The San Francisco call., 1899-10-13

| " " son is dying. Mr.. Wilson does
not live at Martinsburg; his
home is at Charles Town, fif-
! teen miles away, near the northern mouth
of the famous Shenandoah Valley. There
! are two towns in West Virginia that
are eternally conflicting. One is Charles
| ton, the State capital, situate on the
! Kanawha, not far from Kentucky and
! Ohio, and with a population nearing 90,
| 900. The other is Charles Town, popula-
! ton 5000, not far from Harpers Ferry
and almost within hailing distance of
| Washington. Charles Town is aristo-
! cratic and dscontented and only enjoys
! life by sneering at Charleston. 1t is
| popular fallacy that every adult residing
| in Charles Town can write a magazine
article and habitually does. Charles
Town has a sign out that it has reached
the limit of its growth and ambition and
that new settlers are not wanted
! Charles Town was cut off from Virginia
when West Virginia was made State,
and consequently the town has since been
discontented. ALI the people of Charles
Town are society people; but they only
hold social relations with Virginians;
there is not West Virginian outside of
Charles Town on their visiting lists; and
no Charles Town people who are not dis
! contented because they are geograph-
ically West Virginians instead of Vir-
ginians.
In Charles Town, with its peculiar en-
vironment, prejudices and conditions, was
born and has lived William L. Wilson.
In years Wilson is about midway between
his fifth and sixth decade. He served in
the Confederate Army during the last
year and a half of the Civil War. Often
has he shown me little tin-type picture
of himself in Confederate gray, standing
at attention with his gun at the pre-
did look robust In the
picture, and as a matter of fact he never
has been robust. Wilson is not of the
chivalry of Virginia-he springs from the
school-teaching class.
Wilson is a lovable man. Nearly
every one who has had opportunity to be-
come acquainted with him has liked him.
he endowed with many of the other
traits that make Virginians so attractive.
But there is a sfmpleness in him, and
his conversation, while by no means
giittering with wit, is so delightful and
pure that no one who has ever heard
him talk missed an opportunity to hear
him again.
Wilson's rise in West Virginia was
slow and progressive, and his fall was
sharp and violent. He was the best
described by common consent as "the
first citizen of the commonwealth" Then
the fatal curse of Cleveland" fell on
him, and West Virginans derided and
despised him instead of honoring him.
He was called upon in political emerg-
ency to choose between the people who
loved him and had honored him, and the
President of the United States, who had
made him member of his official family"
He decided to stand by the. President,
and his party in West Virginia turned
on him with such fierce hate that for
a couple of years he deemed it prudent
not to visit his home.
Wilson was elected to Congress from
the Second District of West Virginia for
six consecutive terms-twelve years. He
was picked up accidentally. He was the
president of the University of West Vir-
ginia located at Morgantown. A Demo-
cratic Congressional Convention was in
session there and became .deadlocked.
There was balloting for more than a
week, three favorite sons being in the
race. At last the convention broke up in
a row and the three men who were before
the convention became candidates before
the people. The Republicans We're united
and 1t became plain to the Democrats
that they would have to unite or lose
the district. A new convention was called,
the favorite sons stood aside and VII
son. considered inoffensive and not of
much account and likely not to be long
in anybodys way was nominated. He
was elected and did not attract much
attention during his first term.
He did, however, attract the attention
of one keen and farsighted statesman,
who at the time was chairman of the
Ways and Means Committee and the
r. Morrison of Illinois. Morrison is the
real discoverer of Wilson. Morrison found
that the eX-college president was a stu
dent and had looked deep into the tariff
question. Morrison was looking for men
of that kind and when the next Congress
convened he got Speaker Carlisle to put
Wilson on the Ways and Means Com
mittee. From that time until the blight
of Clevelandism struck the Democratic
party Wilson was a power in Congress.
He was chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee and leader of the
House during the Fifty-third Congress.
He is the author of the tariff bill that
has gone to history labeled with his
name. The industries of West Virginia
were hit hard by the Wilson bill He
put wool and coal and lumber on the
free list This touched the pockets of
such Democrats as ex-senator Henry G.
Davis and ex-senator ]. N Camden They
built cave under Wilson and on election
day his Republican opponent had the bet
ter of him by more than 1000.
The writer of this accompanied Wilson
during his last Congressional campaign
l was then the washington CORRESPONDENT
of the St Louis Republic and very de-
voted friend of Wilson. We travelled to-
gether, ate together and slept together
He was very primitive in his tastes and
habits. 1t was his custom to sleep in his