The Ely miner., 1903-01-02

MUSIC ROOM IN PERKINS HOUSE.
his capital an even $4,000. Forty
years later while on visit to the
old place, Senator Sawyer ascertained
that his brother was $1,000 in debt,
and had no hope of getting out of
debt. Senator Sawyer took note of
all the men he owed, and then drove
all around the town and country,
paying them off and taking receipts.
When he handed the receipts to his
brother the elder one exclaimed:
'Philetus, this is very good of you.
I'd much rather owe all to you than
to owe everybody here; but l can
never pay you. You'll have to take
the old farm when L die"
"You don't owe me anything" re-
piled Senator Sawyer. You gave me
dollar when l went west, and every
dollar | took with me has been multi
piled 1000 times, so l have merely
been paying back your dollar with in
terest." The senator was at that time
worth almost $3,000,000. Before he
died he was worth more than twice
that amount.
One evening here a few months be-
fore his death Senator Sawyer told the
narrator story which has never been
published. He said: Every soon after
Harrison had been elected, l went to
see him and ask him to appoint Uncle
Jerry Rusll as secretary of agriculture.
Harrison said that he knew Rusk, ad-
mired him, and believed in him, but he
felt that Rusk's education hadnot been
quite broad enough to fit him for cab
met position. He said he would rather
give him a commission as major gen
eral and send him to the field to fight,
for he knew him to be grand soldier.
But urged him, and finally asked him
to take Rusk into his cabinet as secre-
tary of agriculture, on probation. L
said that if Rusk was not wholly salts
factory after six months l would see
to it that Rusk had other pressing
business which would take him out of
the cabinet. This agreement was
made and Rusk was appointed. Seven
months elapsed before l thought of it
again. One afternoon as | was on the
way to the capitol happened to think
of it, and 1 fastened to the white house
to apologize. AS soon as | entered,
said: Mr.. President, / beg your par
don for not coming On time, but it had
entirely escaped my memory
"'What are you talking about" in
uuired Gen. Harrison, who seemed sur
prised at my words and manner.
"I forgot to come to you when the
six months elapsed, and ask you about
Rusk.'
"'President Harrison laughed, and
| said: That's all right. Go off and for
get it again. I'd rather part with al
most any other member of the cabinet
before | would with Rusk. He's big
enough to be president"
When he was asked if he would be
candidate again for the senate, to sue
ceed Senator Villas, he smiled and said:
81 am so years old, and would not dare
| to ask my people to send me to the
senate again, although L believe they
| would do it. No. I've kept quiet on
| that subject, in the interest of Spoon
| er. You see, if / had announced last
summer that | would not be a candi-
date, there might have been lot of
candidates, but as long as they
thought that l might be in the field,
they stayed out. Now that it is per-
fectly safe for John don't mind say
ing that / will not be a candidate, but
that l am for john"
The old man loved Senator Spooner
with wonderfully deep fatherly af-
fection. When Senator Spooner adj
dressed the senate, right before him
always sat his venerable colleague,
looking him in the eyes and drinking in
his every utterance. With all of his
wealth Senator Sawyer continued to
be plain man of the people, and un-
pretentiously he gave away many
thousands of dollars to the worthy alid
deserving poor. His wife died soon
after the palatial mansion was COM
pleted and Senator Sawyer was always
lonely afterwards, although his
daughter, Mrs. White, kept house for
him and did her best<to comfort him.
While Pos tmaster General Gary was
resident of this city, he occupied the
! Sawyer mansion, in fact was the first
| to lease it after the expiration of
Senator Sawyer's last term in con-
gress. The Garys were Baltimore peo-
pie and they had company from some
part of Maryland all of the time, max
ing the mansion one of the gayest of
the gay during the first part of the
first Mckinley administration.
SMITH D. FRY