The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-08-24

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boniface he became q law. student at
Lexington, in the southern famed Wash
ington and Lee university. Thence, upon
graduation, he went to Harrisonburg and
built up legal practice in Rockingham
county. one of the finest and most pros
porous counties in the Shenandoah val
ley He was sent to the legislature and
subsequently was elected county judge.
His next political preferment was to
the national house of representatives,
where his first appearance was as con-
testant for the seat Of A. G. Paul, the
present United States judge for the west
ern district of Virginia, and then one OF
Mahone's Republican readjuster lieuten-
ants. Fraud was the ground on which
the house ousted Paul and seated OFFER
rail-. This was in the Forty-eighth con-
gress, and his hold upon the people of
his district is shown in the fact that he
has been returned to each succeeding
congress and has been nominated each
time by reclamation. In the house his
shief service has been ON the elections
committee, and it was their four years
service on this committee which made
the future governor and Speaker Crisp
warm personal friends He was one of
the speakers most active supporters in
the Fifty-second congress and was made
chairman of the elections committee.
Mr.. O'Ferralls ambition to round out
his career as governor has long thrilled
him. and four years ago he made live
ly race for the nomination, but lost some
votes owing to the fact that the house
at that time was very closely divided
and every Democrat was needed here,
and also because he was not as gener-
ally known throughout the state as now.
It was probably fortunate that he
failed to get the nomination, for by re-
manning in congress he gained one OF the
opportunities Of his life in the contest
brought by John M. Langston, the well
known negro Republican, for the seat
held by Venable, Virginia Democrat.
The fight for this seat was memorable
one in flibustering annals, and O'Ferral
as the Democratic leader in the II days
filibuster gained great popularity among
the Democrats of the Old Dominion, who
prided themselves on the fact that one
J of their representatives had kept "Czar"
Reed from riding rough shod for two
weeks. The fact that in the end Speak
er Reed marshaled quorum of Repub-
icans and seated Langston did not de-
tract from Mr.. O'Ferrall's laurels.
This time he had support all over the
state. The southwest has always been
loyal to him, and the eastern shore rallied
under the same banner. His campaign
was managed by J. Frank East, police
Justice of Norfolk, who did his work so
well that not over Is votes were lost in
that section. In Richmond, the home
of Colonel Buford. sometime president
of the Richmond and Danville Railroad
company, Colonel O'Ferrall secured As
delegates to Sc for his opponent and was
in minority of only 204 votes in an
aggregate of e,000 cast at the city prima-
ries.
This great and general strength is
doubtless due in part to the fact that the
coming governor has stumped the state
from end to end. He has probably made
more stump speeches in Virginia than
any man in the state. He has been heard
in SO out of the 101 counties and in every
city or town during the past IS years.
He is an expert at arousing Virginia
audiences, and it was largely to his eff
forts that Malone was whipped in the
southwest in 1883.
AS member of the house Colonel
O'Ferrall has ranked well, though not
in the front rank of leaders. AS chair
man of the elections committee he is adj
mitted by Republicans to have been fair.
When there was doubt, however, he has
leaned forward and not backward, Civ
ing the Democrat the benefit.
Colonel O'Ferrall barely grazes 6 feet.
He is 1.-THE, erect, carries no surplus flesh,
though not noticeably lean man, and
weighs about 1875 pounds. Leonine is
really proper expression in describing
the general outline of his head. His
complexion is tawny, his nose large and
prominent, on the Gladstone model, his
mustache gray and likewise his hair,
which he wears little long, SO that
when excited the long scalplock bangles
across his right brow.
His wife is bright and handsome
woman. She was Miss Knight of Rich
mond, daughter of former president of
the Virginia state agricultural fair.
Naturally she is full of anticipation of
the time when she will be mistress of
the executive mansion in her native city.
G. III. MERILLAT.