Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-04-22
ARTHUR PUEGORMAN
a Man Who Has Risen from Page
to Presidential Possibility.
arM NOTIN THAT CATEGORY. /"
HIS chief Characteristic IL the rridis on
His Tosgac--Isaks Palmer and Car
iisle, He Chsws Tobacco.

lervfce in the United States Senhte Will
expire with the nineteenth century. That
is to say, according to the New York Word,
his present term with the additional term
ON top Of il tor which he has been elected
will end with 1899. Speaking Of this one
dav Iast week, when the Senator was re.
minded Of tho fact that good many OF
his friends we're thinking that the close OF
the century, and perhaps the close Of an
other year. might find him IN the "nite
House. Senator German said; -,
II have seven more years 70 serve 10 tue
Tinted States Senate. and. God willing,
sxpect 10 serve them out. anil no sense
an aspirant for the presidency"
This of course means that Senator Sior-
man does not look upon his chances OF be-
inc struck by presidential lightning as
sufficiently dattering to warrant ms
wasting any particular thought upon the
matter. To say that he, as well as all the
other men who are IN the group OF posi-
bilities. does not want the nomiaation Is
an absurdity. Senator German would be
as glad to get IL as the next man, ana
away up a great many pair OF STAIRS
and down some blind alleys IN bis
heart there is beyond doubt little
corner where hope of that high honor has
a fixed lurking place. But II the pleasant
faced Senator from Maryland makes ex-
cursions 10 this inward recess ana tneIe
holds Communion with the hope, they are
very SOLITARY excursions. and there is no
third party to the communion. Not ore
word has he ever said to indicate that he
retarded his presidential possibility other
w,se than wildly improbable. II am not
in that category he quietly says, when
reference is made to the fact tnat ne aie.
tinctly is among the possibilities, ana that
Al
Beyond any doubt. the ambition OF sena;;
tor Gorman's life ever since he skipped
about the Senate floor as page In the Ola
stormy DAYS when Stephen A. Douglas was
there and the dark shadow CT the ciyil war
was gathering over Congress anu the couh-
try-doubtless from these early times
dates the ambition, now realized, OF one
day being a peer among the sehatofe "nu
not mere errand boy.
THE LITTLE GIANTS ADVICE.
Don't 90 of out there" said stephen a.
Douglas to him one day when the lads
Imagination was fired with fremonts via
Western exploring expeditions. ana ne was
,napifesting a yearning to scale the noun
Famous precipices himself and see the
bright. golden land at promise beyond.
"Jon't go of out there and become
wanderer," SAID the Little Giant OF III
nos. "Stay at home and go back to your
State. and mako up your mind That you
will come back right here IN TINS cnaWoer
ne its representative in the United States
Senate. 1t is not a very hard thing TO DO
II YOU once set your mind on IT,"
How much Douglas counted on the Tor
nation of Germans character may be
Judged from the fact that even at that i'm
puisive, romantic age he needed the older
mans advice when the advice OF his tather
had not been strong enough TO hold MN,
aud that he did stay at home and qua GO
hack 10 his native State Of Maryland. al
most within sight of the Capitol dome,
and that he did return to Washington as
the representative of that State in the
same United States Senate where he mad
one day trotted about as page.
So Senator German has reached at least
the goal which he In early boyhood hXed
as the object of his life race, and maybe
this fact has relieved him to acertain ex-
tent of the fever OF ambition for greater
things beyond. At all events. he is losing
no sleep over the presidential question,
nor is it adding any lines or worriment TO
the smooth, placid calm OF his closely
sbayen face. Among his friends there Is
less talk of his chances for the Chicago
nomination than there was two months ago.
Not that they have abandoned hope IN
the least On tie contrary. II their IN
most belief on the subject could be known
il IS probable that 1t would be more
strongly rooted than ever that German has
at least fair fighting chance tor. the
prize. But it is not their policy. and, IN
deed. il is never Germans policy TO make
a clustering fight OF it. All OF Gorman's
contests are conducted with as little dis
turbance to the surface as possible. There
may be the deuce and all to pay down in
the lower depths. but it Is very, very sci:
dom that the placid, smiling surface level
is broken. German and Germans tactics
are distinctly of the deep. still water va:
rlety. OF course his hope and the hope or
the masses in the group OF presidential
possibilities 10 that the favorites will kill
themselves of in the preliminary sklr-
mishes and thus leave things open for the
field. What subterranean arrangements
for that event. or whether he IS making
any arrangements at all for 1t. only he ana
one OF two intimates know.
Prom PAGE TO SENATOR.
Senator German was % years old just
few days more than a month ago. He was
March, 1889. He is of the second genera
tion of Irish immigration to America. His
grandfather, John German, came to Penn
sylyania from Ireland in 1854 and settled
in Harrisburg. He was cattle-trader,
and as q cattle-trader he moved from Har-
risburg over into Maryland and finally
settled dow. permanently ae, IN what Ra,. Is
more. and here Peter German the father
of the Senator. was born. Peter German
had limited education. but decided
knack for business. He was O contractor
from his early manhood TO the end OF his
DAYS. Among other things he contracted
10 build and did build the first section OF
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad; 1t was
while he was engaged in that work that he
moved to Woodstock, and 1t was at Wood
stock that his son Arthur Pue was born for
Peter German some time before had mar
ried Elizabeth A. Brown, who was daugb-
ter of John X. Brown. John X. Browns
family had settled in that part of the coun-
try when II was embraced in Anne Arun
del county in the old colonial days. AT
Woodstock Peter German lived with his
family until 1876. when the present Sena-
tor was years old. There he bought the
wide tract of land. of which the 400 and
odd acres. which now compose the Sena-
tors farm, was q part. For seven years al
ter this Arthur lived on the farm at Lau-
rel, getting rather limited amount OF
country school education, and when be
was Is years old he received the memora-
BILE appointment which first brought him
to Washington. and ultimately landed
him in the United States Senate. His
Of sorae political strength, and among his
friends were the member Of Congress for
his, the Fifth, District and Governor w.
4. Hamilton, who also had been member
of Congress. Through the influence of
these gentlemen Arthur German received
an appointment as page In the House OF
Representatives in Washington. From
that time until the present day, with the
single exception OF few years, when he
was back In Maryland getting his fences
in shape to lead him into the Senate. Sena-
tor Germans entire working life has been
passed In the Capitol at Washington.
PATRON AND INSTRUCTOR.
II was 10 1852 that be received his APP
pointment, and all that group Of great
men who figured In the drama Of secession
were either then actually upon the scene
or about 20 come on. Among this group
Of ante bellum statesmen was Stephen 4.
Douglas. the little giant OF Illinois. just
what particular event attracted Senator
Douglass attention to young German. or
whether, indeed, 1t was anything else
than the boys bright face and wide