The Portland daily press., 1895-04-20
THREE AMERICAN NESTORS.
Two of Them are Natives of York
County, Maine.

General George Wallace Jones and the
pheus Fetch aud James w. Bradbury
Are Maine Men.
Dubuque, Iowa, April "A year ago tie
legislature of Iowa. In joint convention.
celebrated the birthday of General George
Wallace Jones, nonaaenarian and DENT era
tic patriarch. The ninety first anniversary
has arrived and Monday was celel rated with
a family dinner, TO which he invited tn
only survivors among his colleagus in the
United States senate, Ex-Governor Felch,
Of Michigan, and the venerable James ".
Bradbury. of Maine, the nestor OF living
An.ericau statesmen. The infrmities of age
compelled both of his old colleagues o for
go the pleasure of sharing tie hospitality OF
Genn' raj Jones ON this occasion. Ex-Gov-
ernor FeIch wrote that lie was confined to
bis home in Ann Arbor and ex-senator
Bradbury sent the following:
Lakewood. N. j., April l, 1895. Ny Dear
Mr.. Jones Your kind letter and invitation
to dine with you upon the return of another
anniversary of your birthday has been for
waIded to me at this place. ! am glad 10
hear from you and especially Of yorr good
health. ltwould give me SO much pleasure
TO meet you and Governor Felch again that
even at my age l would undertake quite q
journey to do il.
"Gf the hundred senators who were our
associates during tie six years l was a
member OF that body, we three are the sole
survivors,; and this Tor only brief span of
time in he order of nature at he faIthest,
when we shall join them in The ether and
we hope the better world.
Il have been thinking how thankful we
shonld be that our Heavenly Father has
given TO US the privilege of a life covering
almost the entire duration of q century dis
tilguished in the history of the pges fol
the wonderful progress of the human race
for he great advance in the condition and
Intelligence of the masses of the civilized
world-and for the more wonderful inyen-
lions that have taken and trained to prae-
teal use the powers of the nature and that
seem destined 10 carry civilization into the
darkest corner of the globe.
IAN as if this vera not enough, He has
given to us our lot in a country that within
our memory has grown from 10,000,0U0 tc
10000, 600, from sparse settlement on the
borders to cultivated farms thriving villa
Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, all under a
government that, with all it's imperfections
is still the best the world has yet seen. II
rests on a written constitution, limiting and
defining its powers, and that will secure its
permanency as long as the requirements
and limitations OF that Incompatible in
strument are faithfully obeyed.
And now. my dear general, you must ex
cuse this dispersion, and a you are the
younger man and can bear travel better
than l can. please accept my warm invita-
ton TO dine with me at my home in Angus
Ia on the 10th of June next, which, if an
spared until that time, will MAKE ma three
years nonegenarian. With warm regards
yours very truly, JAMES W. BRADBURY.
That General Jones. despite his extreme
age. is in vigorous health may be under
stood when it is stated that he led the
grand march at the recent charity ball and
as King Rex at the more recent Mardi Gras