The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-26

Vanderbilt and Knows Latin, Greek
and Hebrew.
Copyright.
New York. Jan. 25.-The richest presi-
Dental candidate comes from West Vir-
ginia. This may surprise those who have
looked upon Levi p Morton as the Dives
of the campaign. But in reality no aspir-
ant for the chief magistracy can vie with
Stephen y. ElSins in respect of money.
They think a great deal of him in West
Virginia, and they propose to stand by
him in the republican convention until the
last.
Recent political developments have
made Senator Ellkins more than posi-
bility. The plan OF his managers is to
LAY low during the first few ballots. and
allow Morton and Harrison and Reed
and Mckinley and Allison to kin each
other off. 1t is not bad plan, and there
are many reasons why it may succeed.
Senator Elkins is one Of the most re-
markable men in the country, although
not in the sense that Jefferson Brick
held that honor. He was very poor once.
To-day he is estimated to be worth
S15,OOO,OOO and some think that
in time he will be the richest man in the
United States. His property consists first
of vast tracts of coal land in West Nir-
ginia. This property will be enormously
valuable in a decade. The senator Is a
stakeholder in numerous southern rail-
ways. He has large sums invested on
mortgage in New York and Pennsylvania.
He is a banker on very large scale.
The senator some twenty years ago
married Halle Davis. daughter of SEN
ator Davis of West Virginia. This lady
is one of the most beautiful members of
the official set at Washington. 1t was
she who planned the princely home called
Halliehurts at Elkins, West Virginia,
which is the most superb private resi-
George Vanderbilts Biltmore in splendor
| This private residence is one of the show
| places of the south. II is situated IN the
center Of a vast stretch OF mountain and
| tableland. The grounds for miles around
are laid out in parks and gardens, ponds
and water falls. The preserves are stock
ed with game of every description. once
year the senator invites a party OF
| friends to Hallihurst, and the festivities
continue for weeks. The entrance hall of
| this place is the most spacious in America.
| The largest open fire place ever built is
on one side, and an oaken and brass stair
case is on the other. The illumination is
by means of wax candles.
Although the senator is a self-made
man, he is what many self-made men are
| not-a scholar. His library is the finest
| collection of books ever made by a private
| individual in this country. 1t comprises
25,000 volumes, and the senator reads most
| of the time. lie is accoHpplished sAR ireek
| he taught Greek for living once. He is
| also a very clever Horatian scolar, and
was the first to call attention TO the clev-
| erness of Eugene Fields translations of
/ the odes of the Sabine bard. When the
| senator was 10 he won a prize for the best
| Latin verse in imitation of the Carmen
| Saeculare of Horace. The senator also
| edited an edition of Sappho, and another
of the first book of Thucydides published
/ for the use of schools some years ago.
In Hebrew the senator's attachments
| are even more surprising. His studies of
| Old Testament manuscripts have been
prosecuted with vigor, and he and Renan
| corresponded for fully year before the
| latter's death, having been brought to-
gether by their labors in the same field
Should Mr.. Elkins be elected TO the chief
magistracy, he will undoubtedly be the
| most scholarly president we have ever
| had.
Senator Elkins is really territorial
magnate. He owns a railroad nearly 200
miles long, which runs for half that dis
lance over his own coal mines. His horses
are of the very finest breed. but Mrs.
addicted to their use. The senator him
self, like most very rich men, is very I'M
ostentatious in his way of living.
In the middle west the movement in
favor of the senator's nomination is very
strong. He has been careful to concili-
ate public sentiment in all possible ways
and he has avoided contests of any de-
scription. He is not an avowed candidate
for the presidency. On the contrary, he
has gone to the length of saying THAI
there are many candidates preferable to
himself; but for all that il is believed
that he would be intensely gratified by
the nomination. He does not go out of his
way to attract public attention. He likes
his post in the Senate and knows thai
he can remain there indefinitely
The West Virginians believe he will Sc
cure the nomination. owing to his own
marvellous talent, as q practical politician
1t was Mr.. Elkins who brought about
Blaine's nomination in 1884. He was the
controlling influence in the nomination of
Harrison four years later. He is sagacious
in making political deals, and so, not a
single failure has diminished the luster
of his record a tactition.
Mrs. Elkins is a potent factor in the
success of her husband. She is a leader
of Washington society. Her fame as
hostess has spread over the whole south
When she married Mr.. Elkins he was a
young representative in congress- and she
the belle of Washington, for her father
was serving in the United States Senate
The rise of Elkins has been steady ever
since.
The senator owns entire towns in West
Virginia. They are built on the most an
proved sanitary principles, and are sold
for sums that appear ridiculousIy low to
fasteners. Every business enterprise
with which Mr. EllSins has concerned him
SELF has proved amazingly successful
There seems to be no end to the develop-
ment of his resources. The senator is not
fond of having his great wealth adVerted
to- for he fears it may injure him polit-
ically, but there can be no getting over
the fact that he is to-day the richest
aspirant to the presidency of the United
States.