The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-11

was upon a farm and his love for the
vocation of farming has never left him
He is still q farmer as well as ra1lroaC
builder, mine owner, banker, capital
ists and statesman.
/ At the age of 10 he obtained a posi-
ton as a brakeman on a freight tram
on the Baltimore & Ohio. Railroadine
was then in its infancy, and that great
system which now operates hundreds OF
miles of road, and has done SO much for
the development of western Maryland
West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
the other states of that section then
operated only a single line of track be-
tween Baltimore and Cumberland IL
was thought to be a wonderful enter
prise, as indeed it was in those days,
but insignificant as compared with its
great operations of today. Yet that
line was the beginning of railroad
building in America, and the job OF
freight brakeman which Henry u
Davis held upon the line was the be-
ginning of his remarkable career and
of his enormous fortune. In those days
there were no telegraph lines to aid In
running trains, and it was thought mn
possible to operate cars after dark. Ac-
cidentS were frequent, and it required
great nerve and energy to surmount
the difficulties which daily confronted
the trainmen.
There were then none of the safe
guards which now surround the lives
of the men who operated the swift run
ming trains ON the Baltimore & Ohio.
The services of young Davis were so
efficient that he was soon promo ed to
be freight conductor, and afterward to
passenger conductor. 1t was while Serv-
ing in this latter capacity that he met
and formed the acquaintance OF Henry
Clay, who was passenger upoa MI
Davis train while going from his Ken
lucky home to the capital and return
ing Clay would board the train at
Baltimore, and leave it at it's western
terminus, and make the journey over
49, ,;,,e- iv7fo lxxy n
old-fashioned stage coach. Mr.. Davis
got his first taste for politics from Hen
ry Clay, in his conversation with that
great statesman, during these CrlpS
over the Baltimore & Ohio, and he cast
his first ballot for the great connIoner
for president. The Baltimore & Ohio
grew, and Mr.. Davis grew with it. He
was quick to re iize the 5reat Possibli-
ties of what was then Western Virgin
ia; he foreSaw its devei Opment ard re-
allied it's immense resources, its hid
den wealth of ore, oil and timber and
he invested his savings in these rich
lands.
The outbreak of the civil war found
him a man of means, of great energy,
of growing experience, good judgment,
and engaged in laying the foundation
of the fortune which he now possesses
Although the war caused him to sustain
temporary losses. he was intensely loyal
to the Union throughout the struggle,
at time and amid surroundings where
1t was frequently dangerous 10 EXPRESS
Union sentiments.
When the great conflict was at an end
and West Virginia had become sep
arate and independent commonwealth,
Mr.. Davis branched forth into still
greater fields of effort, and he has since
been instrumental and active in every
movement looking toward the develop
ment of the vast resources of that state.
No man has done more to make West
Virginia the great wealth-producing
state that it is today than the Hon.
Henry G. Davis. He is conspicuously
identified with all of its leading in
terests, in the production of coal, oil,
timber in railroad building, town
building and dozen or more enter
prises of various kinds.
At the close of the war Mr.. Davis first
entered politics. Having been strong
Union man his sympathies were at first
with the Republican party, and he be-
came a candidate for the Legislature.
The discovery of trickery and dishon-
esty on the part of the Republican
leaders in the state at that time, how
ever, turned him from the party. Thor
oughly honest and upright himself in
all of his dealings he could not tolerate
dishonesty in politics, and he. therefore,
cut loose entirely from the Republican
and Joined the opposition
In 1866 he was elected to the lower house