The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-09-11
Mr. Whitney's Career.

"In reading a sketch of William C. Whitney in the New York Commercial, one of the brightest and most valuable newspapers in the United States, I re- called the first and only occasion in which I came in contact with the dis tinguished millionaire" said a member of the Virginia colony. T was an ardenc partisan of, Grover Cleveland Tn 1892, anu attended the Chicago convention, not as a delegate. but as a friend of the former President ready to do what I could to promote his interests. I arrived in the convention city several days ahead or time. MT. Whitney was on the ground as MT. Clevelands manager. He had opened his headquarters at the Palmer House. As soon as I was introduced to him I felt that he was a sngularly fas- cnating man. He said to me; MT. Cleve- land has got a majority of the delegates but I want to see him nominated with n great hurrah, and my business is to con vert lot of these Hill delegates. What want you and all of the Cleveland forces to do Is to mingle with the Hhl delegates, and whenever one is founu who Is open to argument, I want him brought to my headquarters so that l may have talk with him.
 q succeeded in introducing to MT. Whitney no less than five southern Hill ties who changed over to Cleveland after listening to Whitneys quite eloquence. I counted in three days no less than sixty delegates that he converted. I marveled at the tact of the former secretary of the navy. He proved himself a master of politics. His work for MT. Cleveland was entirely disinterested, as every one knows. He was not after office or anything else
 "As MT. Whitney will be in the pubAe eye as long as he lives, this extract from the Commercial will be read with inter- est:
 There have been three distinct epochs in the career of William Collins Whitney and he is just now entering upon the fourth-that of a man of leisure. First a lawyer, then politician and statesman, then financier. When he became politi- clan he abandoned the law; he ceased be- ing politician upon becoming a finan- cier, and now he announces that he has done all the work required of him-that a man ought to retire from active business life when he reaches 60 years of age; and so he exemplifes his convictions by re- tirlng
 Born in the little town of Conway, Mass, July 15. 1S41, w c. Whitney's early life was that of the usual country boy-with streams to fish in, birds nests to rob. green apples to eat and healthy atmosphere of moral rectitude in which to ground his future habits When he was old enough to leave the excellent village school his father, Gen. James S. Whitney, sent the boy to Yale, from which he graduated in 1s6s Two years later he took a law course at Harvard and was admitted to the bar and prac- tlce in New York.
 Tt is often at the expense of the worlds good will that men achieve con- spcuous wealth. It has always been a question as to whether this is due to methods necessarily employed in vast and rapid accumulation to the character istics of the money -getter himself or to the envy of less fortunate mankind Be that as it may, William c. Whitney Is an exception to the rule. Although a man of many millions, he counts his friends by groups and is generally looked upon by the people of the United States with great good will. although known to most of them only by repute.'