The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-06-03
THE NOMINEE
FOR GOVERNOR
Busy Career Of Colonel William A.
Stone, Of Allegheny.

HIS LIFE AS \ SOLDIER, STATES
MAN AND CIVlLIAN-A PRIVATE
IN TIE UNION ARMY AT THE AGE
OF SEVENTEEN -- AS TEACHER
AND LAWYER-.lllS CAREER IN
CONGRESS.
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pittsburg, June 2-William A.
Stone is IA self-made man. His father,
Israel Stone, was a small farmer In
Delmar township, Tloga county, and
here the prospective governor was
born, on April Is, 1916. Here he spent
his childhood and early youth, attend
ing to the drudgery of farm life and
eagerly securing the rudiments of an
education at the district school during
the winter with his four brothers he
worked upon the farm until the out
break of the war, when the three elder
brothers enlisted and went to the
front. He was then too young to en-
list, but in August 1863, he, with half
a dozen other lads, VINO were members
of a cadet corps, filed with a feverish
enthusiasm to fight for the Union, ran
away to Harrisburg and enlisted. His
father, finding it difficult to work the
farm alone, decided that his son might
be spared from the cOuntrys service
for the time being AT any rate, and
secured his discharge through Senator
Simon Cameron's efforts.
But parental discipline could not re-
strain the boys patriotic desire to fight
for his country In the following Feb
ruary. not having reached his 18th
year, he again enlisted, this time going
as a private in Company A. One Hun
dred and Eighty Pennsylvania
volunteers, a company which had COM
pleted a service of six months and was
then going in for the rest of the war.
His father made no further attempts
to interfere. as he had come to realize
that the lad was prompted by some
thing deeper than mere bOyish fancy
for a soldiers life. And so the young
man was ordered to the front with his
regiment While on his way south he
became sick and was taken to the
Carver hospital in Washington.
REAL SERVICE.
In response to the call for volunteers
to man the dCfenCes of Washington
against the expected attack of Breck-
enridge and Early, young Stone quit
the hospital and then saw his first real
service. He was in the engagement at
Yellow House, or SiX-Mile Run, Au-
gust Is, the siege of Petersburg from
August 10 to September %, later in
the fall of that year going with his
command to do duty at Camp CadWal-
ader, Philadelphia. He was promoted
through the grades of petty officers
up to that of second lieutenant, which
he received on March 10, 1868. He
was mustered out Of service with his
company on August 3, 1865. After the
war was over Governor Hartranft
commissioned him assistant adjutant
general of the Thirteenth division, Ma
tional Guards, with the rank of lieu
tenant colonel.
Before entering the army, like the
sons of most poor farmers, young
Stone had attended school but irregu-
larly. After he was mustered out he
went back to the farm and continued
to help his father, attending the Wells
boro academy during the fall term Of
| 1865 and teaching at a district school
in winter.
In 1866 he went to the Mansfield
State Normal school, graduating from
that institution in 1868 He had hard
struggle to make both ends meet in
those days, and while attending the
Normal school he did chores" for his
keep. on obtaining the muCh-prized
diploma he secured a position as
teacher in the Wellsboro academy, and
began the study of law in the office
of stephen f. Wilson and j. B. Niles,
| of that town. TEyo years later he was
admitted to the bar,and at once opened
an office in Wellsboro. which then had
about 1900 inhabitants.
1t is needless to say that clients did
not flock to the young lawyer, and it
required close management and phil
OsOphy to keep the future congress-
man in food, clothes and good spirits.
But he stuck it out. Clients came
gradually; he took an interest in poll
tics, and in 1874 made a successful
fight for the Republican nomination
for district attorney for Tioga county.
He was elected, the term being for
three years. At the end of two years,
however, he resigned and moved to
Pittsburg, and in 1877 opened an office
at No. 20 Grant street. After three
and a half years of successful practice
he was appointed United States attor-
ney for the Western district of Penn
sylvania by President Hayes on July
6, 1850 He was re-appOinted to this
office by President Arthur, but was
removed by President Cleveland be-
cause Of some speeches he made in the
Beaver gubernatorial campaign Col
onl Stone then resumed his private
practice
IN CONGRESS.
In June, 1890, he was nominated for
congress in place Of the late Thomas
NJ. Payne, who declined after receiv-
ing the nomination from the conven-
tion. The action of the convention in
selecting Colonel Stone instead Of
George Shiras, third, who had been
Colonel Bayne's opponent for the Re
publican nomination, was severely
criticised, and considerable feeling was
stirred up. As a result Colonel Stone
wrote letter to the chairman of the
county committee declining the nomin-
alton given him by the convention and
asked for primaries TO get at the desires
Of the Republican voters in regard to
the congressional nomination. These
primaries resulted in a victory for Col
Onel Stone after a hard fight of three
months Since then he has had prac-
tically no opposition for the congres.
sional nomination, and is now serving
| his fourth term in the house.
Colonel Stone has made a good record
in COngTeaS, As a member of the Pivcr