Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-06-08

=, pepublican nomination. Tor PreSl-
.m 4, 1904 is Charles w. Fairbanks
=. Indiana. That Senator Fairbanks
.,,a be n candidate has been known
w.shington for months, but 1t was
]" ,,,posed that he would be brought
w. conspicuosly so long before
convention. and it is safe to as
-, that he is not overpleased with
,he rrecipitancy of the Indiana Re
.,,h,ican manager. who has announced
,no intention of Indiana Republicans
-. wears ahead of time. But he
40, as II may the mischief Is done.
.,d from this time forward the
Ioosier senator will be exposed to the
n.bt of public criticism as one who re-
aords himself as fitted to occupy the
s;ahest position in the land. His best
fr;ends feel that it was n strategical
mistake to bring him out into the
open so soon.
Indiana has had aspirants for the
r,es;dency before. 1t is something of
a. Indiana habit. Oliver +. Morton
was a conspicuous candidate for the
Pepublican nomination in 1876, Hen
bricks. Macdonald and Isaac Poscy
GRAY have striven for the nomination,
and Benjamin Harrison served term
in the White House. Senator Fair
hanks comes nearer than anybody else
to taking the place of Harrison as the
most conspicuous and influential Re
nublican leader of his state. and it is
not strange that he should be put for
ward as proper person to succeed to
Harrison's honors in Washington. But
personally he is quite unlike the late
President. and he was never one of
Harrison's political friends. He has
arrived at the political leadership of
the Republican party of Indiana by
methods peculiarly his own.
Charles Warren Fairbanks was born
on farm in Union county. Ohio, May
Ii. 1852 He was graduated at the
Ohio Wesleyan University in Della
ware, Ohio, in 1872 was admitted to
the bar in Cleveland. Ohio. in 1874;
moved TO Indianapolis in the same
year. and practised his profession
there until 1897, when he was elected
TO the United States Senate. His
present office is the only office he ever
held. He was known for years in In
diana as a highly successful business
lawyer. and he is one of the wealthicSt
men in the state. He never had any
thing to do with politics until after he
had won his position at the bar and
made his fortune.
He was poor boy. When he left
college he went To Pittsburg and
served as the agent there for the AS
ISOLATED Press while he was studying
law He thought seriously at that
time Of staying in the newspaper bust
ness. for he was getting Il fair salary.
and the newspaper editors urged him
to stay. He has said that he was
afraid he would starve to idea t h If he
should start by himself to practise
law. hut he finally made the venture
and went to Cleveland. where he was
admitted tn the bar. He stayed only Il
few months in Cleveland. however, and
then went to indianapolis. where he
was married, his wife having been a
fellow student at Wesleyan University.
About that time the Tcrre Haute &
Evansville Railroad, with which his
father-in-law was connected. went
into the hands of a receiver, and young
Fairbanks was engaged as a lawyer to
look after some of the affairs of the
bankrupt property. That was the
frst money he made; and since then
thefe has been very little railroad
manipulation in Indiana with which
ne has not been identified. In those
DAYS the state was cobwcbbcd with a
let Of little roads running from county
seat to county scat. and Fairbanks
went into the business of consolidat ting
ihese little roads into trunk lines. SO
mat he soon became known as a rcor-
sanizcr of railroads. AS railroad
attorney be accumulated stocks and
Bonds. He had born genius for real
estate investments, and it was not
ohs before he had become a
mililonaire. Then he began to think of
politics.
for years there were two factions in
me republican party of Indiana.
harrison was ut the head of one,
gresham at the head of the other.
''"ety-ilVe per cent. of the Repuhli-
vans OF the state were with Harrison.
'u' ''reshams followers made up in
p''.erness and pugHacity what they
apked in numbers. Gresham had a
e" friends in indianapolis, chief
e'hohg whom We're Fairbanks. Addi-
.oh :. Harris. afterward minister to
'"S'ila; Noble c. Butler the clerk of
oouftS, ana w. r. F'ishback, who has
,,Veh'ly died. There was not much
"'' they could do, but whenever
u''Sham needed counsel or assistance
any gave it. The first political work
Una, Fairbanks did was at Gresham
~ in 1884, when he and his
mus undertook to arouse little
rn'i,hcht in favor of Arthur for tho
d, I nomination at Chicago. 1t
90. 'ot amount to much and he did not
t'ot much public attention. But
,H years later when Harrison was
fan. ."''cc Of the Indiana Republicans
Il, ~, ny presidency and Gresham. who
GU, meantime had moved t.
bs". WaS also Il candidate. Fair
P'dAed more important part.
vent to Chicago convention and W I.
"'e thrcc men in the Indiana de c
| Tor, -, VINO voted for Gresham His sup
and ~ me minority candidate was mani,
| son I'm. I'll" wrote II letter to tjarri
| that hn vas a personal friend, sayin:
cros.hhc nomination had il not been tha
| accnrnth was candidate. hut that ol
| shin Nv, or his long and intimate friend
could IN Gresham he should do what h
| rl'eI ,b mtin GrcSh1m win. IlacIison re
and ssa',.%;,h'n% him for his manly letter
| chanro tHe int there should hc NJ
no wa i, =, ne PERSONAL esteem in whici
| ham ~. W. h" rivalry between Ores
il NJ iidrriS III was very bitter am