The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-20

get together another fortune And the funny part of the whole business Is that word comes from the West that Mir Stewart may make another dash for the Senate. The term of Senator Newlands, Democrath expires In 1909. and the Legislature to be elected next year will choose his successor. Mir. Newlands is a native of Natchez. Miss, and his first wife was of the wealthy sharon family of Nevada.
 During the last five or six years of his life, the Hate ex-Senator Matt w. Ransom. of North Carolina, made the only real financial success of his ex- istence. He was approaching his S0th year when he died. General Ransom came to the United States Senate in 1875 and remained there until March A. 1895. North Carolina had been cap tured by a combination of Populists and Republicans and Prftchard and Marion Butler occupied tho seats held for so many years by Vance and Ran som. The jig was up politically with Ransom, and Vance was dead. Pres ident Cleveland appointed General Ran som Minitser to Mexico--the Embassy had not then been established by us at the City of Mexico The salary, however. was then just as r'uch as it is now-$t7.500 @ year Ge gal Rana som held this fat office exactly two years.
 
 to go to the Mexican capital. brought the news that the venerable "TarheeP' was as tight as wax" by which they meant he was about the closest man who ever belonged to our. diplomatic corps. One of the sons of the Minister was Secretary of Legation: another 7 held a clerical position, and report had 1t that the old man used to collect the pay of the boys" and dealt out just barely enough to permit them to live. At least the "boys" did not have enough to lead gay lives had they been so disposed.
 The Minister had an object I., view He owned one of the finest and largest cotton plantations near Weldon. N. C., but had not had the capital to make 1t profita ble. owing to his long service in the Senate. At the end os his two years in Mexico General Ransom had on his plantation. He had enormous crops at a period when cotton sold high. In five years or so he had paid every dollar he owed. his plantation had been improved. his residence beau tified and enlarged. his sons were en- toying good incomes, and he had train- ed them to take hold of things, and if they are not rich, they are at least enjoying a good living and on the road
 When he quit the Senate General Ransom owed a great deal of borrowed money to the Democrats of that body. and was also in debt to some of the Republicans. A year or more before he died he visited Washington and wiped out all his indebtedness here. The last man he paid was the late ex- Senator James L.. Pugh, of Alabama who related the circumstances to The Advertiser correspondent. Mir. Pugh was very proud of the fact that one so aged as General Ransom had the en- ergy and gumption to meet with such financial success so late in life, and he would often remark in a group of friends: Tt beats anything I ever heard of. but 1t only goes to show that if an old man has health and determi- nation there is no telling what he may accomplish On being told that Mir. Stewart had gone west to try his luck once more. MT. Pugh said: stewart is wonder. It would not surprise me if he were to scrape together another fortune."
 W. B. Shaw. the oldest of the Wash ington newspaper correspondents was the representative of The New York Herald in this city as early as 1852. be- ing the first correspondent engaged here by the elder James Gordon Ben