be may recover
and outlast the century. Eight years
ago he was worse off than he is to o.day.
Everyone in Georgia was talking about
his dying. The doctors counted his
hours and sent him to Florida, telling
him he could not recover. The change
of climate put new blood in his veins
and he has been worth a dozen dead men
since then"
Joe Brown is the queerest bird in the
Senatorial aviary. He looks more like
a broken. down preacher who has turned
book agent than like Senator, but he is
one of the shrewdest of men. His sar-
castle remarks make Ingalls, vince, and
though Ingalls, gave Brown good LASH
ing with his vitrioloic tongue, Browns
words sunk into Ingalls, soul and made
him thoroughly respect him. The only
innocent thing about Brown is his face,
which is wholly non committal. Bob
Toombs, who was the direct opposite of
Brown in every respect, and who hated
him with all the power of his big soul,
used to say that Brown waB smart enough
to steal the shortening out of biscuit
without breaking the crust, and 80 mean
that he would carry an umbrella up in
the cir on dry day to save the waste in
wearing out the ferule.
These were the words of an enemy
Brown and Toombs were men of different
schools and their lives we're IS far apart
as the poles. Toombs was patrician
and came of the first families of Georgia
Brown is plebian of the plebisDs His
father was one of the poor white trash of
South Carolina, who emigrated to Geor.
gie when Joe Brown was a barefoot boy
in his teens. Brown drove into the State
ia an old cart harneBsed to bull had q
bad bell on his neck, aud there is story
that wheu they came to g ferry Brown
had no money to pay his way across the
river. He made trade with the ferry
man to take him across for the bell, and
Bob Toombs once said that he wished the
old boat had gone down and drowned
Brown and his bell and his bull. Now
Brown is many times millionaire.
It is hard to tell just how rich Joe
Brown is. I have seen his fortune esti
mated at $50, 10000, but this was years
ago, and he once wrote me that his for
tune was greatly overestimated. Gen.
Lawton tells me that he is the richest
man in Georgia, if not in the whole
South, and he says that Browns coal
mines in the northern part of his State,
near Tennessee, are as valuable as if
they were underlaid with gold. In addi-
ton to these Brown has railroad and
mining stocks, and was told the other
day that he owns the greater part of a
town in Texas. he is one of the best
business men in the United States, and
he is more of Yankee in this respect
than Southeruer. He began to make
money as soon as be was old enough to
crawl, and before he got into his teens
he used to bring vegetables to the tavern
of the South Carolina village, near which
he lived, and sell them. He did tbs
same in Georgia, but the family was
large and the amount he made was
small. He went from Georgia to South
Carolina to school and drove his steers
along, selling them to the keepers of the
academy for eight months board. He
went into debt to pay for his tuition
and taught during his vacations to get
money to pay his debts. He was good
school teacher, and after he was through
with the academy be studied law while
he was teaching school. As soon as he
was admitted to the Bar be borrowed
money enough to give him year at the
Yale Law School, and as soon as he was
through with this he hung out his shin.
gle.
Brown made money at the law. His
first years fee netted him 81 1000. His
practice grew and be was soon making
So 900 year. He invested his fees and
made money in speculation. .He bought
piece of land for $3.50. A copper mine
was found on it, and he sold half in
terest in it for $4,000. He married well
and his wife brought him another S25, 900
He was then elected Judge, and while
Judge was nominated for Governor, and
Ben Hill was his opponent. Hill was
one of the most popular men in Georgia
and thought he had walk over. Brown
canvassed the State, and talked like the
common people, exhorted at the prayer
meeting, kissed all the babies, and was
elected by ten thousand majority. The
war came on while he was Governor, and
it is said that be even made money out
of the war. Que story is that be saw the
need the South would have as soon as the
war would close for cotton cards. Dur
ing the year all industry was practically
at a standstill and the ordinary tools of
the farmer were lost. Brown bought o
great amount of these cards cheap and
sold them at good prices. He made
money later Oh in convict labor, and it
is said that great many of bis mines
are DOW worked by convicts. He has
$75O,000 in Atlanta real estate, and
although the house be lives in there did
not cost more than $1,000 to build, it
adioins the mansion of his son, Julius,
which cost $4,000. and it is surrounded
By four acres of unkempt grass and trees,
which are worth at least S50, 900. Brown
cares but little for appearances, and he
pastures his COWS and horses in the back
yard.
He lived just as simply while he was
here at Washington. He had, for q
tine, Henry Clay's old room at the
National Hotel, and he afterwards Lad
quarters in modest fiat on Iowa Circle.
Ho did not keep carriage here, although
his income must be over $4,000 month,
and both his dyspeptic stomach and his
incinations call for a moderate table
l.