The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-04-18

reception ending with dance in which
all Joined. Not satisfied with this, he
decided to give the city an opera house.
AS in everything else that he undertook
Mr.. Pomeroy would not listen to any
advice, and the result was that he put
s12O, 600 into building which when
completed was of no use and stands today
"a monument TO his folly.
But this was only an incident in a
career that rivals that of Monte Christie.
Mr.. Pomeroy could not hold on to mon
ey, and if he had $4,000 in his pockets,
as was often the case, it was likely to be
gone within a week. Among other
things he had liking for the great Am
erican game, and was an expert player.
AT the time he was ordered out of the
army it was given out that the order was
issued on account of his anti-war arti-
cles Old timers, however, have always
asserted that his expulsion was due to
the fact that he played too good a game
OF draw" poker, and that before he
at headquarters, including part of
bne FaynaSJer'S CheSG
| In support OF this, 1t Is pointed out
that when Mr.. Pomeroy reached La
Crosse on his return from the army the
buokskin vest that he was wearing was
made with half dozen poo ksts, each of
which was filled with bills of large de-
nomination, many of them $500 and
81 ,OOO
| ~ h. nf %L4
fractional currency, when every mer-
chant issued his own. A great deal of
these "shinplasters'' were printed in the
Democrat job office. and sample of each
lot would be pasted upon the wall as a
specimen of the work done in the office.
When "Briok' walked in one day he
saw the display and, without q word he
pulled a greenbaok of the denomination Of
$500 from his pocket and nonohalantly
pasted it mp alongside Of the other
script, where it remained for week or
more
AS the fiat money crowd be gan to
dwindle the circulation of the Demoora
shrunk with 1T, and the paper in the end
was wound up with long story of dis
+.
Pomeroy about this time went to Dem
yer, where, with his usual Colonel Sellers
manner. he went into a huge speculation
that was to make everybody rich, but
his luck seemed to have deserted him,
and he returned East bankrupt.
But he had the faculty of landing on
his feet like cat, no matter how he
| thromn and IL uac not 1opp hofora
he had charmed some capitalists into
starting him on another venture, which
was certain to result as disastrously O
the last.
The facility with which he landed on
his feet every time is illustrated by a
story told by an old acquaintance, who
met Mr.. Pomeroy in Washington at a
time when he was in hard luck. In an
swer to a cues tiou as to how he was get
ting along, Mr. Pomeroy replied: 81
haven't cent and haven't had change
of linen for week. AL ! have is in my
trunk, which is in pawn in New York.
My wife is there, too, in pawn for
board"
The acquaintance received a note from
Pomeroy week later asking him to call
on him, giving the address The man
did SO, and found Mr.. Pomeroy in
stalled in a handsome suite of Offices,
luxuriously furnished, with two ste nog
raphers to whom he was debating. In
the interval, since meeting his friend,
Mr.. Pomeroy had formed the acquaint-
ance of a number of Southerners. and
had convinced them that what the inter
ests of the South needed was paper in
Washington, to urge on Congress the
needs of that section. The Southerners
were pleased with the plan, and raised
the money for the plant, and here Mr..
Pomeroy was right in the swim, living
like lord and posing as the dictator of
the universe. The paper managed to
exist three months and, then succumbed.
Mr.. Pomeroy, nothing daunted, re-
turned to New York, and soon had
another paper.
He was a remarkable man in many
ways and could his life's history be
written fully the story would read like
a romance.