El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-25
CLOSING A PICTURESQUE CAREER
Altge1d, a Unique, ForCefuI Char
dCter i'm Western Life.


According to the opinion of the
ablest ply sicians in the west the career
of John Peter Altgeld, once governor
of Illinois, is practically closed. He is
not dead. and he may not die for weeks
OF months to come, but he will never
again participate in political or bust
ness affairs.
- When Altgeld dies character at
once unique, forceful and picturesque,
will have passed away, for in spite OF
what are termed his vsgaries. he has
thousands of admirers, who acknowl-
edge his strength of mind and brain
power. He has never been anything
bu: weak physically. He has never
sought popularity, His manner Is not
that of the politician or the man who
seeks to conciliate or please. He has
been held up as the exponent OF red
shirted, torch-bearing anarchy and 60
cialism. and by many millions OF peo-
pie is looked upon as dangerous man.
When governor he pardoned several OF
the anarchists. whose sentence to death
had been commuted to imprisonment
for life by the late Governor Oglesby,
and brought upon himself the execra-
tions of people in all parts of the coun-
try.
Although a strong advocate OF the 16
to 1 doctrine, all the leases to rooms
and suites in the Unity building, on
Dearborn street, Chicago, which struc-
ture is owned by him, are payable in
gold. At one time, also, Mr.. Altgeld
was practically millionaire, but the
hard times of 1898 struck him very
hard and crippled him greatly.
Real estate, or big buildings. seems
q passion with him, and although q
lawyer of superb attachments and q
Judge he was on the circuit bench for
several years-whose opinions and de-
cisions always commanded respect, he
preferred real estate to law. Being
childless, the only members of his fam
ily being his wife and himself, he call
ed his big buildings his children. The
magnificent Unity building, repre-
senting more than 81, 600, 900, he called
his boy.
Gradually his holdings became mort
gagged, for times were very hard in
deed IN Chicago, and at the present
time it is understood that if his debts
were paid he would have but csmpars-
lively little left of the magnificent for
tune that was once his Yet, rich or
poor, he was the same man. When
rich he lived in q most plain and un-
ostantious manner in comfortable
brick house on Frederick street,
near Lincoln park; now he occupies q
Ottage in Rogers park, suburb with
in the city limits. He never kept q
carriage, cared little or nothing for
society, never went to clubs. and he
and his wife lived alone happy in each
others companionship. While bitter
and sarcastic in debate or public
speeches, he Is the mildest of men or
dinarily, is pleasing conversationaIist
and genial host.
Being thoroughly in earnest in ev-
he does. Altgeld has
devoted following, politically speaking.
During the late mayoralty campaign
all his agents served without pay.
Even in the height of his financial sue
cess Altgeld was not considered
generous man. If he gave away mo-
ney to charity or for the public benefit
it was by stealth. II Altgeld we're q
near" He dressed in clothes
that would be called common.
He will stop on the street to speak to
any man he knows, and his gait in
can be described as loose and
There is nothing about his
small, spare figure to attract attention,
and were it not for the extreme and
unusual pallor of his face no pssserby
would even cast q glance upon him.
His eyes are not indicative OF any
thing, for they are small and devoid of
lies upon his head something like
straw thrown upon the top of box.
His chin does not indicate strength,
his mouth is not what would be called
firm, his nose is not large and ls In
clined to turn up, and there
is nothing ordinarily called
character" in his features. Yet
when he speaks he commands atten-
ton: the nearer is Impressed. The
&c Is
are we'll arranged, the language used
in expressing them we'll chosen, and
the nearer feels that the speaker has
his subject we'll in hand. He is in
forceful, ana commands by
reason of the superiority of his intel
lect.
In spite of the fact that Altgeld
spent his early life on farm and lived
out of doors, he has not been robust
for the past twenty years. He is not
an old man by any means-born in
Germany during the revolutionary
days in 1S48-but the last ten years
have been years of suffering. Shortly
after his Inauguration as governor in
1893, he was compelled to leave
the state capitol and go to the
Hot Springs of Arkansas, his
nervous system having been entirely
shattered by the great strain OF the
campaign. Some time
after that he was attacked with color
motor stsxia, and since then has never
been entirely free from it. The oper-
alton performed ten days ago by DR..
Nicholas Sem has had the effect Of af
fording relief to the patient, but i'm
provement OF permanent nature is not
looked for. He is quiet and philosophical
and endures his sufferings without
Precisely what the nature
of his mslady at present is his at