The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-11-08
Webster Davis to Locate at st. Louis.


Wash, contains the following article
of interest to Owosso people:
Webster Davis, former Republican
mayor of Kansas City, Mo-, assistant
secretary of the interior under the
first Mckinley administration, then
Democratic member of Tammany Hall
deliyerer of the speech nominating
William Jennings Bryan, in 1900,
then suddenly again Republican in
Detroit and Seattle, has quit the State
of Washington for good and all.
In letter received this morning
by Judge Durley G.. Wooten from st.
Louis, Davis says that his stay in the
east Will be so indefinite that he
would ask his name be dropped from
the law firm of Wooten, Davis e
Dowd
Il do not expect Davis to return
to Seattle or Washington for that
matter" said Judge Wooten today.
HE does not fancy the law particu-
larly, and with an income from Kan
sas City property and with all his
friends in the east, it is only natural
that he should prefer living there"
Webster Davis today is a political
wanderer, a man without a party.
He has been repudiated by the Re-
publicans and then by the Democrats.
He came here with the avowed in
tention of righting his political for
tunes and before leaving admitted
that he signally failed. One of the
most brilliant orators and effective
political speakers of the. last twenty
years, Davis can find no use for his
talents.
Davis Life History.
He was born in 1861 in Ebensburg,
Pa, and when he was seven years old
his family removed to Missouri He
worked his way through the Univer-
sity of Kansas, at Lawrence and was
admitted to the bar in Garden City,
Kansas, in 1886. He practiced law
for a short time then went to the
University of Michigan for post
graduate course. Returning to Mis-
souri,, he located in Kansas City,
where his natural oratory soon made
him prominent in Republican politics.
He was the congressional nominee
Of his party in 1892 and was defeated
in strong Democratic district Two
years later he was nominated by the
Republicans for mayor of Kansas
City and was elected by large ma
jority, serving from 1894 to 1896.
He was defeated for denomination,
but in 1896 was made one of the list
of the Republican national committee
speakers and so. effective was his
oratory that in the closing months of
that exciting campaign Davis trailed
Bryan, the highest compliment that
could be given him.
For his services Mark Hanna OBJ
tanned for him the berth of assistant
secretary of the interior in the first
Mckinley cabinet. When in 1899 the
relations between Great Britain and
the South African republics became
more and more strained and while
the administration was nedeavoring
to maintain a neutral position, Davis
became very pronounced in his pro-
Boer sentiments and made public adj
dresses in which he sharply criticised
the president and his superiors in the
cabinet.
Attacked Mckinley.
When hostilities opened Davis ask
ed for leave of absence and went to
Pretoria, South Africa, and spent
some time with Dom Paul Kruger
and others high in authority in the
Transvaal. He returned to the
United States during the latter part
of March, 1900 and became vindic-
tive in his announcement of the adj
ministration for what he termed it's
non-interference in the slaughter of
a free people by the British crown
and attacked Mckinley personally
for Keeping the Philippines. He alb
ruptly resigned April 2, 1900.
Davis then announced that he had
left the Republican party on the issue
of imperialism and moved to New
York. He was welcomed into Tam
many and took part in several New
York City campaigns. He was Sc
lected to nominate Bryan at Kansas
City in 1900. He did so, but the
demonstration against him in his old
home town was so great that his real
ly great oratorical effort fell fiat.
Davis went back to New York and
remained few years then went to
Detroit, where he set up a law Office.
He announced himself as a Republic
can in Michigan. He campaigned
there for Mckinley, and the Republi-
cans never forgave him for what they
termed treachery to the murdered
president
Cold Reception i'm Politics.
So Davis came to Seattle last year.
While as assistant secretary of the in
terror he had known Judge Wooten,
who was then a member Of congress
from Texas.
He asked to join Wooten's firm,
frankly stating that he did not intend
to do much in the way of practicing
law. but that he would enter politics
as a Republican. Davis tried several
times to get into the local political
limelight, but failed each time. Old
party leaders pointed to his record
and the Boer incident.
''Davis often complained to me that
he was not properly received by the
n