The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-06-28
TWO NEWSPAPER MILILONAIREs.
Anti-Brynn Democrats, They Control
Richmond, VA, Press.
New York Commercial.


The tobacco industry has produced more
miilionaires in Virginia than any other
line or business has, but probably by far
the two richest men in the State have
never been directly or Indirectly interested
In that trade. They are John Shelton Will
liams, president of the Seaboard Air Line
Company, and Joseph Bryan, head of the
the Southern Railway and connected with
many other leading enterprises.
Williams Is a comparatively young man,
bly, his senior for he was a soldier during
the civil war. having served under the
famous Col. John s. Mosby in guerrilla
warfare almost from the beginning to the
end of the conflict. Williams is a Son of a
prominent banker of Richmond, whose
family has been in that business for gen.
erations.
Both Williams and Bryan have each an
expensive luxury-or, perhaps, with these
men 1t may be more properly called a ne
cessity. as each is running newspaper.
Fifteen years or so ago Mr.. Bryan backed
financially new paper that was called the
Times. He finally had to buy it outright to
save the money that he had sunk in the
thing. He kept on losing money, but he
stuck to the enterprise because he did not
want to be without an organ" About
three years ago the chief owner i'm the
Richmond Dispatch died. That was one of
the oldest and by long odds the most pros
porous paper of the State The Cowardin
estate finally sold II to John SHELTON Will
liams. AT that time the latter also virtual
~ owned an afternoon paper called the
News. Acquiring the Dispatch, the owner
so arranged that the two paper were got
out by one force from the same building
Mr.. Bryan about that time had got his
grip on the other afternoon paper called
the Leader. Eventually these millionaires
talked matters over, and the result was
that Bryan bought the Dispatch and con-
solidated it with the Times and Williams
scooped in the Leader and merged that
with the News. One controls the morning
and the other the afternoon field Each
had lost considerable money in such lux
uries, but the leak has at last been stopped.
Although Williams and Bryan are Demo-
crats-as nearly every leading white man in
that section of the country, because he
could not be anything else with comfort. if
he desired-they do not train with the Will
liam j. Bryan '16-to-i' fellows They have
always been for the gold standard
This is rather exasperating to the DEM
ocratic politicians. who now find them
selves without an organ at the State capt.
tai. They have threatened to start a new
sheet, but so far they cannot exactly dis
cover where the requisite cash will come
from and the chances are that they will
have to put up with the journals men,
toned unless Lieutenant Governor Josenh
e. Willard will stake the company. This
Is not outside the range of possibilities
Indeed. 1t comes within the range of prob
abilities.
Young Willard Is worth q good many
millions of dollars. His vast fortune was
left him by his father. the late Joseph c.
Willard. OF Washington, D. c., who start
ed out in life as a hotel-keeper Young Joe
owns the gorgeous New Willard Hotel
property at the national capital and has
considerable stock in the company that is
running the gigantic and modern hosiery.
And, besides, Joe trains with 1.-The boys
that the other millionaires mentioned do
not like. and he wants to be Governor of
Virginia. He is a bona fide resident of
Fairfax county, has a house there and
AS his father used to say, 1.-The city is no
place In which TO bring up the boys"