Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-03-26
HONORS FOR ELKINS.
West Yirginia's New Senator Inspects
Santa FEES New Water Storage
and Electric System.
A Plaza Concert this Afternoon-Re
ception at the Executive Home To-
night-The Board of Trades
Courtesy.

U. S. Senator s. 3. Elkins has put in
this charming March day in Santa Fe
most happily. This fact is apparent to
everyone who sees his genial face about
the plaza this afternoon while listening
to an open air concert givenin his honor
Mrs. Elkins and her children and bevy
of ladies are also in attendance, and many
an old timer has grasped The hand of
"Steve" under the portal of the historic
palace during the past hour.
VISIT TO THE CANON.
This forenoon Senator Elkins, accom-
panied by Hon. Z. B. Catron, Judge II.
L. Waldo, Mr.. R. E. Twitchsll and Capt.
S. H. Day, paid visit of inspection to
the big reservoir and the new electric
light and power plant at the mouth of the
Santa Fe canon. The senator is prac.
tical man and as Superintendent Day ex-
planned the points of vantage about this
splendid power and water system he be-
came enthusiastic and expressed sur
prise and qualification that his old home
city should at last be blessed with such
an enterprise of modern stamp-useful,
| he said, in so many different directions,
as to add 100 per cent to property values
here and guarantee to New Mexicos
capital city future that the pioneer
settler had never even dreamed of.
GRACEFUL COMPLIMENT.
Upon his return to the city about
O'Clock Mr.. Elkins found awaiting him at
Mr.. Catron's office the following COM
munication:
SANTA FE BOARD OF TRADE,
Santa Fe, N. NJ, Mch. 26, 1895.
Hon. Stephen B. Ell1ins:
Sir:-At the request of the Santa Fe
Board of Trade, on behalf of all the resi-
dents of this city, and many of them
your lifelong friends, have the honor
to tender to you a reception and banquet
at the Palace hotel on Wednesday even
ing, March 81, 1895, at $3.50 O'Clock, and
have also to request your presence at a
concert to be given this afternoon, in
your honor, at the plaza, between and
o'clock.
1t is earnestly hoped your itinerary will
permit you to attend such reception and
banquet, to which and to the concert
this afternoon Mrs. Elkins and the party
travelling with you, are most cordially
invited. Very respectfully,
GEO. W. KNAEBEL,
Secretary Santa Fe Board of Trade.
Whether or not Senator Elkins will re-
main over tomorrow and accept this hos.
pitality at the hands of his old friends
had not been determined at the time OF
this writing.
THE EXECUTIVE RECEPTION.
However, the senator and his charming
family will meet tho public at the home
of Governor and Mrs. Thornton this even.
ing, on which occasion New Msxico's
executive will tender the distinguished
visitor one of those unconventional and
highly enjoyable public receptions fol
which the executive home has become
famous. There will be no formality. The
humblest citizen will be cordially vel.
coined and made to feel at home. Not
only citizens and old friends of the guest
of the evening, but all residents of the
city, will be glad to take advantage of the
opportunity to pay their respects to SEN
ator Elkins or this occasion. The hours
are from 8 to 10 O'Clock.
A REMARKABLE RIoH MAN.
Since Mr.. Elkins landed in New Mex
leo, poor boy, thirty years ago, he has
anassed fortune that is estimated to be
worth $1O,OO0,00O. He is known to the
world as business man and politician
He is good talker, an eloquent speaker,
and his business sense is such that he is
prospectively one of the richest men in
the United States. He owns hundreds of
thousands of acres of valuable land in
New Mexico and elsewhere.
He is interested in mines, railroads and
other things IN the far west, and the
estate which he and his father-in-law, ex-
Senator Henry G. Davis, own in West
Virginia is principally in itself. They
have in that state hundreds of thousands
of acres of fine timber land, thousands
upon thousands of acres of great beds of
coal, and they build their own railroads
and ship their coal and coke over these
by the hundreds Of thousands of tons
every year to the markets of the world.
They have in constant employ on their
West Virginia property nearly 5000 men
and the number of their employees is in
creasing every year. They are adding to
their estate here right along by the pur-
chase of new land, and within the past
few months they have bought more than
10000 acres.
1t is almost impossible to calculate the
value of these lands. The fifty miles of
coal land along their railroad which they
own is fortune in itself, and partS of
these coal beds are fourteen feet deep.
It is estimated that one foot of coal will
produce thousand tons to the acre and
a fourteen foot vein will produce fourteen
thousand tons for every acre. Only one
of the West Virginia veins measures as
much as fourteen feet, but the fifty miles
of coal lands which Mr.. Elkins and
Senator Davis own contain many mil.
lions of tons, and they have it 80 located
that it can be made easily available by
their railroads. This coal is noted for it's
fine coking qualities, and they now have
many hundreds of great ovens for the
making of coke along the lines of their
railroads.
Mr.. Elkins' home in West Virginia 10
one of the finest in the United States. 1t
contains over ninety rooms and 10 one of
the wonders of modern architecture. He
has also house in New York, and while
in Washington lived in Senator Palmer's
big brown stone mansion, within a stones
throw of tho White house.
Mr.Elkins was SO closely associated with
Blaine that he got to be known more as
"Blaine's friend" than as Stephen B.
Elkins. 1t is his loyal friendship to the
"plum knight" of old, as we'll as his swn
ofo n1o rot fbnr iva fhok in.