The Washington herald., 1908-02-16
Who the Rich Men at the
Capitol Are and How
Their Wealth Was
Acquired.
Ry wILLIAM Il. HowARp.

Representatives one man in every twenty
seven is reckored worth million or more
dollars. To be explicit. the Senate has
thirty-two millionaires and the House
fourteen.
It is a good deal easier to say this man
or that is a millionaire than it is TO sub
stantiate the statement Men of riches
are not given 20 putting forth appraise-
ments Of their financial worth. The man
with a hundred thousand dollars often
makes more display than the man worth
a hundred times as much When mans
fortune is ten millions or more 1t is im-
possible accurately to gauge IT, That
much wealth, in certain lines of invest
ment might we'll shrink or swell a mill
lion dollars over night
The forty-siX men named in the accom-
panying list are generally accepted by
their colleagues in Congress as million
aires. The estimates placed upon their
wealth are based upon information Sc
cured from members of their own State
delegations and from other reasonably
trustworthy sources. Some Of the for
tunes set opposite their names may be
too high; others may be too low. But
the figures approximate correctness.
Many Are ar-miIliOnaires.
There may be other minionaires in
Congress. but if there are they have
succeeded in suppressing general knowl-
edge Of the fact that they have crossed
the line which is accepted as marking
the beginning of plutocracy. There are
any number Of men known TO be very
wealthy who have not been set down as
milliOnaires. For Instance Vice Presi-
dent Fairbanks is often referred to as a
millionaire but the best obtainable in
formation places his fortune at between
S500000 and $4,000. Charles A Culberson,
of Texas. the Democratic leader in the
Senate. is another whom common report
has placed in the millionaire class Sen
ator Culberson is rich man. hut his
friends declare that 70 write him down a
millionaire is to exaggerate his wealth.
Senators BTandegee of Connecticut;
Overman. Of North Carolina: Burnham
of New Hampshire Dillingham;, Of Yer
mont Flint. of California, and others are
in the near-millionaire class. and most
Of the Senators are we'll fixed Senator
Brown. Of Nebraska. il is said is the
only member Of the upper branch of
Congress who does not own his own
house
The estimated aggregate wealth of the
thiTty-tWo millionaire Senators is S210,-
100000. This is not much more than the
wealth Of a single Senator who sat in
the last Congress. The fortune OF Will
lam A Clark, of Montana, is estimated
anywhere from slO0000G00 to $209 200, coo.
General belief places it nearer the latter
figure. Clark undoubtedly is the richest
man who ever secured a seat in the
United States Senate The estimated
wealth of the fourteen House million
aires is sS3.0C0O00 nearly half of which
is accredited TO one man.
Does Power Go with Wealth.
Accepting that there are forty-six mil
Aonaires in Congress, it is interesting to
contemplate the parts they play and the
influence they WELD in legislating for the
American people. Nelson W. Aldrich. Of
Rhode Island. the most influential mem
Der Of the Senate, is a millionaire and
SO is Joseph G. Cannon. Of Illinois. who
wields more power than all other mem
bers Of the House Of Representatives
combined Ii is not too much to say
that these two men OF millions can pre-
vent the American Congress from pass
ing any measure 10 which they are op-
posed. and they can come pretty near 10
forcing the passage Of any measure they
agree upon. But is it because of their
millions they WELD this power?
TO answer this query it is necessary TO
scan the power and influence Of other
millionaire statesmen, and the power and
influence of statesmen who are poor in
everything but intellect and character
The two richest men in the Senate-Gug-
genheim, of Colorado. and Stephenson. Of
Wisconsin-wiIl have TO be omitted from
this comparison because they are just
entering upon their first terms and have
no influence worth considering. The third
man on the list, Elkins, of West Vir-
ginia is an influential Senator, but his
influence is far less than that, for in
stance. of Allison. of Iowa. who is in
very modest circumstances despite the
fact that he has been charged with being
one Of the servants in Congress Of the
money power" CullOm, Of Illinois. and
Frye, Of Maine, among Republicans, and
Democrats Ike Daniel. OF Virginia. and
Clay. of Georgia, none Of whom is rich. |
outrank Elkins In influence and in the
respect commanded by their opinions.
Others on MiIIiOnaires' List.
Going on down the list. Kean, of New
Jersey is not regarded seriously as a |
statesman. though he Is a useful Sena-
tor. and Proctor, of Vermont. does not in |
fiuence his fellows beyond the respect they |
give his hard-headed business qualities. |
Du Pont and Bourne are new Senators, |
so must be passed. Newlands, OF Ne
vada, accounted the richest Democrat i
lacks a lot of being most influential among
the minority. In fact, Newlands has too
much good sense to pose as a statesman, |
and, though a concieatious worker, |
makes no attempt TO mold Senate opinion |
on great questions. If there is any man
ia the Senate of less influence than De- |
pew, OF New York, it is Wetmore. of !
Rhode Island, who is placed just beneath |
Depew in the sealing Of fortunes. To find |
a Senator of large influence among the |
other millionaires il is necessary to 20 !
down the list to Crane, of Massachusetts. |
and Hale, Of Maine the latter of whom is |
one of the three most powerful members |
II the Senate. Farther down, in a group /
are Knox, Foraker and Lodge, each of |
whom is influential in his own way Skip |
ping Platt, Of New York, who takes rank |
with Depew and WetmOre. We come to |
Bailey, Of Texas, the most brilliant intel |
lect. probably. on either side of the cham |
ber Bailey is influential, and he is not |
it depends upon the question which hap
pens to be before the Senate. There is no /
other man on the millionaire list who |
would take rank in a first division OF /
Senators.
A reeapituiatiOn shows that of the thir- I
ty-two Senators put down as miIlionaires, |
.elght may be regarded as In the first rank /
of influence. and seventeen as secondary, |