The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-13
BY D. W. McrvER.

Tuskegee, Dec. E.--f&pecfai.)-The< peo- pie of Macon county Are delighted, with the appointments of their distinguished son and fellow citizen Hon. Charles Win ston Thompson. to the Banking and Cur rency Committee of the present Con- gress. His friends and neighbors in the community where he has spent his busy and successful life. are not surprised at his rapid advancement, for they know his real worth and ability, but they are pleased to know that his associates in Congress have come at the beginning of his second term to realize hisi capacity and to know that he can be of great i'm portance on such an important: commit tee to his State and to his country. He has been business man all his life. and in late years has made banking and com merclal law a study. and he. knows it all like the ordinary school boy knows his A. B, C's. His colleagues from Aia- bama have been kind enough to endorse him, and the Democrats and Republicans from other States, have long since learn- ed that he is broad and statesman-uke in his views, and in all that he will do In the House Committee will be for the sole advancement and best interests of all the country. He Is also on the Com mlttee on War Claims. where he has been very active and has helped great many of his immediate constituents in getting what was their just and honest dues. but have slumbered all these years flor the want of proper energy In looking after and reviving them. Macon county ia in- deed proud of her son. who has accom- plished so much for himself in so short a time.
 A Short Resume of His Life. Charles Winston Thompson was born in Macon county just before the beginning .A f~-ef A.,~ ~fv.a. 4n-A .ax> years of that deadly conflict, in which his I father, wm. P. Thompson, was follow 2 ing the flag of the Confederacy as q member of the 18th Alabama Regiment. Charles w., his then only son. lived with his mother on a small farm until after the close of the war, when his fa- \ ther returned home. and begun. the bat- i tie of life anew with nothing but a small 5 farm upon which his wife and son had resided while he was fighting for his ] country. His father was. a man of indomitable i energy, good judgment, and exceptional I business qualifications. and was enabled ! by close application and strict economy < to give his son a fair education in the common schools of Macon county, and at the Park High School in Tuskegee.
 After the son had completed his course < in the Park High School, his desire for business and his early development along business lines placed him at, an early age in his fathers mercantile business in Tuskegee. where he soon demonstrated his aptness for business
 Begins Business.
 Att the eaxly age of IS he was given control of his fathers mercantile busi- ness in Tuskegee, which he conducted with unusual tact and remarkable suc- cess, and which increased from year to year under his sagacious management un- til It grew to be one of the largest mer- cantile firms In East Alabama; he hav- ing been admitted as a partner under the firm name of w. P. Thompson & Son. After his fathers death in 1891 he closed out the mercantile business, and organ ized the Bank of Tuskegee. In the or ganization of this bank he had associated with him Dr. John Massey, president of the Alabama Conference Female Col lege, Dr. Vim. Gautier. Judge w. H. Hurt, T. C. and A. H. Drakeford. and MT. John H. Drakeford. who was chosen as cashier. Colonel Thompson was unani- mously chosen as president. which posi- tionshe now occupies. The Bank of Tus- kegee under his management has in ten years doubled its original capital stock, and paid the stockholders an annual div idend of 8 per cent. from the earnings of the bank, and Is considered to-day one of the most successful banking institu- tions in East Alabama. Having been raised on the farm. Colonel Thompson has always been interested in farming, and has invested large portion of the fortune he has accumulated in farm lands in Macon county. He is one of the largest land owners in his county, and owns a large plantation in Montgomery county During the last ten years he has erected in the town of Tuskegee eight or ten handsome brick buildings including the Bank of Tuskegee, and now has in course of construction a block of brick build ings in Tuskegee, with a large modern hotel above. He has always had great faith in the future of Birmingham and North Alabama, and has large and ex. tensive investments there. Ills success as a business man has been phenomenal and almost unparalleled considering hi: opportunities.
 Tn Politics.
 In 1888, while busily engaged in mer. cantile and farming pursuits, he was ap- pointed county superintendent of edu- cation of Macon county. which position he filled with credit and ability. Wher Governor Johnston was elected Cover. nor of Alabama he selected Colone Thompson as member of his stan, and in 1898 he was unanimously chosen tC represent the Twenty-sixth senatoria district, comprised of the counties of Bul lock and Macon in the Senate of Alabama Colonel Thompson rather preferred to de. vote his whole time to his cnosen pro fession In the financial world. but being patriotic and ambitious young mar yielded to the demands of his State. ana consented to serve as a State senator Notwithstanding the fact that he wa