The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-02

well. AS the chief executive of the CITY he I
felt 1t his duty to show the chief execu- /
tive of the nation what Kentucky Missou-
ri hospitality was, and right royallv did
the young mayor entertain his national
guests. Some amusing things happened
While the President was in st. Louis and
one incident is worth telling The local
committee got up a reception at the ex-
position building. 1t was hot day for that
time of the year, and the great number of
people crowded into the hall made 1t al
most sitting The Clevelands the Francis |
family, and several others occupied COM
bination box. Mayor Francis noticed that
the President was fatigued, so he excused
himself to the rest of the company and
whispered few words into the Presidents
left ear.
You must be pretty dry, Mr. President"
is what he is reported to have said.
Dry" exclaimed the head of the nation.
81 am very dry"
I'VE have a restaurant in the building
there is a room back of the box, a table is
handy, and you can have anything you de-
sire. Now, what brand of wine do you pre-
fer?'
wine the devil" remarked the Presi-
dent. None of it for me. will thank you
to have ordered up big drink of fine
Bourbon whisky"
The President, Mayor Francis Col. Dan
Lamont, and Col. Dave Caruth, who was
then a police commissioner of St Louis,
excused themselves and went to the room
in the rear of the box. Col. Caruth is also
Kentuckian, and is brother of ex-Con-
gresham Asher G. Caruth Of Louisville
and George William Caruth, United States
minister to Portugal. In short time up
came four drinks of democratic eye
water" as ex-senator Tom Palmer of
Michigan calls whisky. When the glasses
were placed on the table President Cleve-
In fc caf 70 haxr erra I.aA txrsN Of he
glasses, one in each hand, and with
Here's to you, gentlemen. emptied them
both as quickly as possible, remarking as
he did so. and with a sly wink at his pri-
vate secretary,
Daniel doesn't drink, you know, gentle
men,
Although Mr. Francis carried St. Louis
by snug majority when he was a candi-
date for mayor in 1855, he lost it by nearly
II, 900 in 1885, when he was the candidate of
his party for governor of Missouri. Several
causes then operated against him. He had
been so long in the grain business, with
large interests in the elevators that they
got cry against him which induced thou
sands of the grangers to scratch him or
else vote outright for the republican or
prohibition candidate. His republican OPP
ponent was a country lawyer who,
on account of being local
attorney for a railroad, was styled the
COW coroner. That was the year when
| Col. Charles Henry Jones removed from
Florida to st. Louis, obtained an interest
in the old Missouri Republican, and
changed its name to the Republic. No
sooner had the colonel landed in the big
town on the west bank of the Father OF
Waters than he began to imagine that
the city was reeking with vice, and he en-
tered upon moral crusade. He wanted
all the saloons closed; he was opposed to
| L. h. han arlo
theaters run on Sunday and in many
| other ways he tried to let the people Of
| the whole Mississippi valley know that
he had lately arrived among them. AS
| mayor of the city of St. Louis Mr.. Fran
els was ex-officio president of the St.
| Louis police board. There were four COM
| missionsrs and on the saloon and Sum
day question two voted with the church
people, two for the prevailing custom OF
| having everything run wide open, and the
mayor cast the deciding vote to enforce
an old Sunday-closing law. The conse-
| quence was that the democratic ticket
met with a sweeping defeat. Three con-
| gressmen were lost, and their loss gave
/ Tom Reeds House in the Fifty-first con-
gress Just margin enough to organize ana
| unseat sufficient democrats to provide
i him with a comfortable working major
| ity Jones had simply played hob with
| his moral racket, and the st. Louis demo-
|
to say what they thought of him.
| Francis was elected governor and he
and Col. Jones got along pretty well until
| the middle of his term. In 1880 they had
| a falling out Col. Jones Immediately
turned the batteries of his newspaper on
the governor He made it warm for the
| whole administration at Jefferson City.
| Along in 1892 Col. Jones is said to have
| been pressed for ready cash. and to have
| hypothecated or sold some Of his newspa-
per stock with the understanding that
| the banker who advanced him the money
he needed was to let him nave IL BACK
| provided he could redeem 1t within GER
| tain time. AS the story goes, Col Jones
was unable to redeem it, and Gov. Francis
| gobbled 1t up, and, with other stock that
| he and his friends controlled, used 1t one
| fine morning in June to bring Col Jones
connection with the Republic to an end.
| 1t Is understood that none OF the RepuDllc
| stock appears in the name OF Mr.. FRANCIS
| and he does not figure around the estab-
| lishment but, whether true or false,
many well-informed people in the city
have a firm belief that he and his friends
| have a considerable block of the stock
| What greatly angeFed the friends of Mr..
| Francis was that it was generally report
| ed that early in the winter of 1893 Mr..
4 Cleveland had him slated for a cabinet
| place. It was said that he was to be
either postmaster general or secretary OF
the navy. Not only was Mr.. Cleveland
very fond of the ex-governor, but, fur
| Their he recognized in him man OF me
executive ability and considerable polit-
| ical experience, while in addition to such
recommendations, Gov. Francis possessed
plenty OF money and could take the place
| Of Mr. Whitney in the first Cleveland ad-
ministration as a lavish entertainer.
But just then Col. Jones had pull with
| Mr.. Cleveland and 1t is understood that
he, Gov. Stone, Maj. Harvey Salmon,
chairman of the Missouri democratic com
mittee, and others united in a S,0OO-word
telegram strongly protesting against the
| appointment of Mr.. Francis. 1t is believed
! that they prevented his appointment. AT
| ter that the President is said to have Of
| fered Mr.. Francis the choice of any of the
foreign missions, outside OF the British.
| The offer was declined as Mr.. Francis did
not care to go abroad.
Mr.. and Mrs. Francis have six children,
| all boys. The youngest is less than two
years of age, and the eldest was II on May
| 81 last. He takes after his father and most
of the Francis side of the family In hight.
| He Is something more than six feet tall
| ON the subject of boys the next secretary