The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-04-25
A COMING
CELEBRITY
Tom Fitch Will Settle
In Honolulu.
MAN OF MANY VENTURES
Has Been Perpetual Jobchaser in
the West for Forty
Years.

Tom Fitch is coming to pitch his
nomadic camp in Hawaii. Having tried
every State and Territory west of the
Rockies in a vain or nearly vain pur-
suit of Office, he will next exploit the
new American possessions. Unless he
changes his m.nd DeIOre askins sp. eek
cas- IVr a steamer pass We slaIi soon
nave Tom among Us and be priynesed
| % near the Iamous speech, pa elIminary
TO his customary Job-cnAsIns-the
speech which always begins wlth the
phrases: My fe.lOw JIIizens: 4 have
come to live and die among you"
Where Tom Fitch began his career is
not certainly remembered, but 1t was
probably in New York. He arrived at
San Francisco in the early siAties and
made an impression on the public
through a strange incident which"
says Ella Stirling Cummins. in her
| Story of the Files, has now become
Legendary lore" The arrival of the
steamer with news of the Civil war
was always a great occasion ut San
Francisco and especially so on this day,
when the wharves were alive with peo-
pie and the steamer brought greater
tidings than usual. The war news was
proclaimed at once and every one be-
came wild with excitement. A spokes-
| man was sought, the name OF Tom
Fitch called out-probably by himself
and young man sprang upon a con
yelient barrel and then and there gave
an address that rang with q clarion
note. At the close support was i'm
provised and the young man placed up
on It and borne upon the shoulders OF
faftr- ma hrS LA ctr fNr1
by the patriotic populace. 1t was an
event which has never been forgotten"
A Start in Business.
Thus made known TO the public
young Fitch, who was a lawyer, had no
trouble in getting clients and was in de-
mand for jury trials. OF course be was
the orator Of great occasions, and the
undisCriminating crowd Of gold-hunt-
ers delighted TO hang on his eloquent
lips. No one could say so many gilt
| tering ana on-hand geneTalitiss "a
Tom; and when he waved the flag and
made the eagle scream after the fash
ion OF the profe siOnal Earnest Patriots
Of that day and this. the boys all said
he would have to go to the United
States Senate from California and re
yive the traditions OF Web ter and Clay.
Tom never went but the ignis fatuus
tempted him to a lifelong pursuit.
| The Senate is still his goal and he will
die trying to reach it.
While Tom Fitch occasionally weigh
ed law and politics by drains he never
weighed them by scruples and the time
came when even San Francisco could
not stand his ways and he concluded
to remove TO Nevada where the Com
stock excitement was on. Tom a-rived
on the lode when the famous Senatorial
fight between Sharon and Sut-o was un-
der way and at once called for RoIlin
80 Daggett. editor OF the Virgins City
Chronicle and afterward United States
Minister to Hawaii. What happened.
Daggett tells as follows:
Merchantable oratory.
Tom sent for me TO come over 10 his
room and | went. There's the bed he
remarked; lie down on It. Never mind
taking off your boots. | want you to
stay there until read you this speech
Then Tom started in with one of the
most scathing Trades about Sharon |
ever heard. He described the bonanza
millionaire as a man who had been
chasing over Europe looking for one
of the old masters so he could have his
| 'picter took Why said Tom, this
man bought tapestries which he did not
know whether to lay on the floors, hang
on the walls or to give to his squaw
for her wigwam.' There was an hour
and half OF this sort OF thing and then
/ Tom ended with a peroration that
would raise your hair and was calculat-
ed to lift the scalp of Sharon. What
shall do with the thing Daggeit'' said
Tom, laying down hi manuscript.
Burn it, / advised.
Not much replied the ris ng oYa-
tor. Long George is running Sharons
campaign, isn't he? want you to take
the speech over and let him read Il to
the old man. IL doesn't matter II don't
get the manuscript back. as have the
story in my head
Well" said Mr.. Daggett, Il carried
the stuff to Long George at the bani.
and he took it in to Sharon. I soou
heard loud swearing In the back -oom.
In half an hour or so Long George
came out and said:
| What does Fitch want7'
II answered that did not know.
Well go and find out
II went over TO Toms room and
found him smoking placidly. He said
IL Sharon would give him $4,000 he
would not deliver the speech. In hf-
teen minutes after that I saw Long
George hand Tom the gold twentiss.
THE next day Tom sent for ne
again. He was badly in need OF slesg
and OF some ice on his head