St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-09-21
WI. SCOTT NO MORE
The Ex-Congressman Passes
Away Of Heart Failure at
Newport.
From a Page in the House He
Grew to Be Worth Fifteen
Millions.
Besides Being Wealt by He Be-
came a Power in Pennsyl-
vania Politics.
His Vast interests in Coal
Mining, Shipping and Gen.
eral Railroading.

NEwPo RT, r. l., Sept. 2O.-Ex-Con
gresham w. l.. Scott is dead. His de
mise was very sudden, and occurred
shortly before midnight last night Mr..
Scott had long been a sufferer from
acute gastro-lntestinal catarrah, and
two weeks ago he was brought here
from his home in Erie, Pa, the doctors
being of the opinion that the climate of
Newport would he beneficial. This be-
lief was realized, for he began to gain
at once, and his improvement continued
till Friday. During the afternoon of
that day he had al attack of heart fail
ure and another on Saturday, rallying
quite easily the first time but with more
difficulty on the second occasion. An
other attack occurred at II o'clock last
night, from which he could not be re-
yived, and death finally ensued. The
family leave with the remains in the
morning for their home in Erie. Will
lam Pepper, who has attended Mr..
Scott during his illness, said the death
of that gentleman was very sudden and
unexpected. and was due to repeated
ing improved and there having been no
organic disease Of the stomach, bowels
or kidneys.
From a Page in Congress
William Lawrence Scott grew to be the
richest member of the house of repre-
Sentatives and q politician of national
reputation and Importance. But that
was perhaps the least of his achieve
ments. At one time he peddled fish for
livelihood, and many OF those who
bought of him lived to see him become
what it is the fashion to call a great
railroad and coal liking" taking rank
with the Goulds and Vanderbilts. The
congressional page of 1876 had pay
roll forty years later with the names
of 10000 men on it, and $4,000 miles OF
railroad under his control. In the DO
litical councils of his party his name
was as potent as it was in the great ex-
changes and marts of finance and of
trade. When William l.. Scott was
born i'll the city of Washington
July 2 1928, his father held the rank
OF colonel in the army. Both parents
died when be was mere lad, leaving to
him poverty as his only inheritance.
Some relatives took charge of him and
sent him to the public schools of the
QlotllCls siilu tG TIC uGC VI IWclNG IlG WAS
made a page in the house of representa-
tlves. He held this position three con-
crosses. 1t is curious coincidence
that while Scott was page in the house
Arthur Z. German was page in the
Senate-Where he now Sits-frOm 1910
to 1916. Among the members who took
an interest in little Page Scott was
Charles NJ. Reed, from the Erie district
in Pennsylvania. He was engaged in
navigation on the lakes, and when the
last session of the twenty-eighth con-
greSS came to an end he invited Scott,
then nearly nineteen years old, to 90
with him to Erie. The orphan boy had
no better offer from any quarter, and he
went, becoming
A Shipping Clerk
on the wharves the title to large por.
ton Of which now stands in his name
Mr.. Reed subsequently became a large
steamboat owner, and lived until 1871.
when he saw his protege of quarter of
century before well started on the
road to one of the great fortunes OF the
century. During the next few years he
had large number and great variety
of employments, like almost every other
young American whose brains are his
capital. "He clerked, peddled fish,
could get to do" says one of his news
paper biographers. At last.in 1850. when
he was only twenty-five years old, he
was found at Erie in the coal and ship
ping business, owning vessels on the
great lakes and rapidly accommodating
money. That was the beginning of the
fortune Of $4,000, 900 which he amassed
in forty years. Scott was what is called
lucky in nearly all that he undertook.
lie was, however, specially fortunate
from every point of view in his marri-
age. His wife, the sister of Frank ID.
Tracy, who was at one time a promi-
New York, brought him considerable
property and. what was more valuable
still, line of business associates that
materially helped him in
His Numerous Enterprises.
Mr.. Tracy, at the time of his death.
was the president of the Chicago, Rock
Island Pacific railroad, in which he was
large stakeholder. Among the great
corporations in which he was largely in
terested at one time or another was the
Brazil Block Coal company, which
owned the Chicago a. Indiana Coal rail
road, the Chicago d Eastern Indiana
road, and other properties. He had coal
mines in Western Pennsylvania, in In
diana, in West Virginia, in Illinois and
other states; in fact, he may be said to
have been the largest individual coal OPP
orator in the country, which means the
whole world. He has held the presi-
dency Of the Erie 81 Pittsburg railroad
and was one of the directors of the Can
adian Pacific, elected and reelected
from 1888 downward. He owned a con-
trolling interest in the Spring Valley
Mining company, one of the wealthiest
in the country, and in addition there
were 40, 900 acres of coal land in West
ern Illinois, the ownership of which
was vested largely in him. Altogether
his possessions OF all kinds are esti-
mated to be worth from S15,0OO,O0O to
S20,000,000.
His r ecord in Politics.
Mr.. Scott first became prominent in
national politics as far back as 1868,
when he was district delegate to the
national Democratic convention in New
York City, which nominated Mr.. Sey-
mour to the presidency. Previous to
that, however, his townsmen of Erie
had given him several marks of their
confidence. They made him mayor Of
the city, for instance, in 1866, and again
in 1871. He was delegate at large
from Pennsylvania at the Democratic
national convention of 1880, and has
represented his state in the Demo-
cratic national committee since 1876.
Mr.. Scott was elected to the Forty-ninth
congress as Democrat, from the Erie
district. This district was Republican
stronghold, and the contest was hard
one. He was supported, however, by a
large number Of independent Republic