Evening star., 1895-10-25
Some characteristics Of the Late
Senator Van Wyck.
INDIFFERENT As TO APPEARANCE
Frequent Attacks Upon Great Rail-
-
way Corporations.
PLEASANT HOME LIFE

Nebraska removes another of the pic
turesque figures which made the United
States Senate chamber an attractive place
to the lovers of the curious few years ago.
Rugged in character, but absolutely in
different as to his personal appearance,
tender as woman in his friendships but
bitter in invective when he felt called upon
to so express himself, careful of the rights
Of the poor, but fearless to attack great
wrongs by great corporations, there was no
knowing at what moment or under what
subject he might astonish the Senate with
an outburst which should shock the stick
lers for dignity, and delight the sensation
seekers in the galleries. The wrongs of the
people and the crimes Of the corporations
were his especial theme, and this brought
him to the front in many and frequently
unexpected ways, and upon subjects often
foreign to the one which he introduced in
their discussion. The wrongs of the west
ern settlers and the attitude of the great
railway corporations were often his theme.
and it is probable that this fact led to the
combination against him which resulted in
his defeat when he asked reelection at
the end of his first term.
His Personal Appearance.
It was his personal appearance that had
much to do with the public interest in his
matter of dress or adornment, he appeared
to the observer like some antiquated agra
rian let loose upon the floor of the Senate
chamber. His rusty black coat fell loosely
about a rather slender figure, his trousers
"bagged' at the knees and were frayed at
the bottom, his collar was wilted and awry,
and his long, slender wrists, guiltless of
cuffs, protruded at great length from his
sleeves as he f1ourished his arms wildly in
l,s o<rrs@ F@ro how hi
face was brown and quaint in appearance,
set off by heavy gray eyebrows and sur
mounted by an absolutely unframed shock
of hair, which insisted upon standing
straight up from his rather full and we'll
shaped forehead. While a delightful and
companionable man in his personal rela-
tions, he was vigorous even to herceness in
his public utterances especially when his
favorite subjects, the greed of corporations
and the power of wealth, We're the target
for his attacks. His favorite position, when
he addressed the Senate, was the central
aisle, directly in front of the presiding OIL
Ger, but well at the back of the chamber.
There, with a central position, where he
could pour the walls of his wrath upon his
own side of the chamber, well that
of the opposition, his sharp, high sounding
voice rang out clear, his long bony arms
swung like those of a windmill, his bristling
hair seemed charged with the electricity
which his own vigorous earnestness gener-
ated. 1t was a spectacle absolutely unique
to see Crazy Horse Van Wyck, as he
was called, in one of his earnest and savage
moods. 1t delighted the galleries, but woe
betide the Senator or the party which fell
beneath his displeasure, for no party lines
controlled or caucus dictations swayed him.
He was law unto himself, physically.
mentally, politically.
Pleasant Home Life.
In his home and social life he was any
thing but what might have been expected
from his public character. His residence on
Massachusetts avenue was one of the hand
soonest and most costly in the city of Wash
ington, and was elegantly finished and fur
nished. Here he delighted to entertain his
friends. though it gave him the most ex-
qusite pain to be compelled to struggle with
cuffs or make the acquaintance of an even
ing suit Nothing was more pleasing to him
than to fling his long, cler!cal-looking coat
aside, and iii shirt sleeves, open collar and
slippers seat himself on the lawn in front of
his elegant establishment on summer even
1ngs and watch the passing throng, who
gazed horror stricken upon the spectacle of
a United States Senator in this costume in
fashionable Northwest Washington. During
his torial term he married an intelligent
and delightful woman, and to her untiring
and gentle remonstrances he yielded many
of his eccentricities and became in manner
and appearance less unlike those with whom
he associated.
OF Ample Fortune.
Notwithstanding his frequent and vigorous
expressions regarding the methods of wealth
and corporate influence, Mr.. Van Wyck did
not despise the art of money-getting from a
personal standpoint. and was himself pos
sessed of an ample fortune. His elegant res
idence. one of the handsomest in Northwest
Washington, was leased for term of years,
at the end of his senatorial term, to Chief
Justice Fuller for 5000 per annum. Just
opposite 1t was triangular block of ground
tod 1yyn oh, VI,l-
looked upon as the finest residence property
yet unoccup;ed in the city. One fine day the
church fell into financial straits and was
compelled to sell it at auction. Few of the
wealthy men who visited the sale, anxious to
obtain this coveted piece of property, sus-
pected that the farmer-ike appearing per-
son in rusty black coat, cuff1eSs sleeves, and
iron gray hair, would prove even bidder,
but to their surprise he not only stood ready
to start the sale. but to outbid every man of
them, which he did, carrying off the coveted
prize at a good round figure For some time
he permitted the little congregation to con-
tinue to occupy the church, and only couple
of summers ago, when desiring to spend
some time here, he took possession of the
little church, divided it off into apartments
with curtains, and with his young wife and
baby made it a home, resuming his former
habit of ornamenting the lawn in front with
his coatless figure much to the astonish-
ment, not to say horror, of fashionable
Washington of that section.
Will BE Gratefully Remembered.
But with all his peculiarities, Senator Van
Wyck was a man whose memory will linger
gratefully in many minds, and one to whom
many will look with affectonate remem-
brances. A tender and loving husband and
father, true friend to those in need, a
warm-hearted and genial associate, he was
at the same time bold in his advocacy of
what he deemed the rights of others, and
fearless in the denunciation of wrongs upon
the masses. even though such denunciation
might strike to the highest places
England an "American Power"
From the Chicago Times Herald
Lord Salisbury says England was an
American power before the United States
existed"
That is true. 1t required an insurrec-
ton, resulting in establishment of the
United States, to convince England that