The Irish standard., 1903-12-05

- IN AA'So ulAl11 July ~ HCAt JOlllI
Sharp Williams, OF Mississippi, the
Democratic leader in the House, OF
Representatives, will be 5o He is OF
slender figure, and a trihe above the
medium in height. He has whole
lot of woozy hair and striking disre-
gard of fashionable clothing, says the
New York Sun.
From boyhood Mr.. Williams has
been hard student, and all his mature
life an Industrious reader of high
class literature Although never of
decidedly robust constitution, he has
not at any time been regarded as an
invalid. At present he appears to be
in good condition physically for the
arduous duties recently imposed upon
him with unanimity by his party as
.sociates.
Mr.. Williams received a thorough
educational training. He studied at
the Kentucky Military Institute, and
later at the University of the South, at
Sewanee, Tenn, and at the University
of Virginia. Then he went abroad
and attended Heidelberg University.
While at Heidelberg he mastered
German sufficiently to converse fluent
ly in it. He also studied French in
his youth, and since leaving the uni
versities he has kept up his researches
both in German and in French. Since
his selection for the minority leader
ship, though, Mr.. Williams has been
somewhat amused to read that he is
able to read and speak at least half
. dozen languages.
He was born at Memphis, Tenn.
His mother died when he was quite
young, and his father, who was
colonel OF Tennessee volunteers in the
Confederate army. was killed at Shiloh.
His home is at Yazoo, Miss, where
he has practiced law and engaged in
planting cotton. He and his brother
are joint owners OF about 5000 acres
of land in the Yazoo country. This
property has not been divided in
many generations.
Mr.. Williams never held any public
office prior to his election to Congress
in 1892 President Cleveland having
called the Fifty-tl1ird Congress in ex-
ira session for the repeal OF the pur-
chasing clause of the Sherman Silver
act, it met August 9TH. 1893. and con-
tinued its labors until late in October.
The new member from Mississippi
was one among many to introduce at
that session a bill to impose an in
come tax
In that Congress the late Speaker
Crisp assigned Mr.. Williams to the
committees OIL agriculture and educa-
ton. The late Col. Hatch, of Mis-
souri,, was chairman of the House
committee on agriculture. He was a
successful farmer. Indeed, as made
up at that time the committee was
full of farmers.
1t included Farmer Joe Sibley, of
Pennsylvania, then in complete affilia-
tion with the Democratic party, but
now an out and out Republican; "Cy-
clone Jim" Marshall. of the south
western district of Virginia: Farmer
Jerry Simpson, of Medicine Lodge,
Kan; Farmer F. H. Funston, also of
Kansas, father of Gen. Fred Funston,
who captured Aguinaldo in the Philip
pines; Farmer Dennis Flynn, of Okla
~f,oma. Farmer Wadsworth, of the
.Genesee Valley of New York, was also
,on it.
Mr.. Williams remarked the other
day that nearly every Democrat in the
House who owns land and attempts
its cultivation seems to want place
on this committee Said he:
"Jim Wadsworth and I appear to
have made that committe worth hav-
ing place on. When entered Con-
gress hardly any one cared to be as
signed there, but it has become such
an important one that members gen
orally now want to go on it,
In the f'ifty-ffth Congress Mr..
Williams continued. to serve on the
agricultural committee and was also
assigned to thatson foreign affairs. In