The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-01
NEBRASKA'S SENATORS.
WILLARD WAS ONE TIME SUPPOSED
TO BE A DEAD DUCK"


Life Again-He Is President of the
Largest Bank I'm Omaha-Dietrich's
Picturesque Career From Cow
Puncher TO Political Power and a
Senatorship.
Washington. March 31.-The election of
two Nebraska senators is a very pat IL
lustration of the vagaries Of ahe whirli-
gig of time. Fifteen years ago Willard,
the man selected for the long term Of
six years, was considered dead past the
hope of resurrection. He had just lost a
long and bitter fight with Van Wyke.
Everybody said that he was dead and
accordingly everybody made plans upon
that assumption. But here he is again
over 70 years of age. just entering upon
what may be comparatively long public
career.
The case of Gov. Dietrich is almost as
romantic. At the time Millards sun
was supposed to have pasesd below the
political horizon, Dietrich was driving
steers over the plains of Nebraska. He
was a cow puncher. He delights Vice
President Roosevelt now and he would
have accorded him undoubted pleasure
then had they known each other. Die
trich is the son of German peasants who
settled on the Illinois prairies late in
the first half of the last century. He has
been a farmers son, a farm laborer,
miner in the Black Hills at Dakota a
loborer in Arkansas, a cowboy in Me-
braska, and finally a man of means and
a power in politics. He has seen all the
ups and downs that make life worth liv-
ing Before he went to the Black Hills,
he had an ambition to become a general
storekeeper in Arkansas. While this am
bition was still hot in his soul, he gath
cred up his earthly possessions, the value
whereof were expressed In three figures,
to-wit: $780, with a light heart he set
out on a journey for the promised land.
But he fell in with thieves. They sand
bagged him and relieved him of his
money. Thereupon, his ambition cooled
and he set his face in an opposite direc-
tion. The Black Hills were the magnet
that drew him northward.
Dietrich did well in that bleak country.
Fortune was kind 10 him and in COM
paratively short time, he had saved UP
several thousand dollars. With this cap
ital he returned to Nebraska and locat-
ing at Hastings, which Is now his home.
He bought cattle and turned them loose
on the range. He roped them and he
branded the mavericks. In fact he dk
everything any other cow puncher ever
did except, possibly, consume unseemly
quantities of fighting liquor and gamble
away the profits of his business. His
German thrift forbade riotous living. AS
dollars came to him, he invested them
in local enterprises which prospered, and
all the time Dietrich was waxing great In
the eyes of his neighbors. His nomina-
ton for the governorship in spite of the
fact that he was the president of a ma
tional bank, showed how we'll they liked
him. While Nebraska was having reg
uar Kansas time of it, his Republican
colleagues manifested their contempt for
the Authorizations of Populism by select
ing him as their standard bearer. The
triumphant issue of the campaign is of
course, known to all men who remember
how Bryan's own state fell into the Re-
publican column last November.
Dietrich is a swarthy complexioned man,
like most other persons bearing that
name. He is in the prime of life, man
of powerful physique and, therefore, quite
likely to remain in public life for long
period of years. Bank presidents, as a
rule, are cautious men. But Dietrich Is
not a typical bank president. He Is inn
petuous. When Roosevelt was introduced
to him, the two became fast friends i'm
mediately. Their ideas about the strenu-
Gus life are almost Identical. Before the
Rough Rider had completed his cam
pagn tour through Nebraska, the two
Governors were as we'll acquainted
as If they had known each other all their
lives. They had joyful meeting at inau-
guration time. Dietrich remained here
several days after the Inauguration to see
| Teddy perform in the chief place of the
| Senate He heard several of the men who
! ere hereafter to be his colleagues make
long speeches. The speeches made him
| tired, both as to substance and as TO
| length. He wanted action. After the sit
ting came to an end he sought out his
friend Roosevelt and made confidant
of him. Quoth Dietrich:
I'D like to be a member of the Senate
| just long enough to raise a row about
those old-fashioned rules. Say, when
Carter was talking that river and harbor
bill to death. why didn't Senator Frye
| ignore him and put the question whether
| the bill shall pass? All but two or three
were evidently in favor Of its passage.
and it seems to me Frye would have
| been justified in ordering the roll call
| even II Carter was talking
| Because of his utterance then, Dietrich
| is expected to signalize his entry into the
| Senate by making a fight on the rules
| of that body.
There is not much to be said of Sena-
/ tOT hilidIu is dllOSelHeT Unlike MS
! colleague. There is nothing bizarre about
him. He is just an ordinary. hard-head-
ed man of business affairs. The fact that
he is the president of the largest bank in
| Omaha and was director of the Union
Pacific until it's ABSORPTION indicate the
nature of his life's work. He has been
| a power in Nebraska politics ever since
| the close of the Civil War. After his
defeat by Van Wyke. however. his par
| ticipation i'm political affairs was chiefly
of an advisory and financial character.
He was not supposed to have any rem
nants of his old ambition. Had there
been no deadlock. Willard would probably
never have been heard of again. He be-
gan life as a laborer, while a young man;
he worked as a journeyman blacksmith.
the same trade. by the way, which en-
abled Senator Clark of Montana to earn
his livelihood while he was resident
| OF Pennsylvania years before he discov-
cred the mountain of copper ore, which
now gives him an income supposed to APP
proximate a million and a half per
month.
TO PREVENT PNEUMONIA AND GRIP.