The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-25

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 Former Senator William M. Stewart of Nevada was born August g. 1925, in Wayne county, New York, since which time this wonderful old man, judging from his "Reminiscences just published, has experienced practically all of the | different phases of life, from poverty 10 riches and vice versa. The dedi- cation to these "Reminiscences shows the keynote of Senator Etewarts char acter for in it, the dedication to his mother, he says: "Whatever of good I may have accomplished was inspired by my dear mother at an early period of my life"
 The future silver king" and United States senator spent his minority up and around in New York state working on different farms; afterward securing a position to teach school at local | temple of learning where 1t was nee essary that the teacher be something of pugilist to succeed. William 1 Stewart succeeded at this school and his work tn ere was of such good re- l suits that one of the trustees of that l institution loaned to Stewart sufficient money with which to go to Yale uni versity. Before taking charge of that small village school, Senator Stewart l gives an amusing account of his ex- | perience with one Deacon Laird, a 1 prominent member of a village church. The deacon took advantage of young l Stewart and Senator Stewart adds that this little experience with Deacon | Laird has been of great value to me through life. It has made me suspi- cious of people who are too loud In their profession of religion. I have always been afraid they were using the garb of sanctity to cloak their rascality and, to my advantage, have ! refrained from trusting them."
 Young Stewart went to Yale univer- sity and remained there until the great excitement of gold discovery in Cali fornia began to be intense, whereupon he left Yale and went by sea, in an old broken up vessel, via Panama, to San Francisco. It required 30 days to | go from Panama to San Francisco, in those days. Senatorl Stewart writes most interestingly of the early days Gin
 
 graphic descriptions of not only his experiences but those of others, many of wh om have been prominent both in the financial and political life of the west. Senator Stewart was an in- 1 innate of such men as James G. Fair (whom Stewart defeated for the United States Senate in 1886 when he de- cided to again enter public life), Sena- tor Leland Stanford, c. P. Huntington, | James G. Flood, the two Croakers, Judge Terry, Judge Field, in fact all of the prominent men of that day, on the Pacific coast. Senator Stewart was primarily a lawyer; all of the time when he was buying, operating or sell ing mines, he practiced law and his fees from different clients in the west. were some of the largest that were ever paid in the history of this coun- try In the famous Comstock legisla- tion Senator Stewart was paid $500.O0o in fees alone, and judging from his ac- counts of what he was compelled to do in the way of facing death and the ends accomplished, this attorney earned l his money. Some very amusing ac- counts of justice dispensed in the western courts, particularly that of the justices of the peace, are given by Sen- | ator Stewart. There was an old | stupid, ignorant justice in California, one Zeke Dough erty, before whom case. was tried wherein two young boys from Rhode Island had been caught with all the evidence against them of horse stealing. Witnesses had seen these boys start off with the horses. After all of the evidence was in there seemed nothing to do by the defendants counsel save to have tes- timony submitted showing the pre- vious good character" of the guilty young men.
 And what are you going to prove by them witnesses?" asked old Zeke.
 "If your honor please, these gentle men are from Providence, R. l., and they all knew the accused at home anu can testify to their good character"
 Good character be damned" roared Zeke. "Ain't they been proved to be damned theives? Sheriff, take the pris- oners to jail. The court is adjourned" Good lesson therefor some of our present day criminal trials 1t uoes seem.
 Senator Stewart tells us all about the personal side of the men in the I west, in the days long gone by. Not as history or padded biography or au- l photography gives 1t to us, but simply as those men appeared to friends and enemies of those days Senator Stew l arf ma in h c pages, for all of the good men, had something bad in them and some of the bad men had great deal of good.
 A most interesting account is given of the entrance of the state of Nevada into the Union by the enabling act passed by Congress on March 2t, 1884. As it is not understood by everybody, the government at Washington was | anxious that Nevada should become a state in order that her senators and representatives might. assist in the | adoption of the amendments to the | constitution in aid of the restoration of the southern states after the Union should conquer the Confederacy. Sena- tor Stewart gives as his reason why | Nevada wished to become state, namely the unsatisfactory judiciary condition under a territorial form of government Nevada voted on Septem-